So. I'd like you all to start off with this previous post, if you don't mind...

Read it? Good. Now close that browser window/tab and continue:

The title of this post is a big clue: I now have an iPad.

"But you said you weren't going to buy one because it doesn't support Flash!" I hear you cry out. I did say that, yes. I also said that the screen gets messy and that I couldn't see enough use cases for myself.

Well, now I've changed my mind. I have found some excellent use cases, have tired of the Adobe vs. Apple ego-bashing that I've witnessed all over the web and am indeed very pleased with the user experience that the iPad offers me.

There's the key concept: USER EXPERIENCE

Apple "do" User Experience like no other company. I am sitting here, writing this on my MacBook Pro, next to me are my iPhone (still only 3G ) and my iPad. Why? Because they are devices that I love to use. They work and are a joy to use.

I have replaced my morning iPhone routine (see that last post) with a morning iPad routine - a larger display and that much bigger interactive surface DO make a difference - and find Twitter, Things (my to-do manager of choice), Facebook (with the exception of those wonderful app I've written ), BBC News and even the weather so much more usable on the iPad for my morning eyes.

Thanks to Air Display, I can even use the iPad as an additional monitor when working in Mac OSX (which I'm doing more and more, as I now need only wait a few more hours for my Adobe Web Premium CS5 Mac license to arrive before I kiss Windows goodbye for my daily work life).

Now. What about that "Flash thing"? I am still not happy that Steve Jobs and his merry men have this, frankly, very arrogant and childish attitude towards Flash. My opinion here hasn't changed. I haven't "accepted" this "Apple way". I do know that, in time, others will find a way for some Flash content to be visible on the iPad and even the iPhone. I also know that it doesn't really matter that much. There are ways and means of achieving anything.

I'm also, however, not impressed by a lot of the knee-jerk responses from the pro-Adobe camp and the sudden evangelical focus on Android. Android will not make it and will not pose a threat in the mainstream market. Have you seen the designs of the Android-based tablets coming out? I rest my case.

What I have done is made my choice based upon how a device fits my life and fits my appreciation of good design, attention to the User Experience and how it feels - something we should all think about constantly.

In addition to that, and to answer some of my previous criticisms:

- the volume is loud
- the video quality is excellent
- zero boot-time web browsing is fantastic
- the weight is really not so bad and the simple Apple iPad case is an excellent add-on and well worth the money, allowing the iPad to be held at a angle on your lap for easy viewing
- the usability and interface failings I mentioned really do seem to be issues with the Apps I was trying out. The Apps I have installed seem to be well developed and really do offer a great experience (with the exception of the BBC News App which shows me a green screen every so often instead of the matrix of thumbnails for articles)

Oh - and the screen does get messy and is far too reflective. In it's defense, however, the colours are fantastic!

I wrote:

The iPad is not magic. It's not a netbook challenger and it's not really revolutionary.

Well. It's not magic, but it is an excellent tool which has no doubt redefined many people's experience of information consumption. In that sense, it is revolutionary.

I stand by everything I wrote before (as always) and can only say that I stand corrected on some points and am happy that I purchased the iPad - not only because I will be developing Apps for it!

If you look at the bottom of this post (or any other post on my blog, for that matter - hint, hint) you'll find that I've now added the almost ubiquitous Facebook "Like" button functionality to this blog. I decided it was time and had a few minutes spare in which I could add it... to give you a chance to say how much you enjoy my posts!

The Like button and the little "thumbs-up" icon are becoming a massively-popular meme throughout the offline world with stickers, graffiti and even advertisements echoing the "I Like" sentiment. Coincidentally, I found something related while checking through today's links on notcot.org:

If you want to be able to mark your preference, or indifference, on physical objects, you can now do so with these wonderfully analog rubber stamps from Nation:

Now you can not only show your appreciation for content online, but you can print it and stamp it with your approval aswell!

The final design for the "New Bus for London" has now been released and the project is moving forward ready for 2012. The result looks fantastic - and it's got a rear platform, just like the old Routemasters!

Take a look at this video from Transport for London:

This is going to be a great bus to ride on - particularly if you, like me, love the old routemaster's rear platform and hop-on, hop-off bus trips. It's a great feeling being able to just jump onto, and off from, the bus with an open platform. This feature is also going to create jobs as there'll be a need for a second crew member, a conductor, to check oyster cards and issue tickets.

The bus will be light and airy and will also be significantly greener than existing buses as it's a hybrid. All in all, this looks like it'll be a real winner for London and it promises to bring back some of the uniqueness of the old Routemaster and make the London Bus something special again.

The only thing that Transport for London need to do now is give their drivers a refresher course on smooth driving

Shock, horror! ASDoc working?!!

OK, ASDoc IS a cool thing. If, like me, you've spent many a happy hour trying to figure out how to make it actually work and been driven insane by it's habit of pointing out errors in your code - or worse, errors in third-party code - and not just producing the blasted documents you wanted, then hopefully I can help just a little. With a little help from Seb Lee-Delisle and a cool little tool called Dita - it's an AIR app!

ASDoc is delivered along with Flex Builder and is free, so why not use it to produce some nice API documentation for your latest project?

Because it's command-line and very very fiddly?

I was determined to make it work this time (after giving up on a previous project) and surfed around for clues to get it working. I'd tried Dita on it's own before and also tried the ASDocGUI AIR app - neither worked for me for some reason. So, google it is...

I immediately found Seb's excellent blog post on the theme. He explains a neat little way to set up ASDoc within Flex, as an external tool. He also recommends using external SWCs instead of libraries to avoid ASDoc's annoying tendency to document everything it finds unless you specifically exclude all classes you don't want documented - individually

Now I had the issue that my project HAS used external linked libraries and I didn't want to rework everything now that the project is final. This means that I needed to exclude several classes. That's where, as Seb points out, Dita comes in.

Dita does not run ASDoc but allows you to create a batch file with all commands necessary to run it for your project. As I said, I couldn't get it to work for me before, but this time I had other plans for it I was going to use it simply to create that long list of classes to be excluded (in my case the Greensock TweenLite classes) and save me having to type them in manually.

Simply enter the project details and paths into Dita and include the file system path to the classes you wish to exclude, for example:

You'll see that I have specified the path to the greensock libraries for the parameter exclude classes/packages (in the src/com folder).

Hit "GO" and you'll produce a batch file as mentioned above.

Open up the batch file with an editor (notepad?) and you'll see something like the following:


"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Flex Builder 3\sdks\3.2.0\bin\asdoc.exe" -output "C:\Documents and Settings\robert\My Documents\Flex Builder 3\Donut\docs" -source-path C:\Documents and Settings\robert\My Documents\Flex Builder 3\Donut\src -library-path -main-title "" -window-title "" -footer "" -doc-classes CAD Card CardContent CardEvent CardStack ChoiceDropdown CirclePreloader CoinStack com.greensock.core.PropTween com.greensock.core.SimpleTimeline com.greensock.core.TweenCore com.greensock.data.BevelFilterVars com.greensock.data.BlurFilterVars com.greensock.data.ColorMatrixFilterVars com.greensock.data.ColorTransformVars com.greensock.data.DropShadowFilterVars com.greensock.data.FilterVars com.greensock.data.GlowFilterVars com.greensock.data.TransformAroundCenterVars com.greensock.data.TransformAroundPointVars com.greensock.data.TweenLiteVars com.greensock.data.TweenMaxVars com.greensock.data.VarsCore com.greensock.easing.Back com.greensock.easing.Bounce com.greensock.easing.Circ com.greensock.easing.Cubic com.greensock.easing.EaseLookup com.greensock.easing.Elastic com.greensock.easing.Expo com.greensock.easing.FastEase com.greensock.easing.Linear com.greensock.easing.Quad com.greensock.easing.Quart com.greensock.easing.Quint com.greensock.easing.Sine com.greensock.easing.Strong com.greensock.events.TweenEvent com.greensock.OverwriteManager com.greensock.plugins.AutoAlphaPlugin com.greensock.plugins.BevelFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.BezierPlugin com.greensock.plugins.BezierThroughPlugin com.greensock.plugins.BlurFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.ColorMatrixFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.ColorTransformPlugin com.greensock.plugins.DropShadowFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.EndArrayPlugin com.greensock.plugins.EndVectorPlugin com.greensock.plugins.FilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.FrameLabelPlugin com.greensock.plugins.FramePlugin com.greensock.plugins.GlowFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.HexColorsPlugin com.greensock.plugins.QuaternionsPlugin com.greensock.plugins.RemoveTintPlugin com.greensock.plugins.RoundPropsPlugin com.greensock.plugins.ScalePlugin com.greensock.plugins.ScrollRectPlugin com.greensock.plugins.SetActualSizePlugin com.greensock.plugins.SetSizePlugin com.greensock.plugins.ShortRotationPlugin com.greensock.plugins.SoundTransformPlugin com.greensock.plugins.TintPlugin com.greensock.plugins.TransformMatrixPlugin com.greensock.plugins.TweenPlugin com.greensock.plugins.VisiblePlugin com.greensock.plugins.VolumePlugin com.greensock.TimelineLite com.greensock.TimelineMax com.greensock.TweenAlign com.greensock.TweenLite com.greensock.TweenMax com.greensock.TweenNano com.hybrid.ui.ToolTip ConfigLoader CustomCellRenderer DependantNotice DependantNoticeChoice DependantNoticeChoice2 Diabetes DOB Donut5 DonutEvent DonutSegment DropDown EmailValidation fl.controls.ScrollBar FundValue GreyButton Halo HealthDropDowns Item Measurements MultilineCheckBox Options Overlay PostCode Pot QuestionButton Radio2 Radio3 RightPanel RightPanelEvent SegmentCheck SeriousConds Slider SliderForm StopEvent SummaryScreen SummaryScreenEvent TwoChoice TwoChoiceDeps YellowButton -exclude-dependencies
pause


I've no idea why the exclude classes are listed along with the actual classes in my app but at least I don't have to type them out... Now all you need to do is to go back to Seb's instructions and set up an external tool (Step 1) through to Step 5. Then add the -exclude-classes directive and copy and paste the nice long stream of class names into the Arguments window of the external tool dialog, resulting in something like the following:

That's dealt with the classes to be excluded. What about external linked libraries that are needed by the compiler? Simply specify them by entering their file path as follows:


-source-path "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS4\Common\Configuration\Component Source\ActionScript 3.0\User Interface"


If you want the classes in this library excluded then don't forget to run it through Dita again with this path in the exclude classes/packages field to get a nice list. I wanted them documented in this case as they've been partially sub-classed in my app (custom skinning and component extending, fun ).

Don't forget then to add a custom title, footer text and browser window title:


-window-title "xxxxxx Classes Documentation"
-main-title "xxxxxx Classes Documentation"
-footer "created by me using ASDoc"


Now, back to those annoying little compilation errors that can stop you from producing nice shiny documentation. I know we shouldn't have errors but you may be using a third-party library that has them, right?

Make the compiler more tolerant by adding:


-strict=false
-warnings=false


and the compiler should happily skip those duplicate variable definitions or untyped variables (in my experience the most common things that pop up here).

Now, if you've followed Seb's suggested argument parameters and used -doc-sources, make sure you don't use -exclude-dependencies as ASDoc doesn't like it and you'll only get another error message.

By now you should have a whole stream of parameters listed in the Arguments section of the external tool dialog - something like this:


-strict=false
-warnings=false
-exclude-classes com.greensock.core.PropTween com.greensock.core.SimpleTimeline com.greensock.core.TweenCore com.greensock.data.BevelFilterVars com.greensock.data.BlurFilterVars com.greensock.data.ColorMatrixFilterVars com.greensock.data.ColorTransformVars com.greensock.data.DropShadowFilterVars com.greensock.data.FilterVars com.greensock.data.GlowFilterVars com.greensock.data.TransformAroundCenterVars com.greensock.data.TransformAroundPointVars com.greensock.data.TweenLiteVars com.greensock.data.TweenMaxVars com.greensock.data.VarsCore com.greensock.easing.Back com.greensock.easing.Bounce com.greensock.easing.Circ com.greensock.easing.Cubic com.greensock.easing.EaseLookup com.greensock.easing.Elastic com.greensock.easing.Expo com.greensock.easing.FastEase com.greensock.easing.Linear com.greensock.easing.Quad com.greensock.easing.Quart com.greensock.easing.Quint com.greensock.easing.Sine com.greensock.easing.Strong com.greensock.events.TweenEvent com.greensock.OverwriteManager com.greensock.plugins.AutoAlphaPlugin com.greensock.plugins.BevelFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.BezierPlugin com.greensock.plugins.BezierThroughPlugin com.greensock.plugins.BlurFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.ColorMatrixFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.ColorTransformPlugin com.greensock.plugins.DropShadowFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.EndArrayPlugin com.greensock.plugins.EndVectorPlugin com.greensock.plugins.FilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.FrameLabelPlugin com.greensock.plugins.FramePlugin com.greensock.plugins.GlowFilterPlugin com.greensock.plugins.HexColorsPlugin com.greensock.plugins.QuaternionsPlugin com.greensock.plugins.RemoveTintPlugin com.greensock.plugins.RoundPropsPlugin com.greensock.plugins.ScalePlugin com.greensock.plugins.ScrollRectPlugin com.greensock.plugins.SetActualSizePlugin com.greensock.plugins.SetSizePlugin com.greensock.plugins.ShortRotationPlugin com.greensock.plugins.SoundTransformPlugin com.greensock.plugins.TintPlugin com.greensock.plugins.TransformMatrixPlugin com.greensock.plugins.TweenPlugin com.greensock.plugins.VisiblePlugin com.greensock.plugins.VolumePlugin com.greensock.TimelineLite com.greensock.TimelineMax com.greensock.TweenAlign com.greensock.TweenLite com.greensock.TweenMax com.greensock.TweenNano
-external-library-path="C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS4\Common\Configuration\ActionScript 3.0\libs"
-external-library-path="C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS4\Common\Configuration\ActionScript 3.0\FP10"
-source-path src
-source-path "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS4\Common\Configuration\Component Source\ActionScript 3.0\User Interface"
-doc-sources src
-window-title "xxxxxx Classes Documentation"
-main-title "xxxxxxx Classes Documentation"
-footer "created by Robert Turrall using ASDoc"


Now. Hit the "Run" button and off you go!

I hope this works for you too!

Just remember that what is output is a collection of web pages, with fairly-well implemented CSS styling. It's therefore pretty straight-forward to style the output so that it's "on brand" and to produce some nice end-of-project API documentation.

Thanks to Seb, Dita and a little bit of fiddling, I can now produce ASDoc documentation for my projects, straight out of Flex, and with no need to mess around with the command line. Nice.

I don't pretend to be an ASDoc expert but I hope I've been able to help with this elaboration on it's use in Flex.

Happy documenting!

Sorry about the sensationalist title but, yes, this is what the BP Oil Spill currently drifting in the Gulf of Mexico would look like if it was laid over London, effectively covering an area from Norfolk down to Brighton and across west to Swansea and Northampton in the North:

Kind of puts the sheer size of the catastrophe in perspective, doesn't it?

Take a look at IfItWasMyHome.com, the source of this image. You can move the spill to any location thanks to the clever code within the site and the use of Google Maps.

It's a shame we can't just REmove the spill...