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When it comes to mass consumer applications design is always the first and perhaps the most important quality - along with usefulness and usability. Adobe has been talking a lot about integration between Flex and their design tools found in Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3). The thinking goes like this: Flex is better for RIA because it has tighter integration with design tools which allows designers and developers to focus on their core competencies while working with a common set of tools and file formats.
It seems that Microsoft agrees as they have created their own set of design tools and also talk about compatibility and integration between those tools and Silverlight. What's a RIA company without a design tool to do? Write plug-ins!
The folks developing JavaFX have taken the rather pragmatic approach of writing plug-ins to Adobe's CS3 products rather than create their own design tools. Seems pretty smart to me. By using the plug-in architecture of CS3 products they get the same benefits as Adobe does without having to create their own suite of design applications.
To get a feel for how that works, take a gander at this video created by JavaFX designer, Jeff Hoffman
The question is: If any vendor can write plug-ins for Adobe's CS3 products (assuming they are given licensing) does that neutralize one of Adobe's and Microsoft's most important competitive advantages: integration with design tools?
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"Does that neutralize one of Adobe's... most important competitive advantages: integration with design tools?"
Project Nile is currently a pair of export plugins for Adobe creative tools, allowing them to produce the output formats and naming requirements that the nascent Java FX will require:
http://java.sun.com/javafx/reference/releasenotes/project-nile-release-notes.html
Tasks needing attention beyond simple one-time export would include roundtrip editing workflow, metadata support, exposure of runtime properties during authoring, text properties across environments, cross-environment styling support, live filtering, so on... a one-time export plugin is the first step on the path to workflow integration.
jd/adobe
If people buy Adobe's tools (CS3) to develop for JavaFX, I really can't see that causing Adobe problems. It might be a significant problem for Microsoft though.
I agree with Aaron. I see it as a potential problem for Microsoft since most designers in the industry are using Adobe products already. So a development shop wishing to use JavaFX may not incur as much of a startup cost as they would if they decided to go the Microsoft route which requires new software. Plus they wouldn't necessarily be stuck on the Windows platform for development.
And if the developer is already comfortable with using design tools as part of their workflow then chances are they already have Adobe products installed.
I would think it would be in Adobe's best interest to encourage such developments. One aspect is that it does provide the possibility of increased software sales. But another is that if people have the software installed for one purpose maybe they'll try out the other features for other purposes.
From: http://www.sun.com/software/javafx/index.jsp
"...JavaFX technology will provide a suite of tools and authoring solutions that enable unprecedented collaboration between designers and developers. "
Now we know how they are accomplishing that bold mission -- on the coattails of Adobe.
The good news is that Sun admits that Adobe's developers [already] have unprecedented collaboration ability in the CS toolset. And we all know, if Sun says it, it *must* be true. :)