Pros & Cons of use of Adobe Flex for iPhone/iPad Developers

Below are the pros and cons of Adobe Flex (http://www.adobe.com/products/flex.html) environment for iOS development.

Pros:
1. No specific Hardware need: No need for Mac OS X system for development ( works on both platforms Mac & Windows).
2. Code sharing across multiple platforms: Run the same code on other mobile platforms (BlackBerry Playbook and Android), desktops & web applications (browsers)
3. SAP Data Integration: Ease of integration with SAP backend & Web Services (or to other standard data sources)
4. Improvement Developer Productivity (Adobe Flex / ActionScript would be easier to learn for a Java developer than Objective C).
5. Design Time Integration: Eclipse based developer (Flash Builder) environment or developer tools can be integrated with SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio.
6. Low Training Cost, there are plenty of examples and development tutorials available for free to get started with Adobe Flex. 
7. SAP NetWeaver GateWay Integration: https://community.wdf.sap.corp/sbs/groups/adobe-flex/blog/2011/09/02/flash-builder-and-sap-netweaver-gateway-integration
Cons:
1. Dependency on Flash Platform.
2. Licensing Cost of Software:  Cost of Development tool, Adobe Flash Builder Premium license costs $699. (on single license purchase, there may be discounted price for bulk purchase)

Building Web & Mobile Applications for SAP Backend using Adobe Flex, updated

Development

SAP Provides following development tools for Adobe Flex application development:

•SAP Visual Composer (VC)

•SAP Business Objects Xcelsius

Integration

•Adobe Flex applications built on Adobe Flex Builder can be integrated to SAP WebDynpro Java & ABAP using SAP Flash Island technology.

•Adobe Flex applications built on Adobe Flex Builder can be deployed over SAP NetWeaver Web AS Java and could be made available to end users using SAP NetWeaver Portal (formerly Enterprise Portal).

How to connect to sap from mobile using flex ?

With usage of Flex complex business processes are simplified and more interactivity is introduced dealing with display of rich data. Oracle, SAP, Business Objects, and other enterprise software companies are also integrating Flex technology within their enterprise applications.

SAP NetWeaver Gateway technology provides a standard based simple approach to connect devices, environments and platforms to SAP applications & solutions. It enables development of innovative people centric solutions for SAP solutions into new experiences such as: 

• social and collaboration environments, 
• mobile and tablet devices and
• rich internet applications. 

It offers connectivity to SAP R/3 application using any programming language or model without the need for SAP knowledge by leveraging REST services and OData/ATOM protocols.

Adobe® Flash Builder Plugin for SAP NetWeaver Gateway Services enables Flex developers to build web and mobile applications that access SAP data via NetWeaver Gateway Services (NGS). 

The plugin provides features that enable Adobe Flex developers to more easily build web and mobile applications that connect to SAP systems through SAP NetWeaver Gateway. The plugin works within the existing Flash Builder Data Centric Development (DCD) workflow.

Simple wizards allow developers to

1. connect with and browse a Gateway Server’s Service Catalog 
2. generate ActionScript service wrappers and value objects for selected services
3. Flash Builder Data Service Panel and Design View drag-and-drop integration

The new Adobe Flash Builder Plugin for SAP NetWeaver Gateway can be downloaded from the link below: 

Adobe Flash Builder Plug in for NetWeaver Gateway

Read the document below for details about the installation instructions & how to use this plugin.
Getting Started with Adobe Flash Builder Plugin for SAP NetWeaver Gateway Services

Below is the video of how to use Adobe Flash Builder Plugin for SAP NetWeaver Gateway Services

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