I’m delighted to interview Rob Zwiercan, one of the developers from Hatchling.com who have so far produced two stunning AIR applications – First Tracks and Flaivor.
RA: Why did you decide to create an AIR application? What were your thoughts on creating it on AIR ?
RZ Our first AIR app, Flaivor, originally was just a test to see what we could do with AIR, but turned into a full project. Our thought behind both projects, Flaivor and First Tracks, was to develop applications with basic interfaces that anyone could and would want use. Not just developers or power web users.
Because I’ve been writing Flash ActionScript for several years, using AIR was just a natural progression. There were a few things that needed to be researched, but for these two projects, the transition was pretty simple.
RA: What technology did you use with Adobe AIR and why ? – (meaning Flex or XHTML, vanilla ActionScript Flash etc) ?
RZ Flash ActionScript 3.0, XML, Tweener, Google Maps API. Again, it was a natural progression from Flash ActionScript to AIR. Also, by using Flash ActionScript, and depending on the application, the SWF can also be deployed to the web with relatively few modifications.
RA: What did you really like when working with Adobe AIR ?
RZ Really, the idea that anything is possible now, unlike straight Flash ActionScript. Reading, writing, uploading data, all within one language. Also, the deployment is simple using the badge installer provided by Adobe. The real challenge now is coming up with good ideas for applications.
RA: What did you dislike ?
RZ If you don’t have a sercuity certificate for your application, the install window is rather ominous to users of an unfamilliar platform. I also wish there was more documentation, sample files, and tutorials, around. The community is growing, but it can be challenging at times to find the solution to a coding issue. Overall it’s very exciting platform to develop for.
Thanks Rob for your giving up your time for this interview. So check out both Flaivor and First Tracks from Hatchling.com I’m sure they have many more great AIR applications to come.
