About Xcelsius SDK
The Xcelsius SDK is built on Adobe's Flex technology and consists of a foundational set of software tools,fully functional code examples,documentation files and utilities that Flex developers can leverage to create and introduce custom components into the existing Xcelsius component library.The software technologies bundled with SDK include a core Flex class library(.SWC file) that facilitates communication to and from Xcelsius as well as a set of tools and compiler utilities that make packaging and distributing custom components for use in Xcelsius an easy proces.
About Flex
Flex is the technology behind the Xcelsius SDK and is the same technology that developers will use to build custom components for Xcelsius 2008.
Flex is an open source software framework developed by Adobe that allows developers to build rich,powerful cross-platform applications that run in the ubiquitous Adobe Flash Player.
When to use the SDK
How and when the SDK is applied to a dashboard project is completely subjective and open on a project by project basis.
However,Listed below are a few commom areas where the SDK can be implemeneted.
Create new data connections to connect to:
- CSV Files
- Encrypted data repositories
- Customer Relationship Management Systems and legacy data stores
- Third party tools, Such as Sales Force or MailChimp
- Text Files
- Website content
- Really Simple Syndication(RSS) feeds
Create new data visualizations
- Flash or Java Maps
- Specialty charts, such as Smith charts or Gantt Charts
- New guages,dials or heatmaps
Create new navigational controls
- Simple buttons
- Coverflow navigators
- Hierrarchial trees
- Complex fish eye menus
Mathematical and data processing formulas
- Any match functions not supported natively by Xcelsius
- Any string or text functions not supported natively by Xcelsius
- Any statistical functions not supported natively by Xcelsius
These categories are common areas where the SDK can be applied,but it is important to remember that virtually any component that can be created in Flex can easily be purposed to function as an Xcelsius component.