[CoLoCo] Is creating something in flash == programming?

[Kevin Fries]

On Tue, 2008-04-08 at 08:41 -0600, Jim Hutchinson wrote:
> I will get the source code. I have the original flash file for one and
> the other is to be delivered today. I can bring it to the meeting
> tonight. Maybe you would have a chance to look at it and let me know
> what you think.

If you like Jim, I have been playing with AIR to communicate to a RoR
back end.  Some of the stuff you can do in Flash is impressive.  So, if
you want to send it to me, I would be willing to evaluate it also.

> Personally, it seems too much like programming with legos to be called
> Programming.

Funny, I always thought programming with Legos was allot like Visual
Basic, lol

>  I've written a couple bash and python scrips which while lame were
> still "entering the code from a keyboard one character at a time".

The Flex and Air derivations of Flash (all produce the same end file to
use the same rendering engine, telling them apart can only be done at
the source code level) can get extremely complex, more complex than I
would expect out of a pre to early teen.  You can allocate all kinds of
widgets from a waggy tailed dog to a simple text edit control.  Then map
those to actions or even database tables.  Flash can actually be used to
create an extremely user friendly front end to a Quicken like program if
somebody wanted to write it.  Most of the mapping is not done point and
click.  I usually use Eclipse modules/plugins.  Most of the mappings are
done in XML with a proprietary (but openly available) schema.

>  The one animation has about 10 if-then statements to control which
> frame to go to and nothing else. I don't think that can be counted for
> much. I haven't seen the other code yet.

Yea, that is what I would expect out of this age group.  If it were me,
I would forget the pre-conceptions of Flash, and understand that much of
the Flash programming could be done in a conventional editor, and look
at the logic without the fancy graphics.  With if-then-else structures,
it must be making decisions based upon something: keyboard input maybe;
or avoiding the edge of the screen, in which case it should have some
logic to detect this situation; maybe random movement based upon a
random number generator; timing must be done via some type of sleep
command; etc.  I would judge the code 100% on that.  And if that code
seems out of sync sophistication wise with the if-then-else decision
structure, you have a good indication that they used a generator, and I
would disqualify based upon that.

The funny thing is that this programmer could be the quintessential
Microsoft programmer, all flashy graphics with little if any
sophistication, and could be ruled as not winning to somebody that put
in real work... In that case expect endless appeals from his lawyers
until you finally prevail or you run out of money (ok, that was mostly
for my own amusement, enjoy if you want)


HTH

-- 
Kevin Fries
Senior Linux Engineer
Computer and Communications Technology, Inc
A Division of Japan Communications Inc.