The Cairngorm Diagram Explorer: tying theory and practice together - in context. November 6, 2006
Posted by Barry Beattie in : Uncategorized , 2 comments“Oh dear!” you say. “Not only has Flex taken the world by storm but there’s a framework to go with it. Yet another thing I’m going to have to learn.”
And ain’t that the truth. Another new technology, another new “leveller” as everyone races to catch up. The trouble can be trying to cram this in-between “the day job”. Or being “new” to the technology. Or both.
I’m sure I’m not the only [other technology] programmer wanting to move into Flex. But time to get up to speed is a real problem. Getting a “solid” (but not yet “deep”) understanding quickly is very important. Keeps the interest up. Also good for the ego.
So the challenge seems to be to get people who understand something of application flow (and how to program… at least a teeny bit) up to speed with how Cairngorm goes together. Sadly, if you’re new to Cairngorm, trying to nut out how it works can be like trying to untangle a ball of string that the cat’s dragged in, especially if ActionScript events are a new-ish concept.
But here’s the real trick. Different people learn in different ways. It’s something that us educators have been exploiting for a while to make a living.
And lets face it - programmers think just a bit differently anyway. We’ve learnt to visualise code as easily as we deal with flowcharts or state diagrams. I mean, how often has someone tried to explain a bug and all you want them to do is show you the 5 or so lines of code so you can see the problem for yourself?
The concept is not new. Blog tutorials and how-to’s already show snippets of code but the trouble with this is the spaces between the code (theory) is filled with more words so the processing becomes more difficult. Context-switching of vocabulary. At least with diagrammatic support the theory is a different visual medium to separate the two. Until you see that hammer and nail being used together, you’re only getting part of the story.
Enter the original Cairngorm flowchart. Complete and correct in itself but fundamentally lacking something… but what?
Context. It comes down to tying theory and code together in context - in a form that is easy to grasp quickly.
The flowchart already had the “roadmap” of how Cairngorm works from the first interaction of the user to the final result of the action. What was missing was the actual code at each stage to put the diagram (theory) into paractice.
So the “Cairngorm Diagram” turned into the “Cairngorm Diagram Explorer”. The important point is that the code is on the diagram itself in easy reach (not a separate file elsewhere where you have to hunt for it).
So now, not only can the rushed programmer up-skill to Cairngorm in a spare lunchtime or three but those very new to the concept of Event driven programming can get something out of it too. Maybe Douglas Adams was right - “time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so”.
Cheers
barry.b
(Barry Beattie is a former audio engineer, I.T teacher, and currently a ColdFusion and .NET developer working at a university in Brisbane, Australia and hopes to find a spare lunchtime or three sometime soon)
Introduction rounds… October 31, 2006
Posted by Thomas Ruehl in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so farNow, since it seems, we have introduction rounds… well, this is me 
My name is Thomas Ruehl and I currently work for an internet company in Frankfurt, Germany. At the moment, my daily-basis work consists of Coldfusion based web development and the deployment of data-driven interactive Flash interfaces for use with a variety of our products.
I work with Flex 2 since its Beta 2 stadium and I am very excited about the future of the web Flex-wise and really happy to contribute in this community.
Cheerio, Thomas
New Webmaster Introduces Self :) October 28, 2006
Posted by Douglas McCarroll in : Uncategorized , add a commentHi All,
Just thought that I’d post a quick note to introduce myself. My name is Douglas McCarroll and I’m a programmer in Boston who is in the process of getting up to speed on Flex, FDS, Cairngorm, etc. This site has already helped me and stands to help many others. I look forward to contributing. 
The best way to contact me is to use the feedback form on this site or the contact form on my site.
Best regards,
Douglas
Welcome to the Cairngorm documentation community! October 20, 2006
Posted by Blog Admin in : Uncategorized , add a commentWe’ve got some great content here already, and there’s lots more to come. For now, please contact Evan Gifford directly with questions, comments or request for blog or ftp account here.
Thanks, and see you at MAX!