Adobe today announced the public beta of its Adobe Flex 3 software, a cross-platform, free open-source framework for creating rich Internet applications (RIAs). Called a "major functional release", the new beta adds new user interface capabilities, improved developer productivity, desktop deployment and enterprise testing and performance tools. Adobe said that the the Flex 3 public beta marks the first significant deliverable for the open-source Flex project and that it will offer nightly builds and a public bug database. Version 3 includes major advancements in the area of designer and developer workflow, including powerful integration with Creative Suite 3 software design tools that allow for direct import of CS3 assets. The public beta versions of the Flex Builder 3 and the Flex 3 SDK are available now from Adobe Labs, while the final version is due later this year.

Other design enhancements in version 3 include deeper support for visual skinning and styling, full language intelligence support for CSS, and the Flex Builder 3 Design View, which lets developers edit design and layout for complex applications.

In addition, Flex 3 offers developers the power to extend the reach of their RIAs beyond the browser to the desktop using the new Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), formerly code-named Apollo (also available today). Using the new Flex Builder 3 and Adobe AIR software, now developers can create engaging, high-performance applications that run both in the browser and on the desktop.

Beginning with Flex 3, developers can freely download, extend, and contribute to the source code for the Flex compiler, components and application framework. Flex now includes "the most advanced" implementation of the JavaScript standard, ECMAScript 4, and runs on the Adobe Flash Player using the open-source Tamarin virtual machine, recently contributed to the Mozilla Foundation. The company also provided a full roadmap for Flex 3, including detailed feature specifications, nightly builds, and a public bug database where developers can log and track issues and feature requests.

Flex 3 also offers numerous code enhancements to the development environment: it now supports refactoring, allowing developers to make substantial changes within a project quickly and consistently as well as includes memory and performance profiling, enabling developers to evaluate the internal operations of their application running in the browser or on Adobe AIR. Additionally, the class outline view and code search capabilities let developers find variables, methods and properties easily, even in large-scale development projects.

Developers will be able to showcase their Flex and Adobe AIR applications in the Adobe AIR Developer Derby, a contest that officially opens today. Adobe will award prizes in five categories – including categories for both Flex and HTML based applications – and a grand prize for the best overall application. Winners will be announced at the Adobe MAX conference, September 30 – October 2 in Chicago.

The public beta is available in English and offered for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. Adobe will post daily software builds of the Flex SDK and a public bug database at . The release of open source Flex under the Mozilla Public License will occur in conjunction with the final release of Flex 3, currently scheduled for the second half of 2007. Final pricing will be announced when the products become commercially available.