Macromedia preps Eclipse-based Flash builder

Source: Tech News on ZDNet

Summary:
Macromedia later this month will release an early version of a tool that ties Flash authoring to the Eclipse open-source development tool.

Formerly code-named Zorn, Macromedia's Flex Builder 2 will let a programmer use Eclipse, a popular open-source product, to build Flash applications. Until now, the software maker provided only its own development tool.

The change is significant because developers will not have to become familiar with Macromedia-specific tool features, said Kevin Lynch, the chief software architect at Macromedia.

"This is a big change here. Any coder here can write rich Internet applications and target the Flash player. This will hopefully open up Flash to a whole lot more developers," Lynch said. He said there are currently 2 million people doing Flash authoring; the company hopes to enlist a million more.

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