Integrated X2O framework for Flex Server __ Framework

With the development of RIA technology, the demand of RIAs and server-side technology integration is more and more urgent. The X2O framework from We Are Mammoth Company is an integration solution for flex. Infoq has the honor to interview our Are mammoth partner Ka Wai Cheung to see how the X2O framework adapts to flex based RIA development.

what the INFOQ:X2O frame is.

Cheung: X2O is a web-based data modeling platform for Adobe Flex applications. It allows you to quickly build a database-driven flex application without any server-side code or settings.

By using X2O, you don't have to create your own databases, build stored procedures, write server-side code, or even integrate your AS3 code into your data services. All these things are done by X2O to help you.

Instead, you just create a data model (you can configure it more or less if you want) and build the framework. You can then immediately use the generated code and tools to build your Flex application. Specifically, you'll get a secure CMS to manage the data, a AS3 SWC file and all the documents tailored to your data model. X2O creates a value object, a relationship that contains the basic Crud method, and builds a custom load method based on your configuration.

Since all this is done through the web, there is no need to install it. All you need to do is put the generated SWC library into your flex project. You can modify the data model and regenerate all of this, so that X2O is an agile platform.

InfoQ: Why do you want to create the X2O framework, and what does it solve?

Cheung: A major problem with Flex RIA development is that it requires a very wide range of knowledge from developers. Developers need to be proficient in databases, some server-side languages (such as PHP, Ruby, C #, and so on), client-server integration (remoting, Web services, or soap), and, of course, write As3/mxml and build on mvc/ Cairngorm such an architecture.

X2O simplifies the entire flex development process by handling all the tedious server-side programming and integration that used to be done by several developers in a matter of days or weeks. This allows flex developers to focus on flex, while still having full control over how the data is structured.

In essence, X2O allows flex developers to focus on their domain, like server-side developers, without having to understand other languages.

In addition, X2O is completely web-based. In addition to your flex development environment, no additional installation and setup is required. If there is a problem to be solved, it may be that X2O combines fast flex development with cloud programming.

There is a growing need to simplify the use of flex for client and server-side integration. The Weborb plug-in for rails is interesting-but what makes X2O unique is that you don't need to write any server-side code or do any integration. X2O developers only need to write code in the flex environment to push/pull data, while also being able to fully control the data model.

INFOQ:X2O How the server-side architecture is.

Cheung: A server-side part of a X2O project is never exposed to developers because it is always running behind the scenes in the remote. Simply put, X2O generates a database, a stored procedure, a data access layer, and a Web service layer. The SWC file (the developer needs to download the file and put it in the Flex project) is directly integrated with the Web service tier. The developer simply calls the method on the value object in the SWC file, and the other code is generated. We also encrypt requests and responses between the client and the server side.

As I said before, it will also generate a secure CMS and documentation-they run as separate sites on the server.

InfoQ: What technologies are used to develop X2O, and how to use them.

Cheung: The X2O layer is built on. Net. So we now use SQL Server 2005 and. NET 2.0. We also generated asdocs through the open Source Flex framework.

What is the typical use scenario for INFOQ:X2O?

Cheung: X2O can be applied to any database-driven Flex project. Over the past two years our company (we Are Mammoth) has developed a lot of things using X2O, from simple sites with static content to interactive applications with large amounts of data that contain many business logic.

We also found that X2O is very useful for prototyping development. Typically, the prototyping utilization in Flex is low, because when you start developing a "real" version, most prototypes will be discarded. With X2O, you can develop a data model in a matter of minutes and immediately integrate it with real, managed data. This allows us to seamlessly transform the prototype into a real application.

InfoQ: Is it free, and what is its release plan?

Cheung: X2O is still in the beta phase, and it's free during the release period. During this time, we allow developers to register and create two free projects to familiarize themselves with the way X2O works.

We intend to release the full version of X2O in 2009, which will have a free version (just like the beta version) and a paid version. The latter differs in project limitations and functionality (such as deploying the development and regular versions of the framework).

Author Moxie Zhang Long
Turn from: Http://www.infoq.com/cn/news/2008/11/x2o-framework-for-flex
View English Original: X2O Framework for Flex Server integration