Adobe just release Adobe Flash Builder 4 code name ‘Gumbo’ and Flash Catalyst on their labs website. What are doing here? Go grab it at: http://labs.adobe.com/
You need more persuasion? Here is some semi-accurate information on all the new features:
Flash Builder 4 (formally Flex Builder)
While the layout of the application built on the Eclipse platform will largely go unchanged.
There are a few new trinkets worth checking out.
The new Flash Builder 4 has a new service inspector panel. The tool should largely replace the need for a third party web debugging proxies like Charles.
Flash Builder 4 has a new unit testing panel. Gumbo has engulfed the popular opensource Fluint unit testing framework and supports additional popuplar unit testing frameworks.
The last view that I find interesting is the Client data management panel. This view is largely for assistance in CRUD development and will be suported for languages like PHP, .NET, Java and ColdFusion. In addition to panels Flex Builder is getting some coding enhancements. These are much needed and include: getter and setter generation, package explorer, improvements to AS documentation including mxml documentation and templete creation for AS, MXML and CSS. I’m pretty sure I’ll use every single one of these on a daily bases and I say ‘Bravo’ Adobe.
Flash Catalyst
With Flash Catalyst Adobe expects to make a play to bridge the developer – designer workflow.
Using a new declarative graphics markup called FXG, Flash Catalysis will allow export from Photoshop/Illiustrator component parts or entire RIA composistions into mxml components that can be consumed by the Flex framework.
Don’t start growing a ponytail out just yet, Flash Catalysis and the new designer – developer workflow will really be geared towards the Flash 10 player. So I’m guessing we’ll still see the same ole halo theme floating around for a couple more months as we wait for Flash 10 adoption rates to max out.
Overall I’m still excitted about the direction that the Flex framework is heading.
We should see better looking and functioning Flex applications and the tools are slowly starting to catch up.
I could warn you about the perils of developing with Beta software, but I’ll save that for another post.
DougHughes.net 
Comments on: "Adobe Flash Builder 4 'Gumbo' and Flash Catalyst In the Wild" (1)
I just downloaded it–looks amazing! The road-map these guys lay out is 100% “right on”.
Check out this intro video:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flash/videos/flashcamp/keynote/
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