The hidden reason is cost. Cost for setting up each developer environment. Cost of licenses.

The bigger reason is, or should be, security.

Enter Platform as a Service (PaaS) to the conversation.

Although the idea of using the cloud for development is good in theory, it can be cost prohibitive. Here is why:

• The cost of using the cloud. In reality, you’ll end up spending around $1k per computing instance per year. i.e. per developer

• You still have to license any development tools for each developer seat. Check your EULA, they typically address ways of circumventing license requirements via virtualization.

You do get the benefit of quickly setting up an environment for a team. But lets face it, the only real benefit is the level of security in that your code base is never on someone’s laptop. Don’t get me wrong… this is a really big benefit!

From my research, I would recommend VMware ACE instead of PaaS. VMware ACE allows you to provision standardized client PC environments inside secure, centrally managed virtual machines called ACEs. Each ACE contains a complete client PC—including the operating system and all applications. Administrators use the dynamic policy configuration capabilities in ACE to lock down endpoints with device and network access control, there by protecting confidential company data and ensuring compliance with IT polices. You will get security through a managed virtual machine and the ability to quickly deploy a “ready to go” environment for your developers.
No, its not cheap. But it is way less expensive than the cloud with the equal benefits.

I know this because I’m looking into these tools in order to manage our training facility where we teach ColdFusion, Flex and LiveCycle.

Most components have a toolTip property that you can set (typically bound to some data). But the List-based components are a little different. They use dataTipField and the dataTipFunction. The “data” version of toolTips is based on the list iterating through it’s dataProvider and then adding toolTip for each row.

So, while adding toolTips to a List with an itemRenderer, I ran into a problem. My toolTips weren’t showing up when I set the dataTipField. The dataTipFunction didn’t work either. What gives?!

Well, I had an inline itemRenderer for my list. And apparently the List doesn’t like adding toolTips, via the dataTipField, to a component that is inline.

The solution: Simply add a toolTip to the inline component. And in my case, bind it to the data property that is passed in by the list.

Note: You don’t even need to set showDataTips to true.

This is definitely an SDK bug. I was using the Flex 3.5 SDK and then downgraded to 3.4.1.10084. That is when this error magically appeared. Switched back to 3.5, all better.

Date / Time
November 16, 2009
Event: 9am – 4pm
Registration: 8:30am

Main Website / Registration
http://www.adobe.com/go/flextrainingforcfdevelopers

Monday, November 16
The Curtis Hotel, 1405 Curtis Street, Denver, CO 80202

Watch MAX keynotes, streamed live from Los Angeles-register now
(go to http://max.adobe.com/online/ )

On October 5th and 6th, Adobe MAX Online will feature the keynotes, streamed live, highlighting the newest and most exciting developments in the world of technology. Join 10 minutes early and participate in the backstage behind the scenes action.

View the top three sessions from each day on demand:
Check back each day by 8:00 PM PT, from October 5th to 7th, to see the top session of the day from each track: Design, Develop, and Envision. You’ll be able to view these sessions on demand on MAX Online and join the buzz by participating in the extended Twitter conversation.

View all of the session content on demand:
Check back on Sunday, October 11th, for all of the sessions available on demand with the exception of labs or BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) labs.

MAX Session Guide: http://assets.max.adobe.com/pdfs/MAX_2009_EventGuide.pdf

On3: Denver’s First Adobe Authorized Training Center

On3 will help Adobe Software Developers learn to use Adobe Flex, ColdFusion, and Adobe AIR, as well as other web development tools like BlazeDS and mobile phone application development.

Denver, CO September 11, 2009:  On3, Inc. is proud to announce the opening of its Adobe Enterprise training facility located in downtown Denver at 110 16^th Street, on the corners of the 16^th Street Mall and Broadway. This expertly staffed Adobe training facility will help Colorado’s software engineers to become more proficient in Adobe AIR, Adobe Flex, ColdFusion, and the other products in the Adobe Enterprise suite, as well as other web development tools and mobile application development. During the training process, On3 provides experienced Flex, AIR, and ColdFusion software developers, consultants and architects to keep clients’ projects on schedule. The three-pronged approach of offering mentoring, consulting and training provides companies with all the elements to grow their own Adobe expertise from within.

“Companies are looking for a way to quickly train their software engineers to become experts without becoming dependant on external consulting firms.” According to the founder and principal consultant, Rob Rusher. “A good way for companies to stretch their software development budgets is by investing in mentoring, training and development. This approach limits the ongoing expense firms incur when using external consultants exclusively, resulting in a much better return on their investment. We focus on Adobe Flex, ColdFusion & Adobe Air training because they provide the richest interactive environment.”

On3 is the first and only current Adobe Authorized Training Center in Colorado. This will allow Colorado firms the opportunity to attend local Adobe Flex, ColdFusion, and AIR classes. The training helps drive local innovation to improve Colorado’s ability to compete and grow the Colorado economy. Additionally, Denver is a training and development destination for cost conscious companies who can avoid the relatively high travel expense charged in larger metropolitan areas for Adobe training.

Since 2001, On3 has been providing team-focused consulting and training to help organizations shorten their IT learning curve and master next-generation technologies. On3 focuses on Adobe software design, development and training for rich Internet applications. Beyond incisive and effective teaching, On3 specializes in cultivating long-term, self-sustaining IT practices for organizations. On3’s teamwork driven philosophy and Adobe software development expertise helps organizations build their own Adobe development resources. By using real-world developers who excel as instructors in their Denver, Colorado based Adobe Authorized Training Center, On3 helps companies create a sustainable pipeline of qualified developers, through certified Adobe Flex, AIR, and ColdFusion classes, who build applications to change the way we work and live.

For more information, please visit www.On3solutions.com.

The Flex PMD tool is locate on the Adobe Open Source Projects site.

http://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexpmd/FlexPMD

It is available as an ANT task, command line and Mac OSX Automator.

And before you ask, no, there isn’t an Eclipse plugin… yet.