XAML + Flash = Xamlon Flash Edition
I was browsing around a few blogs and ended up at the Xamlon website today, and noticed that they now have a Flash Edition.
What is Xamlon?
Xamlon aims to allow developers to utilise the ease of XAML to develop their own User Interfaces.
I remember reading back in October 2003, one of the blogs on weblogs.asp.net or maybe a blog linked off there, one guy was saying how impressed he was of XAML after attending PDC ’03 that he wanted to develop a parser that could parse XAML syntax and utilise today’s .NET framework.
A few weeks later, I remember the developer mentioned Xamlon.
That was 2003, and now they have a version that will run on the Compact Framework.NET, as well as one that will convert what you do using .NET into Flash.
Anyway, this Flash version means that you can deploy the app anywhere and run off any OS that supports Flash. So that’s very cool!
Actually, what is really cool is that after your C#/VB.NET or J# (or other .NET language) gets compiled into IL, this Xamlon Flash compiler will convert that into Flash.
That’s pretty cool. So essentially, it is a IL to Flash converter.
Robin Debreuil, who was doing a C# to SWF compiler, is actually the one responsible for this really cool Xamlon Flash compiler.
You can have a play around with it online here.
And then you can go download the beta version from there, and you can tell Robin Debrueil what you think of it on his blog.
I think it is a reduced subset of the actual XAML syntax, but still, it’s quite powerful.
Oh, and while we’re on the Xamlon page of things, I’d just like to make mention of their very useful SVG to XAML converter.
This assists in the process of importing a Vector image in the SVG format over to XAML.
This means you can design your UI in say Adobe Illustrator, then import it over to XAML using just this simple tool (this is actually the original reason why I visited the Xamlon website today.).
I think this Flash edition has enourmous potential, I think it’ll be a paid product later, but you can go evaluate it now for nothing 
Nearly everyone has Flash installed on their systems in some way or form.
Ah yes, my vision from a previous post about the Future of Web Based UIs.
Hopefully, we’ll see more and more Flash based UIs, and not just used for the sake of using it. But actual nice user interfaces with an end result of an excellent User Experience.
It’s all about the User Experience. First impressions are lasting, the subsequent impressions leave an aftertaste. Whether pleasant or otherwise