In hopes that this site will be an aid to people learning Flash or Flex, I’d like to list some software which may be useful in working with the files offered here. Much of the software is free and open-source, the only commercial tools listed reasonably being the very best for working with Flash and Flex.
At version 3 as of this writing, Flex Builder is Adobe’s flagship Flex development tool and it is currently the most powerful and capable of the tools listed for development of Flex MXML projects, though for newbies, it may appear a bit unwieldy. It looks and works like a standard IDE (Integrated Development Environment), so designers accustomed to working with software such as Dreamweaver or the Flash authoring environment may be a bit dismayed. However, there are numerous video tutorials offered on the web which cover the basics of how to get started using Flex Builder.
There simply is no better development tool for working with Flash, in general, than Adobe’s own Flash authoring environment, currently at version CS4. Flex Builder caters to Flex/MXML development with a special focus on development using a programming paradigm whereas Flash has more of a designer approach to development with a special focus on Actionscript. As is the case with Flex Builder, Flash is quite a beast of a program and besides requiring a bit of time to load, it has more costly resource requirements. For that reason, some people choose to use some of the free software listed below.
For Actionscript development, one would be hard pressed to find a better tool than FlashDevelop. It’s been built solely for Flash development and as opposed to using an IDE with Actionscript language plugins, it really makes the task of Actionscript development and debugging a less tedious procedure. It’s been extended to handle development of MXML projects also and may very well be the best option available to those on a limited budget, given that it’s totally free. It’s only available for Windows, but those working with Mac or Linux will likely find comfort in using the development tools built into those operating systems.
Notepad++ is an awesome development tool built and extended from SciTE, an excellent, open-source IDE. Notepad++ offers numerous, powerful features on top of the robust list of features built into SciTE. Notepad++ comes installed with capabilities of handling the Actionscript language and it’s support for HTML and/or XML make it easy to work with MXML, though it’s capabilities are far more limited as opposed to using FlashDevelop or Flex Builder. It is only available for Windows, but as with FlashDevelop above, those working with Mac or Linux will likely prefer using the native development tools built into those operating systems.
SciTE is the open-source, cross-platform IDE from which basis hordes of development tools have been built, Notepad++ being a key example. It handles Actionscript and MXML development as well as Notepad++, though it does lack some very powerful features built into Notepad++. However, since it is cross-platform, there are developers who would prefer to use it over any other tool so that they can use the same development tool no matter which operating system they’re using.
Gedit is the text-editor/IDE of choice built into many Linux distributions, including the very popular Ubuntu. It’s as capable an Actionscript/MXML editor as Notepad++ and SciTE and given that it’s built into many Linux distributions, the hassle of installing it would be removed.
I’ve not had the opportunity to work with XCode, Mac OSX’s IDE of choice, but from what I hear from people, it’s pure pleasure. It’s a great decision for Apple to have included it for free with the Mac operating system and given that it shares the design elements of all Mac-built software, there really is no better tool for development on a Mac in general. However, since Flex Builder is available for Mac, that really would be the optimal development tool for Actionscript/MXML development, but then XCode wouldn’t cost a Mac owner a thing.