Developer Center Article

When we planned the Designer & Developer Center, we wanted to give you something new. We started by looking at sample projects that you might actually build with our products, not just product features. Then we "deconstructed" those projects, breaking them up into pieces that you could apply to your own work situation.

Sample applications, sample code, and sample files were the core of our editorial mix. Our editorial team strived to give you "something to take home." Our goal has been—and continues to be—to give you the information you need to make your projects successful. Most folks seemed happy with what we were doing. So why fix what's not broken?

Our old name identifies you, the reader, as a designer or a developer. It also gives you the idea of a center that's rich with resources for you. This is all well and good. However, we felt that the name "Designer & Developer Center" left something important out of the picture: That part is your communication with Macromedia. DevNet is a central space where you can "hook up" to Macromedia resources and other developers—both as a consumer and a contributor.

DevNet: A Connection with Macromedia, Not Just a Website
Here's an example of how that connection has already begun to work. Haven't you ever wondered where all those great tutorials and sample files came from? Both Macromedia and real-world developers like you conceived and wrote them. You've probably read articles by such expert developers as Mark Fletcher, Drew McLellan, Ray West, Kevin Towes, or Helen Triolo as well as by Macromedia employees like Mike Chambers or Ben Forta. Without the input of outside developers, DevNet wouldn't cut it. DevNet truly is a network of communication and expertise that we all share.

Macromedia already provides you with tools, support, and information through macromedia.com. What DevNet does, however, is a little different: It makes you part of the picture. DevNet allows you to contribute to the Macromedia community through areas like the Online Forums, Exchanges, and Tips Library. DevNet Subscriptions keeps you connected to essential products, upgrades, and resources. Being part of DevNet makes you part of the information flow that's critical to all of us who count on what Macromedia can do. And DevNet attaches that expertise to names and faces—maybe yours.

The DevNet Countdown: Top 10 Events in Our First Year
Since we've been around for a year now, we thought we'd bring you the Top 10 events that shaped the Designer & Developer Center and brought us to its culmination—DevNet.

#10: Initial Designer & Developer Center redesign. During the first few months of the Designer & Developer Center, we were intent on catering to both designers and developers. We also wanted to be sure to have Macromedia Flash on the front page. We incorporated these goals into our initial Designer & Developer Center design (41K GIF below):

There's no doubt that both of these are good goals. However, we had to check ourselves and ask a few questions. If you're in a Macromedia content area, you must be either 100 percent designer or 100 percent developer, right? Wrong. Most people (about 80 percent) said they wanted to see both types of content, so there was no reason to split it between "designer" and "developer," making it harder to find.

On top of that, the site's interface didn't make the most out of what Macromedia Flash can do. It scrolled from story to story but only the first few usually got clicks. We needed a design that helped people see the new featured items quickly, at a glance—that's how we got to the Designer & Developer Center look we used throughout the year (79K GIF below):

#9: JD's Forum. John Dowdell and the word "legendary" often come up together. Folks in the online communities have been talking to John for years. He just seems to pop up everywhere. A technology polymath, John has insight into just about anything to do with the online world and our ever-increasing experiences there.

As I said earlier, you are missing out if you haven't read John's work. Check out his recent article on "Those *%$&* Flash Ads!!" to get the ins and outs on good ads and bad (evil) ads. Also, make sure to visit John's blog to go even further "behind the scenes" with Macromedia MX.

#8: XML resource feed. Last March Macromedia Flash Community Manager Mike Chambers built an XML feed of newly released content in the Designer & Developer Centers. You can use this fully documented feed to dynamically link to our new content from your site. To add to the fun, we ran a contest for the most creative uses of the feed.

#7: Record Store. Matt Brown, our former Dreamweaver Community Manager, created what was probably the top piece of Dreamweaver content on the site this year—the Record Store. Matt wanted to give new Dreamweaver MX users a complete, beginning-level, start-to-finish tutorial to create their first dynamic site. Looking good was also important so he incorporated professionally designed graphics—not coder graphics (you know who you are)—and pictures of folks from real bands. If you look closely, you may see some familiar folks in the band photos. (Every musician needs a day job, right?)

#6 DevCon 2002 live coverage. In October 2002 we sent DevNet Technical Editor George Fox out into the wilds of south Florida to do on-the-spot reportage on DevCon 2002. Not one to be distracted by Disney's attractions, George brought back the behind-the-scenes story, including daily installments of announcements, speeches, and general gossip from the event.

In addition, the community managers and our CTO Jeremy Allaire kept on blogging—this time in video. Jeremy had installed a Macromedia Flash Communication Server...at his house. Several developers got to have their 15 minutes of fame (well, some were already famous) as the community managers interviewed them live at the event.

#5 Macromedia Flash sample files. These amazing little pieces grabbed our readers' attention and kept it for the entire year. Developed by Noah Zilberberg in the Macromedia documentation department, these ActionScript sample files provide fun in-page examples that you can deconstruct and learn to code. Check them out; but don't get distracted shooting "deadly microbes" in the Amoebas game.

#4: Trio Motor Company (a fictional company). If you've ever had a visit from the sales team at Macromedia, you may have seen Trio at work. This fictional car company sample application was the first one out the gate when we announced Macromedia MX at the end of April 2002. Trio incorporates several "mini-apps" that you can build on your own: the Dealer Locator, the Service Manager, and the newest addition to the tutorials, the Tree Control. Of all the tutorials on DevNet, Trio incorporates the most Macromedia MX products: Dreamweaver MX, ColdFusion MX, Macromedia Flash MX, and Fireworks MX.

#3: Blogs. In May 2002 blogs became huge. The funny thing is that the blog phenom came as a total surprise to us. Many Macromedians had already been reading blogs for quite awhile. It didn't seem to be that big a deal for us to start some blogs as well...everyone's doing it, right? Well, it was a big deal. Wired did a story on how Macromedia was "one of the few companies to appreciate the new topography of the Web."

Wow.

Now our blogs play a big part in the way we communicate with you. They occupy a great space that's somewhere in between macromedia.com and personal interaction. Since they rest in neutral space, the blogs feel a bit more "real" than macromedia.com, even though we strive for the same "straight up" tone on this website.

#2: Pet Market. In June 2002 Pet Market hit the streets. An answer to the Microsoft Pet Shop and the Sun Microsystems Java Pet Store, our Pet Market showed the world how a Rich Internet Application could improve the web shopping experience. Combining multiple interactions, shoppers can browse products, order, and check out all on one screen.

Pet Market has become the blueprint for creating Rich Internet Applications with the Macromedia MX product family. By integrating with .NET and J2EE technologies, Pet Market takes the user interface advantages that only Macromedia Flash can provide to new platforms.

One testament to Pet Market's popularity is the fact that some folks actually told us it's not a good idea to sell and ship animals by mail! We had to let them in on our little secret: Not only weren't we really selling and shipping animals by mail but the site was just a demo concept—albeit a realistic looking one. For the record, Macromedia does not condone selling and mailing pets this way; we prefer in-person interaction with pets and their owners, and hand-to-hand animal transfers. Pet Market is merely a metaphor—already in use by Microsoft and Sun—to facilitate an online shopping experience.

#1: Developers. In the period leading up to May 2002 the initial Macromedia MX Application Development Centers went live for Macromedia Studio MX, Macromedia Flash MX, Dreamweaver MX, and ColdFusion MX. These new areas, plus the ones that followed, were the big push of the year. (Ask any of the Designer & Developer Center editors how much fun it was to handle 50-plus articles in one launch!) But none of that would have worked without the input of the following developer/contributors:

To view this demo, you need the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player.
Download the free Macromedia Flash Player now.

If you contributed content to the Designer & Developer Center and don't see your name here, let us know.

These are the "developer stars" who make DevNet possible. Our editors are still searching for new talent, and we look forward to working with you.

#0: What's on the Horizon?
One more addition to the countdown—the mystery item. But if I told you what it was they'd have to put me up for sale on Pet Market, so let's just say you're going to love it.

Do you have any ideas about what the surprise might be? Care to guess? (Or do you have a wish item for DevNet?) If so, please join me and the other DevNet folks in the Macromedia Online Forums thread I've called "What's on the Horizon for DevNet?"

About the author
Craig Goodman is the Managing Editor of DevNet. He and his team work with Macromedia developers to publish the DevNet tutorials and articles. Craig joined Macromedia in 1995. Before the creation of DevNet, he had various roles, including managing web support, supervising product technical support for Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver, and providing one-to-one technical support for Director and Extreme 3D.