Form Nation

The delivery of Guides (formally form guides) in LiveCycle ES2 has changed significantly.  Previously, form guides were rendered from an XDP using the Forms API.  Now that Guides in LiveCycle ES2 are derived from a model however the Forms API does not have to be used.  Instead, services have been made available that make it very easy to create a LiveCycle process that will return a guide.  When using LiveCycle Workspace this work is handled automatically but there will be situations where a developer will want to display a guide as part of their own web application.  In these cases LiveCycle provides several methods to invoke a process.  A simple REST URL or web service call could be made or the invocation API could be accessed programmatically.

In order to show how you can programmatically display a guide in a web application I have posted a recipe to the new LiveCycle Cookbook that is part of the Adobe Developer Connection.  Check it out and let me know what you think!  Also, I plan to start adding more LiveCycle and Guide recipes to the cookbook.  If you have any suggestions for content feel free to pass them along.

View all my cookbook recipes here.

es2

It has been only a week since LiveCycle ES2 was officially released to the world.  To coincide with this release our DevNet site has also been appropriately redesigned and updated.

The new design should help inspire developers to get started creating their own LiveCycle applications and also offers plenty of opportunity to get involved in the community when help or advice is required.

So to all current and potential LiveCycle developers go forth and explore the new site and feel free to provide comments if you see any room for improvement.

devnet

Adobe MAX has wrapped up for another year but that doesn't mean it is over quite yet.  All of the sessions and keynotes presented during the three days are available online for free.

Marcel Boucher provided an excellent sold out session on what to expect next in LiveCycle ES.  Marcel introduced the latest application constructs that integrate the best-in-class technologies such as Flash Builder, Data Services, and LiveCycle ES solution components.

http://max.adobe.com/online/session/46

If you are interested in how to architect Adobe LiveCycle ES into your enterprise solutions, the session by Danny Saikaly is worth looking at.  Danny goes over how to design and implement Adobe LiveCycle ES in your technology stacks and enterprise applications. This session also reviews three recent LiveCycle ES implementations, including actual architectures and best practices.

http://max.adobe.com/online/session/343

Finally, if you are interested in the emergence of cloud computing be sure to check out an overview of the technology behind recently released Adobe LiveCycle ES Developer Express. LiveCycle Express is an enterprise SaaS product that leverages Adobe LiveCycle ES and cloud-based computing services to make the deployment and maintenance of enterprise software faster, easier, and less costly.

http://max.adobe.com/online/session/289

Check back here as more sessions I find interesting become available online.

adobemax livecycle

livecycle cafe

Adobe® LiveCycle® Café is a web-connected desktop application created with Adobe AIR. Café helps you stay in touch with the LiveCycle community, receive news, find information, and aggregate content related to Adobe LiveCycle ES (Enterprise Suite) software in a timely and customized fashion. Targeted at developers and technical staff, LiveCycle Café is the one tool you need to search across the entire community knowledge base and stay in touch with the Adobe LiveCycle teams.

I have been using this application since it was launched and even as an Adobe employee I find it to be an invaluable tool.  Through one interface I am able to track all the Adobe blog feeds I am interested in as well as monitor forums and news.

If you are a LiveCycle developer I highly recommend you try out Adobe Cafe at least once.

livecycle es2

With Adobe MAX just wrapping up now there were plenty of announcements made over the past couple of days for developers.  One announcement I am particularly excited about is LiveCycle Enterprise Suite 2 (ES2).

LiveCycle ES2 is Adobe's enterprise offering for generating, capturing, and exchanging business information using integrated RIAs, secure documents and automated processes. LiveCycle ES2 helps businesses and governments more effectively deliver engaging applications across devices and channels to customers, citizens, and partners inside and outside the organization. New features of LiveCycle ES2 include personalized rich Internet application (RIA) workspaces, mobile and desktop access to business critical applications, a more collaborative and productive development environment, and a new deployment option in the cloud - allowing workers, developers and decision makers to bring value to their organizations faster than ever before.

LiveCycle ES2 now provides an ActionScript and JavaScript RIA application programming interface (API) that allows for rapid model-driven application development that reduces the amount of code required and simplifies data integration. Developers will also appreciate the new Adobe Solution Accelerators, which are deployable solution framework and best practices methodologies that help developers kick start project planning and decrease development time by leveraging best practices and processes and re-using existing code and building blocks to extend LiveCycle solution components.

Also announced is a cloud deployment option for Adobe LiveCycle ES2 hosted in the Amazon Web Services cloud computing environment, making it easier for developers to stage multiple LiveCycle applications before going live in production.

Over the next couple of months as LiveCycle ES2 gets closer to being launched I will continue to post information on what I feel are some of the more compelling reasons to use LiveCycle ES2.  Feel free to post coments as well if there are any particular areas you would like to be discussed.