RIA development is growing like never before. Every few days we have some or other addition to the number of tools which can be used for developing RIA applications. The latest buzz is about Flex 2 an extraordinary Flex development platform introduced by the master blaster Adobe. Various tools and technologies work together to form a framework that would help a Flex developer build paradisiacal RIAs.

Flex and Flash both are products of Adobe and can be used for developing rich internet applications. However Flex development is much more preferred then Flash as it makes the application more dynamic and interactive. User does not have to wait for the application to respond to any query. The application refreshes on the same page. Also Flex is browser friendly it can work on almost any browser.

Framework for Flex 2 includes many elements like data grids, media players, basic lists, layout systems and charts. Besides this a Flex developer can find access to features like messaging, data synchronization and data collaboration. If developers need to refer to Java libraries then they have the option of using Flex Data Services (FDS) which allows developing Flex applications using Java features. The best part is Flex 2 makes Flex development cheaper, yes, you heard it correct it makes developing rich internet applications using Flex cheaper as the Flex 2 framework, command-line debugger and compiler can be downloaded for absolutely no cost. Even limited access to Flex Data Services is available for free.

For advanced level Flex development a Flex developer can use Flex Builder which includes features to enhance the whole process of developing RIA solutions. The main components of Flex builder are enhanced debugging capabilities, drag-and-drop visual editor and a full-featured code editor. Developer can also benefit from the open source Eclipse IDE which is popularly used by all the Java developers.