FlexMap replaced with Yahoo! Maps AS3 Communication Kit
I knew I ran the risk of releasing something that would be replaced soon enough. I think less than 24 hours might be a record though.
The Yahoo! team released a set of AS3 API Libraries and they addressed the need for a map solution with the Yahoo! Maps AS3 Communication Kit. One of my blog commentors pointed out that these AS3 libraries would be released today and I responded by my willingness to bet that they wouldn't release an updated map component for Flex 2. Technically I think we both were right. The communication kit that was released follows the same basic approach of loading a Flash 8 SWF which contains the Yahoo! Flash map component, only it uses a nice ExternalInterface service, not to mention the API is much more complete than what I had whipped up so far.
The great thing about the libraries is that, at least for the moment, they're distributed as source code. Personally I always like to get the source and its nice to see the trend of releasing source code continue with big companies like Yahoo!
FlexMap, it was fun while it lasted. Am I bummed? No! I'm happy that Yahoo! has released a sweet AS3 library and addressed the need for a Flex 2 map API. Yahoo! continues to provide the Flash community with tools to make interesting web applications.
I'm still happy I followed through with it for a few reasons:
You never know when the official solution for something will actually come out. You can either suck it up and just write it or just keep delaying until it finally comes out.
It was an interesting problem to address. I like hacking, so coming up with a solution that worked was rewarding.
I followed through with something, which isn't something I'm always good at when it comes to personal projects (ie. projects that don't pay the rent).
I setup a project site on code.google.com (which is a really great service) and actually "released" something which in my mind means packaging something up with some basic documentation and release notes. Usually I just slap my code up as is and say have fun.
I have some other ideas for things that I'd like to work on but maybe this time I'll try to stick to something that's a little more unique and has less risk of being defunct after a few hours.
Tim Walling
Co-Founder at Connected Sports Ventures
blog@timwalling.com
