KineticFusion > me

So yeah, finally an update about the compiler I started...

I've been working on and off for a few months now on an ActionScript compiler. Ideally, I wanted to be able to run the compiler against an ActionScript file and generate a resulting .swf file. I didn't have ActionScript 2 support in mind right away - just supporting the first version is a large enough task for just myself given the amount of time that I have available.

I've made pretty good progress though, and eventually got to a stable enough point to say that I have a "working" syntax checker for ActionScript 1. It's not without it bugs, but it's been working pretty well for me. However, right around the time I was planning to release it, I got wind from Alex Bradley that a new beta of KineticFusion was ready to be released.

Here's the original announcement:

Many of you have looked at KineticFusion 1.0.5 in the past and the feedback has been really useful. KineticFusion 2.0 Beta has just been released and I'd really appreciate any comment or feedback you may have. This is intended as a commercial Flash development tool and includes the following:

• Supports full AS2.0 classes
• Full semantic analysis of classes and scripts with configurable error warnings
• Support for additional class metadata and constraints for representing abstract class members, final class members and multiple method signatures
• Support for AS2.0 extensions in AS1.0 ( e.g. casts, interfaces)
• Code generation optimizations mainly compliant with those by Macromedia.

The main changes are with AS2 and the biggest question is probably: what are the features that make it better than the Macromedia Flash compiler?

• Can compile from the command line
• Intelligent caching and dependency checking of AS2.0 classes
• Many more semantic checks and better error configuration
• Supports metadata for specifying additional OO constraints that can't be explicitly represented in AS 2.0
• Compiles and generates SWF movies faster than Flash when using the KineticFusion GUI.
• Multi-platform, so you can offload compilation to server boxes.

With AS2.0 inclusion the biggest drawback of KineticFusion, the XML representation, is hopefully peripheral. Since most scripting is now carried out in external class files, the Flash application can be used to create the application outline and converted to RVML. Coding and compilation can then be carried out either using the Flash application or KineticFusion, with both applications pulling in required class files on compilation.

This is pretty awesome news, I think. Alex has been working for over 2 years on KineticFusion. I've tested the beta he made available to me, and must say that it works really well. It's much more advanced than I could ever think about making my compiler right now - I just don't have enough free time as there's a million and 1 other things I want to build. Also, I don't want to compete with Alex. The new version KineticFusion is just plain awesome, and I hope that you give it a chance once it's officially released.

For those that have never heard of KineticFusion, it's a program that abstracts .swf files as XML. It can deconstruct (decompile) .swfs into it's XML format (dubbed RVML - Rich Vector Markup Language). You can then make changes to the resulting RVML and then re-compile the RVML into a new .swf file. This allows you to build .swf movies without the Flash IDE, and with the new beta you can even code in ActionScript 2. This is a huge win for the Flash community.

Granted, the product will most likely not be free, but if you find a tool useful it helps to support the authors if you want more and better features, continued support, etc.

Personally, I'm driven by a passion for Flash and everything I experiment with is usually in hopes of benefiting the community somehow. I love open source as much as the next guy, but unfortunately, that doesn't pay the bills (for me, at least). I'm sure I could find more time for projects if I was being paid for them, but I need to get the paying work out of the way before thinking about my personal side-projects. Alex has been doing this for over 2 years, and the level of commitment he has shown to KineticFusion should be rewarded by those that find the program useful...

Anyway, as a result of Alex's work, my plans for my compiler have been pushed aside. I really should finish up the syntax checker that I have though, or at least release it on sourceforge in case anyone else wants to pick up development. I think what I have done could come in handy for 3rd party editors like SE|PY, and it's pretty solid as it is. I'm not sure about the timeframe anymore.. hopefully sooner rather than later as my interest is already fading since I'm moving on to my XUL+Flash experimentation.

When KineticFusion 2.0 is officially released "sometime this summer" I'll be sure to post a link to it. The new version of KineticFusion is well worth the wait. Like I said, I think it's something that will benefit a lot of Flash developer's. I'll also post when I release my code/binaries for my syntax checker.. hopefully I can grab a sourceforge project. At this point, it might be easier to build a "projects" section on my site here and just host it myself.. I've been thinking about that for awhile, and this is a good of reason as any..

Sorry if I got any of your hopes thinking about a release of my own, but there's no need to be disappointed.. something better is coming down the road, and sooner than I could ever deliver it! Keep your ears/eyes open...