ActionScript and Essence vs Ceremony

Over two years ago I started working primarily with Ruby. Since those days I haven't written a line of C# or Java, and I've often wondered if I would be annoyed by the ceremony that both C# and Java generally require.

I've recently been working a bit with Flex.Overall, I've enjoyed working with something new, and I can definitely see the appeal of RIA in general. It's been fairly easy to get started with Flex because it feels very similar to working with HTML and Javascript.

MXML, an XML-based markup language, offers a way to build and lay out graphic user interfaces. Interactivity is achieved through the use of ActionScript, the core language of Flash Player that is based on the ECMAScript standard. --Wikipedia Flex Information

ActionScript might be based on the ECMAScript standard, but it feels a lot more like Java than Javascript.

[Disclaimer: My experience with ActionScript is very limited, so there may be a better way that I'm not aware of]

I was working with a few MXML views the other day and I ran into a situation that made me think about essence and ceremony. The following example code is a simplified example of what I was working on.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<mx:HBox xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml">
    <mx:ComboBox id="typeCombo"/>
    <mx:Box id="typeDetailsBox"/>
</mx:HBox>

<!-- ~/views/OptionOne.mxml -->
<mx:HBox xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml">
    <mx:Label text="You chose option 1"/>
</mx:HBox>

<!-- ~/views/OptionTwo.mxml -->
<mx:HBox xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml">
    <mx:Label text="You chose option 2"/>
</mx:HBox>

The intent of the simplified example is to change what's inside the typeDetailsBox based on what's selected in the typeCombo.

To solve this in ActionScript I wrote code similar to the following.

public static const Option1:String = "1"; 
public static const Option2:String = "2"; 

public function init():void {
    typeCombo.dataProvider = new ArrayCollection([{label:Option1, data:Option1}, {label:Option2, data:Option2}]);
    typeCombo.addEventListener("close", function(e:Event):void{ doTypeSelected(); });
    doTypeSelected();
}

public function doTypeSelected():void {
    if (typeDetailsBox.numChildren > 0) {
        typeDetailsBox.removeChildAt(0);
    }
    switch (typeCombo.selectedItem.data) {
    case Option1:
        typeDetailsBox.addChild(new OptionOne());
        break;
    case Option2:
        typeDetailsBox.addChild(new OptionTwo());
        break;
    }
}

The code is easy enough to follow, but it feels much more verbose than what I prefer. I like being able to pass classes around as objects, so if I could, I'd probably make the classes themselves the "data" for the drop down. If that wasn't an option, I'd prefer an eval method that let me do the following.

public function init():void {
    typeCombo.dataProvider = new ArrayCollection([{label:"1", data:"new OptionOne()"}, {label:"2", data:"new OptionTwo()"}]);
    typeCombo.addEventListener("close", function(e:Event):void{ doTypeSelected(); });
    doTypeSelected();
}

public function doTypeSelected():void {
    if (typeDetailsBox.numChildren > 0) {
        typeDetailsBox.removeChildAt(0);
    }
    typeDetailsBox.addChild(eval(typeCombo.selectedItem.data));
}

Unfortunately, ActionScript seems to be a language a bit more concerned with ceremony than I am.

Don't read this as a dismissal of Flex or ActionScript. Whether or not to use a language is a very complicated question and I wouldn't ever base my answer on a switch statement or the ability to eval. Like I said before, working with Flex has been a largely enjoyable experience, but, I must admit, after working 7 years with high ceremony languages and the past 2 with a low ceremony language, I know which I prefer.