degrafa

The last month since Degrafa Origin was released out into the wild has definitely been an interesting one. Attention to the framework has popped up in a number of ways and in a variety of languages. From questions to interest, adoption to experiments, and a couple of cool contests. This is clearly evidence that the community has been waiting for the abilities to create and manipulate graphics directly within Flex, whether with Degrafa or any other solution. So far, there have been 1,300 downloads of the SWC (who knows how many using the source) and the feedback has been great. Here’s a few links to some Degrafa “buzz”:ﾠ

Get a job developing with Degrafa
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Post by Ryan Stewart

ﾠPost by Doug McCune
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Some User Examples:
http://alivepdf.bytearray.org/?p=11
http://ccgi.arutherford.plus.com/blog/wordpress/?p=156

360|Flex API Contest

ﾠAs a team, we have goals and features in mind for Degrafa, but a big part of it is what we think the community wants too. A list of feature requests has started being compiled on the Degrafa Google Code “Issues” page and we’d love for people to vote for and suggest what they’d like to see in Degrafa, no matter how big or small the feature may be. Any ideas are welcome and you can get a hold of us through email, the Degrafa Google Group or on Google Code.

ﾠWe want to keep adding features to Degrafa that will push it to be more of a declarative “design” framework, rather than focusing on the initial graphics capabilities that started this whole project in the beginning. This means adding things like layout managers, but also building on what’s already there, so you can do more with less code.

ﾠHopefully, this will get to a point where you won’t need external tools like Illustrator or Flash to create the typically static assets for a Flex UI, and make the power of programmatic capabilities more accessible at the MXML level. If their are external tools for Degrafa, we’re hoping they’ll be open-source, built in Flex, and have the source available. We know it’s an ambitious undertaking, especially when everyone on the team maintains a full-time job.ﾠ

We mentioned your entries might come in handy for something (besides the Degrafa Derby) being announced soon. Well, that something is the 360|Flex API Contest and you can use your Degrafa Derby entry for the Community category of the API contest.

The prize to the winner of the 360|Flex contest gets a PlayStation 3, which means you could really clean up if you win both contests. There are also prizes for usage of the Ribbit and Ebay APIs. The official contest site for the 360|Flex API contest will be up soon.

Get more info about the 360|Flex API Contest

We’re happy to announce Jim Cheng as an addition to the Degrafa Team. Jim is a seasoned Flex/AJAX developer with a strong background in data structures and algorithms. He augments the Degrafa team with years of experience in performance optimization and file format parsers. Jim looks forward to improving the core framework as well as contributing new features.

As more developers dig into the Degrafa framework and provide feedback for new features and the broadening of current features, Jim is a welcomed addition to the team. He’ll be helping us out with core framework and helping us tackle some great new features we have planned for the next major release. We feel we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of what this framework may be capable of.

Just as a reminder, you can log issues and enhancements concerning the framework at Google Code location. Thanks to everyone who has provided us feedback so far and kept us on our toes with questions.

The Degrafa Derby is out in full force and we’ve already started to see some really cool stuff being created. In many ways they’ve exceeded what we even thought the framework was capable of. As news of the Degrafa Derby has spread, some other supporters have offered to kick in some additional prizes, in addition to the initial Flex Builder 3 license.

Ryan Stewart is pitching in a choice of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium OR Web Premium out of his own pocket to support the contest. He likes where the framework is going and wanted to help out. Doug McCune has offered up a hand-bedazzled 360|Flex Shirt based on his “alternate” rendition of the 360|Flex badge. Who wouldn’t want that? Lastly, the winner of the Degrafa Derby will also receive a free ticket (or reimbursement) to 360|Flex Atlanta courtesy of John Wilker and Tom Ortega.

So, the final prize tally for the winner of the Degrafa Derby Contest:

• Flex Builder 3 License
• Choice of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium OR Web Premium
• A hand-bedazzled 360|Flex Shirt
• Ticket to 360|Flex Atlanta

By the way, you might find your entry useful for something else being announced very soon. Thanks everyone, for pitchin’ in the sweet prizes. The support has been amazing. You have until February 22nd to submit your entries. Get more information here.

On a side note, you can follow Degrafa on Twitter for updates and such.