Use Adobe SWF Investigator to test, debug Flash apps
If you need to investigate the inner workings of an SWF applet then there are plenty of great free tools around that can help (Flashbug being particularly useful). It seems these are now going to have some major and official competition, though, as Adobe Labs have just released a major inspection tool of their own in the new SWF Investigator.
Open the SWF file of your choice -- either locally, or online -- and the program will tell you much more about it. The SWF Info tab displays its tags, exported classes and header information; the Disassembler works with ActionScript 2.0 or 3.0 content to give you an idea of the original code; the Hex Viewer allows you to view and edit the raw SWF bytes, and the Strings pane displays any embedded strings within ActionScript 3.0 content.
Don't forget Visual Studio 11 and .NET Framework 4.5 betas!
Microsoft has released betas of its various Visual Studio 11 editions -- Ultimate, Premium, Professional, Test Professional and Express -- along with Team Foundation Server and the .NET Framework 4.5.
And of course it’s no coincidence that the latest version of the IDE has arrived on the same day as the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Visual Studio is all about developing for Windows 8, and its integrated tools for publishing directly to the new Windows App Store will make it much easier for developers to reach a potentially huge market.
Adobe pushes mandataory Beta 6 update for 'Muse' design tool
Adobe "Muse" is a piece of desktop software from the InDesign team that lets graphic designers create websites in a purely graphical format without the need to manually enter any HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. On Wednesday evening, Adobe rolled out the beta 6 build of Muse that includes more than 80 updates and performance enhancements.
This is a mandatory update because Adobe has changed the install and update mechanism of the software. Once this beta is downloaded and installed, future beta builds will be sent automatically. The initial release of Muse is expected to be some time in early 2012, under a different name, as a subscription-only product.
Has the 'App Economy' landed you a job?
A new study from CEO network TechNet suggests that the surge in smartphone and device app development has created 466,000 jobs since 2007, welcome news for those looking for positives in an otherwise tough economy. But has it landed you a job?
The study, conducted by former chief economist for BusinessWeek Dr. Michael Mandel took into account not only the "pure" app development firms like Zynga, but also companies where apps have become a necessary secondary business such as Electronic Arts or Amazon, and even those providing infrastructure and platform support for the App Economy including Google, Apple, and Facebook.
Hangout at the Google+ developer page
Well, it took long enough. Google waited until passing 100 million G+ users before opening a platform developer page. What? You think only Facebook has a social network platform agenda? Google has ambitions, too.
Perhaps the big thing will be the weekly Hangouts, where Google+ developers can get the lowdown. It's nothing on the scale of Microsoft's Channel 9 (Say didn't Vic Gundotra have a hand in both Nine and G+?). Channel 9 is more about broadcasting developer information, while Hangouts are live and more interactive.
Microsoft opens hardware acceleration spec for C++ ahead of Visual Studio 11 beta
Microsoft on Friday announced the publication of the C++ Accelerated Massive Parallelism (AMP) specification under the Microsoft Community Promise license. This specification lets C++ developers write programs that can compile and execute on data-parallel hardware like discrete graphics cards or the SIMD vector instruction set in a processor. It can also be thought of as hardware acceleration.
Soma Somasegar, the Vice President of Microsoft's Developer Division, revealed last summer that the company was working on support for parallelism in the next version of Visual Studio.
I've redone the Windows 8 architecture slide (so you won't have to)
Mary-Jo Foley's article about a slide shown at last year's Microsoft BUILD conference raises uncertainties that bug me as a developer. It's the graphic that attempts to lay out the architecture of Windows 8, particularly in relation to Metro versus the Desktop. As a long-time Windows API programmer, I regard this graphic as the most important yet about Windows 8. Something doesn't seem right!
Somehow all the different interpretations of this chart don't make sense to me. Something's not right, especially the position the Win32 API is given. So I decided to do some digging to see if I could uncover what is really going on under the hood.
Don't cry for me Las Vegas, Microsoft cancels MIX!
In December, Microsoft pulled out of the Consumer Electronics Show starting with next year's event. The rationale: Smaller, Microsoft events are more beneficial to everyone -- the company, attendees and customers for starters. Hey, that makes sense to me. So then, why is the software giant suddenly pulling one of its most-important developer events of the year? Without fanfare, or even a proper burial, MIX is over. Not just MIX 2012, but the entire event. Poof! Gone! Outta here!
Tim O’Brien, Developer & Platform Evangelism general manager, broke the news on the Official Microsoft Blog early this afternoon. Considering how hot and heavy Microsoft is about the Cloud right now and release this year of Internet Explorer 10 and Windows 8, timeing sure seems strange.
Compact software development is IN, bloat is OUT!
For years I have discussed with others about how software development should get back to basics, using native code (rather than scripting languages) by using compilers optimized for creating fast and compact applications.
A recent TIOBE index reemphasizes this point.
Android, not iOS, will win over developers
Android will replace iOS as the most important platform to developers within the next 12 months, British analyst firm Ovum says. It also notes an increased interest in Windows Phone and BlackBerry OS, and sees a move towards web standards in development over proprietary technologies.
Timing is surprising. Tomorrow, Apple will announce fourth calendar quarter earnings, where analysts expect record iOS device sales. Despite these platform gains, developer attention shifts to Android.
Decompile Flash files with HP SwfScan
Pay a visit to HP’s download pages and for the most part you know exactly what you’re going to get: drivers, manuals and all the usual installation software you’d expect from the company’s wide range of products.
Look a little closer, though, and you’ll also find one or two more generally interesting freebies. And so HP’s Web Security Application Group, for instance, has produced a tool called SwfScan, which can both decompile SWF applets and analyze them for security vulnerabilities.
Microsoft releases Silverlight 5, includes new tools for 3D game development
Microsoft has released the complete version of Silverlight 5, the company's latest version of its rich Web application framework. This update was first revealed nearly one year ago at Microsoft's Firestarter developer event.
Microsoft pushed out the final release on Friday, just about four months after the first release candidate, and included with it the ninth version of the Silverlight Toolkit.
Developer exposes critical iOS flaw, Apple revokes App Store privileges
After you read this story, ask yourself: what would be the public response if Microsoft did this?
Apple is apparently unhappy with the security researcher who snuck a malicious app onto its App Store to expose a flaw in iOS, and has kicked him out of its developer program. Accuvant Labs researcher Charlie Miller published financial app InstaStock -- connected to a server that he operated. Miller effectively had complete control of that device, once the user installed the app. The proof of concept is in the YouTube video shown above.
Microsoft WebMatrix 2 beta available -- get it now!
Microsoft has released the first beta of WebMatrix 2, a powerful development tool that makes it easier than ever to build web applications; and as with the previous version, the program packs a raft of essential features into a simple and straightforward interface.
The installation process equips your PC with several core development components, for instance, including SQL Server Compact 4.0 and IIS 7.5 Express. And then you can build sites from an improved set of templates (“Bakery”, “Photo Gallery”, “Calendar”, “Personal Site”, and so on) or a lengthy list of popular web applications: DotNetNuke, WordPress, Drupal, SugarCRM, phpBB, Tiki Wiki, Joomla! and more (there’s support for 59 in total). Just choose your preferred application and WebMatrix 2 will download and install it for you.
WireframeSketcher: user interface mock-ups made fast and easy
The days of using a drawing board are not quite behind use, and when it comes to sketching out a quick idea for a website, or even a program interface, it is quite common to reach for a pen and paper rather than a computer. But this may change if WireframeSketcher has anything to do with it. This is a design application that makes it easy to create rough mockups for websites and applications.
Whether you are designing for the Internet, Windows, Mac or mobile platforms, WireframeSketcher can be used to quickly knock up an interface. The program can be used on solo projects, but there are also tools for collaborative work. There is an extensive library of page and interface elements that can be dragged and dropped onto your workspace to create an interface design in moments.
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