Sean “the flex guy” Moore is a highly visible blogger in the Flex Community. He has been developing web applications for 12 years now and it’s no surprise that he was chosen to be a Flex Developer Community Champion by Adobe for his hard work and dedication to the Community.
FlachSope decided to interview this prominent Flash Developer, and luckily Sean agreed to answer some of our questions:

FS: Can you share with us a little bit of your history? Was there a turning-point in your life when you decided to cast your lot with web development?

Sean: I got into multimedia and programming in 1997. Lingo was my first programming language, shortly after that I studied HTML, JavaScript, Visual Basic, Perl and ASP. I messed with Java a little back then but never got into it too much. I’ve recently starting learning a lot more about Java. My first job out of college was doing CBT programming with Authorware. This was when Flash was just first coming out and gaining some ground. I started messing around with Flash in my free time and really liked it. My second job was doing web design and development for a mortgage technology company. That’s when I started doing a lot of Flash work, both animation and scripting. I think Flash 3 was just being released at this time. I had a good amount of experience with Director, Lingo, Authorware and Dreamweaver so Flash and ActionScript weren’t too hard to pick up. My next job was for an Learning company where I was a full time Flash developer for over four years. When I started that job we used AS1 and Flash MX. AS2 was released while I was working there so we ended up doing a lot of code migration from AS1 to AS2. In 2006 AS3 was really gaining some attraction so I started getting more serious about learning it and Flex. In 2007 I started doing freelance work for AS3 and Flex based projects. In 2008 I started Kannopy, Inc. and have been running the company and working with various clients ever since. Kannopy was the first company to focus on Adobe AIR development.

FS: As everyone knows, you have excellent experience in multimedia and application development. How
long have you been engaged in it?

Sean: I’ve been involved with multimedia and software development for about thirteen years. Believe it or not
I wasn’t really into computers at all until I was about twenty. I used to be heavily involved with art and
music. I started college to become a traditional illustrator doing marker rendering, etc. While in college I
started playing with Photoshop, Director, HTML, JavaScript and VB. The creativity that could be
expressed through interactivity using Director and HTML/JavaScript really moved me. I was determined
to learn how to program and just went for it. The college I attended didn’t really have a “Web
Development” degree or anything. It was either Multimedia or Computer Science. I majored in
Multimedia but it focused more on visual design than programming. I deviated from the degree program
and started taking Comp Sci classes along with the Multimedia classes I thought would be beneficial. At
first I had a pretty tough time grasping the core programming concepts as I wasn’t a huge math guy or
anything in school and this was all pretty new to me. I wasn’t the kid that started programming when he
was five or anything like that. After about a year I finally started understanding the basic concepts of
programming. When I was at the full time Flash job I really got a handle on OOP. I worked with a really
great Java coder who helped me a lot. When I first got into all of this I used to do a lot more design,
animation and 3D work which I do miss sometimes.

FS: You have been involved with the development of numerous Flex and AIR applications. What of these
professional experiences did you enjoy the most? And what is the one you are proud of most?

Sean: Working with Adobe has probably been the best experience so far. The team and talent there is just
beyond awesome and it’s always a great learning experience. I’ve grown a lot by working with them.
Another really great client was Intridea. I worked on an open source AIR application for them. I really
enjoyed working on that project. They were hands off and understood that building quality software
takes time. They allowed me to take the time to use best practices and unit testing. I was also allowed to
fully comment the codebase and produce ASDoc for it. Not all clients understand that these things will
really help the app in the long run. Another really awesome experience has been writing for O’Reilly.
That was a long term goal I set for myself in my twenties and I achieved it. I’m also doing some tech
reviewing for them at the moment. Working with them and Adobe have been two of my biggest dreams.
The full time Flash job I had with techniques.org was also a great experience. That was probably the best
“job” I ever had. That job really contributed to where I am today. (Thanks Ryan, Tim and Joe!!) I’ve also
had the opportunity to work with and become friends with Eric Feminella. He was one of my Flash
heroes and I always read his blog and looked up to him. I contacted him in 2007 about some project
work and he got back to me. I was ecstatic for several days. We’ve worked together on a few projects
since. I consider him my mentor and one of the best Flex developers I’ve ever had the pleasure of
working with. One other experience that was pretty unreal was working with 2Advanced. I had admired
them for years. I was honored to work with them. Another awesome experience was being a guest on
The Flex Show Podcast.

FS: What is the main thing (or crucial moment) when you start a new project? What’s more important to
you – your personal vision or a customer’s opinion?

Sean: The main thing when starting a new project is communication and understanding. The client needs to
know what they want and I need to know what’s expected as the final result. The client’s vision is the
most important thing — period. They need to know what they want to build, understand that building it
will take time and also realize that any quality application takes money to build. Software development
is a time intensive process. It takes money to build quality software. I think there are several crucial
moments when starting the project from a technical viewpoint. Creating an outline of all tasks involved
is important. Creating a design document that discusses how those tasks will be accomplished is also
important. Both of these can give both the client and the developer a general sense of how long the
entire process will take. It also can minimize any surprises about what the client needs and what gets
built. Test Driven Development is important. Proper code documentation is important. Following best
practices and coding standards is important. Using an application development framework is also
important.

FS: Describe how your work process usually flows, how do you like to start, what are the key points to
consider, etc.?

Sean: It depends on the client and the project. When I’m working one on one with a client the process usually
goes something like:
• Exchange NDAs
• Understand what the client wants to build
• Review existing application if they have it (sometimes non Flex based)
• Try to get a feel for some of the details of the app from the client and/or existing application
• Generate a general time/cost estimate for the tasks that can be identified
• Establish cost estimate
• Negotiate cost and timeline
• Start the overall technical design
• Work with client to agree that technical design and program operation and features are correct
• Refine technical design based on client input
• Begin development
• Set up core framework
• Set up unit testing framework
• Create Ant tasks
• Coding / TDD
• Manually test application as development proceeds
• Skinning (if required)
• Run Profiler and Process Explorer to identify any major bottlenecks throughout dev process
• Send weekly builds and invoice throughout dev process
• Review code comments and generate final ASDoc for project
• Send final application to client
• Address any final issues or changes
• Check finished code and ASDoc into SVN
• Send final build to client
• Maintenance
• Add new features and/or fix and bugs that arise
When I start a new project I refine my estimate into more of a task list and start the architecture and
technical design from there. I’ll set up the core framework and unit testing framework. I’ll create the Ant
tasks to build the project and generate the ASDoc. I have an SVN server and will check the code in and
create an account for the client so they can always access the source. I try to invoice the client and send
a build of the application weekly. I’ll also make sure to commit the source code to SVN when sending the
invoice and build. When I send this to them I’ll send an email with an update and outline of the work
that’s been done. This process seems to work the best. It also gives the client an opportunity to test the
software and see progress. Every project is different though. Projects that are being built from the
ground up are generally best to fit into this process. Projects that only require debugging and refactoring
can also fit into this process with some modification.

FS: You also have created a great deal of reference material, articles, presentations and technical reviews.
What helps you stay creative and be in touch with the situation in the world of web development?

Sean: I have a real passion for Flash Platform development. I think the creativity and community is really what
drew me into it. There aren’t a lot of other development communities that are so open to share ideas
and code. In addition a lot of the old school Flash guys are skaters, punk rockers, etc. People I can
associate with. This sharing and creative nature has really pushed me to contribute back to the
community who is always willing to share and help. I have always been a really creative person. I’m also
a musician, cook and artist. Sometimes inspiration is difficult to find but I’ve found that looking at other
places besides the tech world is often the best place to start. Constant training is another thing that I
always make sure to do. I took an Advanced Java class at UCSD in the beginning of 2009 and it was a
great experience. I try to attend Flash/Flex based training and/or conferences whenever possible as
well.

FS: What is the best framework for web application on AS3, to your opinion?

Sean: I don’t know if there is one “best” framework. It usually depends on the project/application. I personally
have used Cairngorm a lot. Mostly because it’s been around for a while, it’s pretty proven and any Flex
developer that’s worth their salt knows it. There are issues with Cairngorm but it’s still a good
framework. I’ve done a lot of Flash development in the past and have seen some Flash (and Flex)
projects and codebases that would make your grandma cry. Frameworks provide a structured place to
put things. This leads to good organization and help avoid the “code all over the F’n place syndrome”.
That helps in always knowing where to look to find things. It’s like putting your dishes away; if you
always put them in the same place you don’t have to search to find your tablespoon or potato masher.
Everything has a home! Recently I’ve been getting into Parsley a lot more and it’s really awesome. I think
the trend toward IoC will continue into 2010 for sure. There are some issues with Parsley as well, but no
framework is going to be perfect. Cairngorm 3 is also something I’ve been getting into more. It’s not so
much of a framework as it is a collection of libraries and best practices. One framework I’d like to work
with more is RobotLegs.

FS: Speaking about Flash development, what main directions can you point out? What can you tell about
Flash and 3D?

Sean: The iPhone support coming in Flash CS5 is definitely worth looking into. I’d say Flex 4 is going to be
pretty major. The Slider framework looks pretty interesting. AIR 2.0 is going to provide a bunch of cool
new functionality. FlexPMD is really cool. The new version of Flex Unit looks killer too. Regarding 3D I’d
say keep an eye on Papervision. It’s the one 3D library I’ve worked with extensively. It’s pretty solid and
has been used widely. Another thing I want to do is spend some time with the native 3D support in AS3.

FS: What do you think about Flash integration with the other products?

Sean: There is of course the iPhone and Android. I’d like to target both using the Flex SDK. We’ll see if that
happens. Other than that AIR is being used more and more in non-traditional environments. I’m highly
interested in applications that target devices other than a desktop/laptop computer. I’ve worked on
some AIR apps that did not target traditional computers and they were pretty cool. The work being done
with Arduino is awesome!

FS: What blogs or magazine articles would you suggest reading for information?

Sean: The Adobe aggregator is always something to keep an eye on. Other than that I check DZone and
Rededit quite a bit. Stumbleupon is pretty cool. The Adobe Developer Connection is great. Twitter is
really awesome for keeping up to date with what’s going on in the community. Adobe Edge is usually
pretty good. Flash and Flex Developers Magazine is pretty good. I always go to the book store and
search Amazon for new Flash, Flex, ActionScript, Java and General programming/software engineering
books. I’m currently reading Clean Code, Code Complete, The Pragmatic Programmer and 97 Thing Every
Software Architect Should Know. I also usually keep an eye on the blogs: Ted Patrick, Ryan Stewart,
James Ward, Peter Martin, Deepa Subramaniam, Alex Uhlmann, Tom Sugden, Eric Feminella, Paul
Williams, Ely Greenfield, Jesse Warden, Matt Chotin, Doug Mccune, Ben Stucki and a whole bunch of
others I’m forgetting. I also listen to The Flex Show poscast.

Derek Entringer is a talented Interactive Media/Web Application Developer who really loves what he does. His talents include a mixture of multimedia and application development that allows him to create dynamic and engaging projects ranging from full Flash or Director games and websites to web based CRM Applications and Flex projects. The quality of Derek’s work is determined by his vast experience. The projects created by him embody creative and modern ideas and incorporate top-notch functionality into a simple, uncluttered form.

But we got interested first of all in Derek’s activity as an interactive media specialist, as his talents are also specialized in the technologies that allow us to control the dynamic content and give us the ability to collaborate with others online. As it is known, he is a creator of FLV Player – free video player Flash component that have already came into notice of many users and Flash developers due to its significant features. But Derek is famous not only with this project. He has many achievements to his credit.

Well, enough introductions, as Derek willingly agreed to give us several priceless pieces of advice concerning interactive web application development, web design and how to make it a powerful interactive tool between you and your customers.

* * *

Can you share with us a little bit of your history, and also what is the main attraction point that got you into the Flash Platform?

Back in 1999 I was working for a company creating a Microsoft C++ application which allowed users to interactively place office furniture, kitchen fixtures, and cabinetry within a specified floor plan. We were using AutoCad and 3D Studio Max along with our custom application to create these interactive environments. It was very similiar to todays Ikea Office Planner, but it was tied to installing on a users computer. My manager at that time asked me if I wanted to look into something called Macromedia Director to see how we might be able to port over the functionality that we currently had, to something web based. You’ll have to remember that back then, Macromedia was really just starting up to become what it is today. I gladly took on the challenge, and it was my first step into the online interactive media world.

At that time, Flash had just become accepted as a default plugin for MS IE5. It was quite a young development tool, but there was a lot of buzz surrounding it and it was a new and interesting platform. Right about then, I decided that I wanted to further my education, and learn more about interactive media. I knew that things were going to really pick up, and I wanted to be right on the forefront of how the internet was going to change. This was really the starting point for everything that I have accomplished over the last 10 years in regards to Interactive Media, and developing on the Flash Platform.

Now, I’m working as a Independent Contractor under my DerekEntringer.com brand, and am also running FLVPlayer.com.

As everyone knows, you have excellent experience in multimedia and application development. How long have you been engaged in it?

I’ve been developing creative interactive media for about 10 years. How long you have been in the business of Online Interactive Media really can make a difference, but I believe that how well you keep up to date with current online media trends is what can really make you stand out from the crowd.

You were involved into numerous projects ranging from full Flash or Director games and websites to web based CRM Applications and Flex projects. What of these professional experiences did you enjoy the most? And what is the one you are proud of most?

A couple of projects that come to mind would be a few games that I created for Rozerem. While I was working with a Chicago based interactive agency, we created the Rozerem Dreamcatcher Game. The Rozerem Dream Catcher game was created in order to entertain, as well as inform users of the benefits of Rozerem and a goodnight sleep. You may remember the commercials where a man wakes up to find his dreams in his kitchen, instead of him getting a good nights rest.

Rozerem Dream Catcher Game

Two other memorable projects were with a company called ActiveCampaign. We were a two person startup, and we created web based applications. I was involved in the development of SupportTrio, a web based support center app, as well as iSalient, a web based survey app.

SupportTrio	iSalient

The best project thus far though as been my involvement in developing FLV Player, a fully customizable Flash Video Player Component. This is the main focus of my work over the last nine months. It’s been great talking with clients, building up our feature set, and we’re looking forward to where we will be in another six months or so.

What is the main thing (or crucial moment) when you start a new project? What’s more important to you – your personal vision or a customer’s opinion?

If I can be involved in bringing new ideas to the table for a project, that’s really where I have the most fun. Helping my clients fully realize their ideas and how they can improve their web presence is something that I really enjoy. The crucial moment in any project is really knowing what you want to accomplish for an end result, and creating the tools that will get you there.

Over the years and after creating several products that have been sold to thousands of people, I’ve found that customers opinions are really what matters. If you are creating something for a specific audience, you always want to know what else that audience might need or want in relation to what you have created. A personal or company vision always has to be kept in consideration of course, but interacting with your clients or customers is really what it’s all about.

While creating websites, do you usually use any Flash components to speed up the development process? If yes, what ones more frequently?

Video has been huge online lately, and there really seems to be no end to it’s growth. While working with my latest product, FLV Player, I have been also using the component in many of my projects. It’s a great way to get streaming video up and running on a website quick and easy.

I’ve also used a few Papervision 3D Wall components [flashloaded.com], which are great for setting up interactive photo galleries. Another one of my favorite components is Slide Show Pro [slideshowpro.net]. It’s a very polished Flash Component and also works great for photo galleries.

What helps you stay creative and be in touch with the situation in the world of web development? What do you usually do to improve your skills as an Interactive Media/Web Application Developer?

Keeping up to date with how media is being used online is really part of my career. It’s constantly changing, upgrading, and improving on itself on a daily basis. The most important thing you can do is keep in touch with the heart of the interative media world. Attend conferences, talk with other developers in area, follow others in your industry on Twitter, and collaborate with anyone you can.

I believe that improving skills is just as important as keeping up with current interactive media trends. They basically go hand-in-hand. I’ll challenge myself to create new projects outside of what I am already comfortable with. A good example of this would be when AS3 was first released. It was perhaps a little frustrating that everything that I had learned about AS2 was becoming more obsolete, but it was also an opportunity for a new challenge. I made it a point to get going with the new code base as soon as possible, and I did it on my own time instead of waiting for a project that required it. Push yourself, be hungry for change, and the interactive media environment is somewhere you’ll find rewarding.

Do you have people who inspire you? Maybe some Platform Evangelists?

Many people have inspired me throught my career, and in many ways. Co-workers, managers, business owners, friends and family. I really can’t say that any particular Platform Evangelists fit into that list exactly though.

Any advice for people who want to learn Flash?

If you’re looking to get into a career that is always changing, and never really becomes dull in any way, interactive media is really a great industry to be a part of. Flash is really only one piece of that industry, but it’s an important piece. If you’re just starting out, take a few classes at a local college, or go through as many tutorials as you can on GoToAndLearn.com. The web itself is filled with resources to help anyone who is interested in Flash to get started.

Interactive media is a constantly evolving industry, and the most important thing is to always want to learn more.

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Thank you, Derek, for this amazing interview. It was a real pleasure to cooperate with you. Hoping, our readers found this interview interesting and helpful as well.

Flash components are separate full-fledged Flash extensions that can be easily built into your Macromedia Adobe Flash design. Flash components are characterized by their own adjustable parameters and due to self-contained functionality they can be easily integrated into your project and then reused within different Flash projects. Components can include graphics as well as code. For example, a component can be a radio button, a dialog box, a preload bar, a menu bar, or even something that has no graphics at all, such as a timer, a server connection utility, or a custom XML parser. And rather than creating code for these widgets once again by yourself, you may just drag them into your FLA file. So, as you can see, these Flash files are very convenient and greatly save developer’s time. And the main focus for developer here is to create an editable component, built in the same style as the User Interface components. In other words, flash components should be compatible with the opther User Interface components, and there are many conventions that should be followed correctly on order to reach the goal.

Speaking about the exact definition of what a flash component is, we may say that there are as many opinions as there are flash developers. Here is a definition given by O’Reilly Web DevCenter: “The answer to “what is a Flash MX component?” depends partly on your point of view. From a traditional Flash point of view, components are effectively ready-made movie clips that you install and drag into your movies. From a programmer’s point of view, components are customizable building blocks that can be added to an application visually or programmatically and then wired into the application’s logic and data.”

Let’s take a quick look into history. The notion “Flash component” first appeared within Macromedia Flash MX as version 6, released on March 15, 2002. But the predecessor of Flash component initially is considered to be Flash MX’s version of Flash 5 smart clip, which is a movie-clip symbol that allows its clip parameters to be set via a graphical user interface (GUI) in the authoring tool. But from that time components replaced and extended Smart Clips introduced in earlier versions of Flash.

Flash components can be classified for convenience according to the following categories:

- Image effects components;
- Slide show components;
- Photo galleries;
- Text effects;
- Movie Clip effects;
- Flash forms components;
- Audio components;
- Video components;
- Navigation components (scrollbars, buttons, flash menus, etc.)
- Educational project components (flash hints, polls, drag-and-drop, etc.)

Flash components are usually distributed as .mx files. You’ll need the “Extension Manager” to install them. Extension Manager can be downloaded at the Macromedia Flash Exchange. But also code can be distributed in a component, in a .as file included in other .fla files or in a .swf file. The distribution method you choose will depend on your situation.

Now let’s take look at the most widely-used examples of Flash components that greatly simplify the development process and enhance the website functionality.

Flash Photo Gallery. This Flash photo gallery will help you easily post any images on your site in a matter of minutes, it forms a slideshow automatically. The gallery supports multiple categories what helps users sort images into different folders. It also provides an ability to add image descriptions. The gallery generates thumbnail image previews and big previews.

Website menu and navigation. Due to Flash technology the website menu can be presented in the most extraordinary ways, just like this 3D Carousel text menu.

Created by FlashTuning

Or if you are one of the followers of traditional horizontal website menu, this example is for you. It’s a simple menu bar component that reads data from array object. Created by FlashComponents.net

The best way to learn about the components is to use them!

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Additional information about Flash Components:

Macromedia Flash MX Components Overview
Creating components in Macromedia Flash MX
What Is a Flash MX Component?
Creating ActionScript 3.0 components in Flash