Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17679

by juwo • 19 years ago

9 26 19 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

juwo10• 19 years ago

Even Bruce Eckel who wrote the popular Java books, "Thinking in Java", has switched sides and is backing Flex.

Qs: Can your application if written in Flex;

1) can it open/close files, in Flex?

2) FTP stuff across, open network connections?

3) can it work offline?

If ActionScript is simply a scripting language in the browser, then I doubt it can do the above. So why the hype? - Anil

fauxto2• 19 years ago

http://flexblog.faratasystems.com/?p=115

The answer to the initial question, "Is Actionscript 3 a 'real' programming language?" depends entirely on who you're asking.

1) Flex application run in a sandbox, much as Java applets do. Locally, and currently, Flex applications can open files for parsing, but can not write to them. This is remedied with Apollo which is in alpha. Apollo is essentially a Flex application wrapper that provides a file system API, among other things.

2) This really becomes a question of whether or not someone is inclined enough to write the necessary Actionscript 3 as it supports binary sockets and byte arrays currently. Someone has already created a ZIP library.

3) Again, when Apollo launches, then yes. Although, a Flex application can run offline should it not require file system access, and even then files can be opened, just not written to.

Actionscript runs in a VM just as Java does, which is irrelevant given that the questions you're asking are entirely arbitrary. The answers to which only tangentially, and tenuously, provide support in defining whether or not a programming language is 'real'.

In the interests of providing my own answer... I would say no, it's not quite a 'real' programming language.

juwo10• 19 years ago

My interest was - juwo has no users apart from myself. I was wondering about rewriting it in flex.

ryantmulligan• 19 years ago

The hype is because you can possibly simplify rich websites by fitting your web content into the standardized widgets that Flex provides you, thus speeding up development a lot.

danw2• 19 years ago

I think flex will be the perfect platform for mobile devices where the offline/online is needed more.

danw2• 19 years ago

ECMAScript (the standard that action script is built upon) is turing complete, therefore Actionscript is a real language.

fauxto2• 19 years ago

Touche.

jaggederest3• 19 years ago

Why would you want to compare it to java? Ye gods man, java/c/c++/c# aren't exactly the kind of languages I'd want a new language to compare with.

Python, Ruby, Haskell98, ocaml, etc. Consider those your languages that set the bar right now. Java is 'the new' C.

juwo10• 19 years ago

Never heard of them. (heard of ruby only here, in YC).

old wine in new bottles.

if-then-else by any other name... is just as tedious.

jaggederest3• 19 years ago

heh, that's what you think. Try building anything substantial in one of the languages I named and then going back to java.

Ruby programs are maybe a tenth the size, give or take,

Python similarly small.

Haskell will blow your mind because you basically never use control structures or type declarations.

Continuation-passing scheme, smalltalk, erlang...

Any of these things will change the way you develop, probably immensely for the better.

dpapathanasiou3• 19 years ago

old wine in new bottles

No, it's the difference between Turing imperative (e.g. C++, Java, etc.) and Lamdba calculus (lisp, erlang, ocaml, etc.) which is significant.

woot2• 19 years ago

Yes , it can be used to build applications with those capabilities. But depends on how you implement it ..just like Java. When implemented in browser, most of the sandbox restrictions apply.[Like java applets]. But when implemented in a desktop environment [using an OS dependent wrapper or on top of runtime like Apollo], it can write files to disk and do otherwise taboo karmas.

For updates on whats going on in actionscript community[or Adobe technologies in general], subscribe to Adobe's MXNA . Some of the finest Actionscript coders can be found at flashcoders pipermail list. [chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/private/flashcoders/]

For an opensource perspective on Flash and Actionscript visit: osflash.org

Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

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