Over the past few days, I have been working on my XML and data handling. I made up some fake information on in an XML file and was able to load it successfully in flash. I figured out how to extract information from the XML. In AS 3.0, XMLNode has been deprecated and is only used for backward compatibility.  Therefore, I could not use this class. I used XML and was able to successfully extract information but it came to a price of having it be hardcoded. This means that the I had to use the name of the elements in my XML file and if I were to change a name of an element, I will have to change it in the AppointmentManager class.
Now, I could go back and try to figure out a way to come up with a better solution but I decided not to. This is because this application is only a demo! In addition, when I build this into a full working application in the future, I will be using a database. However, I have been toying with the idea of using Google Calendar data. I would have to xslt the data though. But that is off topic and not necessary for the demo.
Calendar data may be simple but it has it’s own little complexities. As I am working through the data part of this project, I am toying with the idea of have various Appointment classes. There would be the super class – Appointment followed by sub-classes such as AllDayAppointment. The reason for my thinking thus far is because there are certain information that is not inherent in all types of appointments/events. For example, a birthday event that only reoccur once a year, is an all day event, and will never have an end is different from a family meeting that happens once a week and may last only a month. I guess I don’t want my current Appointment class to have empty strings. Depending on the logic of how I handle my data, I may or may not have various Appointment classes. I will just have to see.
Thoughts and Reflection: As I work on this more and more, I have to keep reminding myself that this is only a demo. There are so many thoughts that involve: “I should have…” or “I wish…” or “What was I thinking” and “If only I had more time…” But so far, it has been a great learning experience. I only have 2 quarters (6 months) to finish design and implementation. Unfortunately, time is a factor and has greatly influence my decisions. Once I get my degree and get a job, I can then take the time to really plan and design the Sundial Calendar Application out and then build it. I want this application to be different from traditional calendar applications. It’s time that someone started thinking outside the box.