Technology
General
At Work
Flash / Flex
SWF Studio
Ruby
HTML 5
SWF Studio
What?
It converts a .swf file into a Windows Executable. Currently, it creates files only for Windows, although all versions from Win NT4 and 2000 through to the current Win 7 are supported.
Every now and then, there are requests from within the community for the tool to be able to create Mac versions. However, most consumers are still Windows based, and until people stop seeing Windows as the only choice, and realise the advantages available from other operating systems such as Ubuntu ( Linux) and OS X( Apple), it is likely to remain a Windows only tool.
Northcode are pretty sensible in this approach. The tool is exceptionally stable and bug free, and their support is second to none. Until there is widespread adoption of the alternative operating systems, it wouldn't make sense for Northcode to take their eye off the ball, or hire in additional help.
There are competing tools available that do provide support for the Mac, but their support levels are poor, and their products are buggy. Therefore, SWF Studio is commonly seen as the only real SWF2EXE tool worth using by serious developers.
Why?
These security features, however, mean that Flash Player based applications cannot provide the same features as a normal downloaded program - actions such as saving files to your hard drive are just not possible due to the built in security. And therein lies the problem.
If you have downloaded a program to run in your local machine rather than over the internet in a web page, then you expect it to be able to perform basic functions such as reading and writing files for example.
SWF Studio provides a bridge between the Flash Player and the operating system so that these actions can be performed as expected. In fact, it provides a complete API which enables advanced actions such as interacting with MS Access and Excel, FTP, HTTP( S), embedded browsers, interaction with the windows registry, and a whole lot more.
With SWF Studio, any competent Flash or Flex developer can create enterprise level applications in a fraction of the time it might take to do so in C or VB, and as any business owner will testify - time is money. Therefore, the combination of Flash or Flex with SWF Studio is now a viable option when considering a new project and the associated costs.