Ok, so with the release of Flex Builder 4 (Gumbo) firmly on the horizon, I think its high time to take a look at some of its new features. After the major revelation of ActionScript 3 and Flex 3, I think we all as developers hope for a smooth transition in to the new version of Flex.
Perhaps the biggest (and most useful) new feature of Flex 4 is that we can now, finally, create file templates. This is a huge advantage and will save developers lots of time when creating applications. Elements such as view stack navigators can now be templated and used in multiple projects.
The new release will also include auto generated event handlers. Some may find this useful, others may not. Either way, its a clever feature which will surely save developers time. In my opinion, I like the idea. I often find myself repeating myself over and over again when developing Flex Apps. For example; create a new event, write a result handler, write a fault handler then repeat for the next event. It may take some getting used to but I think its a cool feature. High five Adobe!
Life saver and often my saving grace, the Flex Debugger has just receieved a boost! Break points can now be conditional. In Flex 3 and previous versions, a break point would simply stop the application when it arrives at that break point. When Flex 4 is released, developers will be able to define conditions for breakpoints, allowing the application to continue or stop depending on the conditions.
Of course there are lots more features that will be new to Flex 4 and these will be blogged as soon as Adobe makes announcements. The above are in my opinion (for now) the most infuencial and my favourite. I'm really looking forward to the release of Flex 4. Do we need it? Yes, I think Flex is an ever maturing technology and I am pleased to see that it is here to stay.
