[Xerte] Xerte 3.0 Beta

[Fred Riley]

Thanks for the announcement and briefing. Is content still stored in
external XML files? 

Cheers

Fred Riley
Learning Technologist
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy, University of Nottingham
Vcard: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nursing/sonet/about/fr_uon.vcf 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:xerte-
> bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Julian Tenney
> Sent: 07 October 2010 13:42
> To: Xerte discussion list
> 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