5 Ways iOS is better and worse than Flash

Arpit MathurPhiladelphia Flex User Group

Some introductions…Software Engineer at Comcast Innovation Labs

Flash/Flex developer for 5 years

Experience with very different UI technologies including Java Swing/AWT, SWT, JavaScript/DHTML, etc

Developer on the XfinityTV Application

Setting the stage

Xcode ~ Flex Builder

Interface Builder ~ Flash IDE

Objective C ~ ActionScript

Core Graphics ~ flash.graphics.*

Core Animation ~ TweenLite / fl.transitions.*

XIBs ~ Flash Symbols

UIKit ~ Flex / Fl Component Framework

iOS Application Architecture

Views(UIViews)

XIBs

View Controllers(UIViewControlle

r)

Application(UIApplicationDelegate

)

Models

Quick Example

The Good

#1: Enforced MVC

UIView

UIViewController

#2: NSNotificationCenter

#2: NSNotificationCenter

BEWARE OVERUSE !!!

#3 User Interface Experience Framework

#3 User Interface Experience Framework

“Make Designing the right way the path of

least resistance.”

#4 Animation Blocks and Core Animation

Core Animation

Layer Backed (cache’s the last appearance of the view)

Potentially thousands of layers

Filters, Transitions

OpenGL backed

Don’t clip to bounds by default!

While animating, it’s the cached image that’s moving around. So unlike Flash, you cant interact with it.

#5 Objective C Gravy

Class + Interface Declarations

Enums

Messaging null objects (mixed feelings)

Key Value Observing (a-la AS2 watch)

The Bad

#1: Device Provisioning

http://www.bunnyhero.org/2011/02/21/an-ios-dev-comic/

#2: No guaranteed constructor

Init

InitWithNibName

InitWithFrame

InitWithRect

InitWithCoder

#3: Memory Management

Object

Copy Retain

Assign

#4: Touch Event Propagation

#5: Tooling

Device testing against multiple OS versions

Interface Builder craziness

Window management

.proj file conflicts

Folders in Xcode

Download size

Linkshttp://goo.gl/ZBsYC

Thanks

Twitter: @arpit

Blog: http://arpitonline.com/blog/