Which Flex Framework Is Right For You?

July 22, 2008 · 10 Comments

Frameworks. They can be both a blessing and a curse. Recently, I was asked, by an aspiring Flex developer, which framework they should learn. They were looking at Cairngorm (and the UM Extensions) and Mate. Each framework has their high points and their low points. Mate is very slick and simplifies a lot of tasks that Cairngorm can make, well...obtuse. It's just plain facts.

Cairngorm however, is the iPod of the Flex framework market. Just as you think "iPod" when you think mp3 player, you think "Cairngorm" when you think Flex frameworks. Within the last four months we have seen the introduction of two new major players to the Flex framework scene: Mate and Swiz. Mate is the brainchild of our fine friends at AsFusion. Swiz is the fruit of Chris Scott's efforts. Mate is a totally tag-based approach to a Flex framework, while Swiz is much more focused on inversion of control (IOC).

So, which framework should you learn? Well, I can assure you that, as a Flex developer, you will run into a Cairngorm project at least once during your career. Its prevalence lends itself to this. Does this mean you should be thoroughly proficient in Cairngorm? Absolutely not. I do believe however, that every Flex developer should be able to recognize a Cairngorm application and be able to work within its patterns (side note: look to the Core J2EE Patterns for Cairngorm's inspiration.). I think that Cairngorm will make more sense to developers coming from the Java world. Developers coming to Flex from ColdFusion would probably be much more comfortable in Mate, due to its tag-based nature. Does this mean that any one is more right for you than another? No. As with anything else in this field, it depends on the task, the developer's skill and comfort levels with different technologies, and the time you have to learn something new.

If you take all this into consideration and then do your own research, you should be able to come up with which framework fits right for you. Don't rely simply on my advice or the advice of others. Frameworks tend to gather semi-religious followings, so try to wade through the zealotry and find your best solution.

Which Flex Framework Is Right For You?

Tags: Java · ColdFusion · Flex · General · Universal Mind

10 responses so far ↓

1 Joel // Jul 22, 2008 at 12:43 PM

Mate is pretty neat, but it is way different from Cairngorm. In terms of a pure MVC frameworks, I would seriously consider... PureMVC. It does what Cairngorm does, but in a much cleaner fashion. It is simpler, but you aren't losing any of the control you get with Cairngorm. It is easily extended, follows object oriented best practices, and adheres to the core design pattern as close as possible. If tag based abstraction from the inner working of your framework is what you are after, then I'd agree with you. If you want to use your framework as a launchpad for enterprise architecture following known design patterns and best practices, I'd say go with PureMVC. http://puremvc.org
2 Mike Rankin // Jul 22, 2008 at 12:53 PM

I'd take a look at pureMVC.org as well. Seems to have some really smart people behind the framework, as well as ports to more than one environment. The possibility that you could us the same framework for your cf work as well as your flex work is at least interesting.
3 Christophe Herreman // Jul 22, 2008 at 1:50 PM

Have you checked out Prana? At its core is an IoC container based on Spring and we also offer several extensions to the Cairngorm and PureMVC frameworks. regards, Christophe
4 Gary // Jul 25, 2008 at 9:33 PM

The Cairngorm supplies a micro-architecture for the development in Flex, basing itself in design patterns.
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Andrew Powell

Into The Mind of A Solutions Architect