[Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

Mon Oct 11 14:11:40 BST 2010

Funny you should mention that...

The answer being...

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Patrick
Lockley
Sent: 11 October 2010 14:09
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

Please no one say "but is it accessible" :S

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Julian Tenney
Sent: 11 October 2010 14:07
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

I think I've got some Xertex cream somewhere.

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Patrick
Lockley
Sent: 11 October 2010 14:06
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

One of the criticisms I've heard about Xerte is it does make people feel
dirty J

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Alistair
McNaught
Sent: 11 October 2010 14:03
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

XerteX

(Xerte extreme, extended, excellent)

Sounds a little like a bleach but that. At least makes it feel clean.

A

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Dave Burnett
Sent: 11 October 2010 13:59
To: Xerte list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

Xerte-M (mxml)
Xerte-F (Flex framework)
Xerte-N (not back compatible) ;->

________________________________

From: Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk
To: xerte at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:55:47 +0100
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

I thought we'd concurred that we wanted Xerte in there somewhere for
branding / awareness etc.

3.0 suggests it follows on from 2.0, which it sort of doesn't.

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Patrick
Lockley
Sent: 11 October 2010 13:54
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

I still like "Xeren"

Or

Pat's Authoring Tool (PAT for short).

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Julian Tenney
Sent: 11 October 2010 13:41
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

Xerte Pro

Xerte 3.0

?

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Dave Burnett
Sent: 11 October 2010 13:39
To: Xerte list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

Mxml Editor True Object Orientation

:)

________________________________

From: Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk
To: xerte at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:12:37 +0100
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

This is the change I alluded to. Changing the software to compile swfs
rather than interpret .xml at runtime to create the content means
changing the file format: there are a load of good reasons to do this,
and some recent changes to Air that made it possible:

-          Air 2.0 allows communication to native processes. This means
Xerte can communicate directly with fcsh.exe in the FlexSDK to compile
the swfs, and also to the debugger. This wasn't possible with Zinc or
older versions of Air.

-          The interpreted code was slow. Compiled swfs are much much
much faster.

-          Interpreted code still didn't allow true functions to be
created. You could use the function keyword to create pseudo functions,
but they weren't of the type 'function' and couldn't be passed as
properties to components; this was particularly troublesome for event
handlers;

-          It was very difficult / impossible to create new classes at
runtime. Any component property that needs a class (like an icon on a
tab bar) needed a fiddly workaround, nd iti didn't work in all cases;

-          Style sheets needed compiling with the Flex SDK. Now inline
styles can be defined and compiled directly into the swf;

-          Extending with your own classes was more difficult than it
needed to be. This still needs a bit of work, but you'll be able to add
your own classes, written in AS3 to the application.

-          You can now use all the skinning stuff to create your own
skins, and Xerte can create / edit skins. I've an example, but this is
pretty nifty.

-          You have support for states that are much better managed in
.mxml than ActionScript. States are also pretty nifty.

-          You'll be able to use components from the vast array of Flex
resources out there;

-          You're no longer dependent on my runtime. This means less
work for me, and means that all the existing Flex books / tutorials /
resources are relevant to you. Xerte is essentially now an .mxml editor.
You are getting into a very marketable and transferable set of knowledge
and skills;

-          It will be much easier to keep up with future changes to the
Flex SDK. This is another big weight off my mind / desk.

The older files more or less translate, as the xml had initialisation
info for each component in it, so <ButtonIcon.../> is much the same as
<Button.../>

I think the changes are well worth it.

J

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Kemp
Johnathan
Sent: 09 October 2010 21:44
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: Re: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

Congratulations on your new version of Xerte 3.

I have downloaded and installed the new version, but find that it will
not open any of the examples that you created for the earlier version of
Xerte 3.

It looks very interesting, I am looking forward to the tutorials.

Kind regards

Johnathan

On 7 October 2010 14:02, Ron Mitchell <ronm at mitchellmedia.co.uk> wrote:

Brilliant! Wish I had time to play.

Congrats to all involved.

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Dave Burnett
Sent: 07 October 2010 13:50
To: Xerte list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

Kudos to all involved.
A major undertaking.

Dave

________________________________

From: Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk
To: xerte at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2010 13:41:42 +0100
Subject: [Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

Hi,

There is a new beta of Xerte 3.0 to play with that you can download
here: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/xerte/xerte3.htm. Xerte 3.0 is a
complete rewrite of Xerte 2.x, using the Flex framework. There is a
major difference between this latest version and previous versions which
I wanted to say something about. Anyone following Xerte 3.0
developments, or starting to use Xerte 3.0 to develop content needs to
be aware of these changes.

Xerte 3.0 now compiles .swf files. It creates, from your code, the
actual .swf file. There is no engine.swf unlike previous versions of
Xerte 3.0 and Xerte 2.x. There are a number of good reasons why this was
a good step to take.

Xerte 3.0 is really an .mxml editor and compiler using the Flex SDK to
compile.swfs. You will need to download and install the Flex SDK to use
Xerte 3.0 (see instructions on the web site). This means that Xerte 3.0
is quite clearly a tool for developers. It also means that you are
interacting with the Flex SDK directly, rather than having our code
parse and play your code. There are major performance benefits to doing
this, as well as getting access to all the benefits of the Flex SDK, and
it means that you can directly draw on all the Flex community's
knowledge to create content with Xerte 3.0. Xerte 3.0 can compile many
of the examples on Adobe's website and in the help system, as well as
dozens of samples already available from the Flex community. It also
means you are developing marketable skills in an established software
development environment.

Flex is a very powerful, flexible (pardon the pun) and extensible suite
of tools. Xerte 3.0 aims to fill a gap in the market of tools that sits
somewhere between the hardcode coder's IDEs such as FlashDevelop or
FlashBuilder, and something like Xerte 2.x or Authorware, and as time
goes on Xerte 3.0 will contain more and more elearning specific
features.

Xerte 3.0 can build 'normal'  flash applications. It can also build Air
applications, and package them into installers, and when the Flex 4.5
SDK is complete, Xerte 3.0 will be able to build Mobile Applications.
Being able to target all these platforms is exciting, particularly the
mobile Air applications. Xerte 3.0 development is now closely following
the development of the Flex 4.5 SDK - when that is complete I'll be able
to finish Xerte 3.0 and draw on all the new features in Flex 4.5.

There's loads more to say about Flex, but not enough time or space here.
I'm going to start a series of short tutorials to introduce you to the
new environment and features, and walk you through all the new
components, and other stuff you'll want to know about: components,
styles, skinning, states, effects, transitions, data binding, using your
own custom classes...

In the meantime, download and install the beta, and let me know any
comments,

Thanks to Peter Huppertz - who has made a major contribution,

Have fun.

J

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