Introducing Adobe Cookbooks 2.0

Have you ever found yourself heads-down on a project only to get derailed by a development issue that you can't seem to resolve? Or maybe you enjoy giving back to the community by contributing workarounds and code snippets that you have discovered during the course of your development? If so, then you'll want to check out Adobe Cookbooks, a new one-stop shop for finding and sharing code samples.

As product manager for the Adobe Developer Connection, I have seen code samples become an increasingly popular and valuable resource for Adobe developers. Sometimes a clear, concise code sample is all you need to get a project started or get it back on track when you're stuck. The new Adobe Cookbooks application is a searchable repository containing hundreds of community-generated code samples that can help you do just that.

What's new on the menu

The redesign effort for Adobe Cookbooks 2.0 had a few simple, but important goals: increase the prominence of our contributors, lower the barriers for finding and contributing content, and expand the scope of technologies that it supports.

General enhancements

Several new features will be immediately apparent to frequent cookbook visitors:

• Cookbook Explorer: The front page of Adobe Cookbooks now has a fun utility that presents cookbook recipes and contributors visually.
• Expanded scope: The new application supports many more products and technologies. Also, product-specific cookbooks are no longer separate applications.
• Improved search: In addition to full text search, Adobe Cookbooks features tag navigation to help you find the content you need.

Enhancements for recipe contributors

Contributors to Adobe Cookbooks will appreciate several new features of the application geared towards increasing the prominence and recognition of our contributors:

• Profile pictures: Every recipe page now displays the author's picture from their Adobe.com community profile. If you are a contributor, make sure your community profile is filled out. To update your profile, log in and click View Your Profile.
• Links to blogs: Recipe pages will also include a link to the contributor's blog, so make sure your Adobe.com community profile is updated with your blog's URL, if you have one.
• Links to community profiles: Links to recipe contributors' Adobe.com profiles are now included throughout the application.
• Contributor lists: Adobe Cookbooks now displays lists of Top Contributors and Recent Contributors that include information pulled in from community profiles.

Enhancements for users

We are also very excited about all the new enhancements aimed at making the Adobe Cookbooks experience better for our users:

• More technologies supported: In addition to Adobe Flex, Adobe AIR, and mobile, Adobe Cookbooks now supports several new technologies, including Adobe ColdFusion, Adobe Flash Catalyst, and Adobe ActionScript, to name a few.
• Recipe requests: If you can't find the recipe you need, submit a recipe request and let a fellow community member provide the solution.
• Related recipes: Every recipe page now includes a sidebar of related recipes that may also be of interest to you.

You are invited

Community participation is the backbone of Adobe Cookbooks, so whether you are coming to contribute, request or locate a recipe, or comment on and rate existing content, your participation in this community application is greatly appreciated.

We will be updating Adobe Cookbooks after the initial launch with new features and functionality. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas, so after you check out Adobe Cookbooks, please post your comments and suggestions in the Cookbook Feedback Forum.

Also, keep an eye out on the Adobe Developer Connection blog—that is where we will be announcing cookbook contests and promotions from time to time.

About the author