Application View States -vs- Windows

Question

Hello,
I'm a new Flex user, and have just gotten started using Flex
2. I have lots of experience developing web apps using ASP.NET. I
have poured over all the downloadable documentation, and most of
what I see in the docs are single window samples. I have a flex
application to develop that will probably end up being about 25
different screens. I am wondering what the proper way to partition
the source code should be. Do I need to create one "MXML
Applicaton" per screen? If so, that would result in a different SWF
file for each screen, right? When I move from screen to screen, is
it going to keep the same session object so I can retain the
context of the user's actions? Or, is it the standard practice to
try to cram all of the screens into a single MXML Application file
as different "View States" and have the entire application load up
when they hit the huge single SWF file?

Answer 1

I have the same question !!
I too have to develop a rather complex
Ordering-Production-Shipping-Billing application. Many screens and
lots of business logic.
I will use ColdFusion for the backend and lots of data logic
will be in the database and CFC. Flex will handle the user
interface part.
But I am not quite sure how to handle the windows part and
also the "modal" aspect of the interface.
For now my prototype uses ViewStacks and some panels uses
states depending on customer type or product type selected. The
user needs to be at the top most view of a main function to access
other main functions like Production or Shipping. If a user digs
into a main function I remove the options (using states) to jump to
other main functions.I want them to close the transactions before
jumping to other things in the application.
The main MXML file contains the application bar and
MainViewStack. Each main function is in a separate MXML file (as
per examples in the documentation).
The swf is likely to be large but I do not mind so much, it
will be used on the Intranet on a 1gb network.
Steve