Can I create a SWF in Flex WITHOUT using Flash Builder?

Question

I am very new to the flash/flex world. I am wondering if I can create a SWF in Flex WITHOUT using Flash Builder ?

Answer 1

Actually mxmlc.exe compiles your application (about). You can compile directly using it and passing appropriate parameters.
Also you can compile using flex ant task.
And of course you can use other IDE for compiling:

• IntelliJ IDEA
• FDT
• FlashDevelop

But all in all, all of this tools actually use mxmlc compiler (or its variations).

Answer 2

Yes ! You can write ActionScript code using any editor and you can use the mxmlc command line tool. Refer here for more on mxmlc. You can also use Eclipse IDE, point it to Flex SDK and do Flex development.

Adobe Flash Builder is not a must to generate .SWFs.

Answer 3

You can indeed by using:

• mxmlc on the command line;
• Using the mxmlc Ant task;
• Using flexmojos Maven plugin.

FlashBuilder uses mxmlc to compile your Flex application. Other IDEs can also build Flex applications, such as IntelliJ IDEA.

Answer 4

A few basics:

Flash Builder is the IDE using which you'll develop applications in ActionScript (the language), taking help of the Flex framework. When you publish the application, the compiler will create an swf file which will run on Flash Player (for browser apps) and an installer file for desktop apps.