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FLX 1.3.0 is now available in Google Play Store. The most important new feature in this release is the new objects extension to FLX language. It is now possible to define objects with properties and methods. Objects can be instantiated. Methods of object instances can be invoked as well as object property getters and setters. Check out the details of FLX objects in Objects API page.

FLX 1.2.10 is now available on Google Play Store:

Changes in 1.2.10 release:

• Updated template projects
• Most of the built-in functions have now “Kotlinized” syntax
• New FOR control flow
• New Image Resource Picker
• Usability improvements and bug fixes

The introduction video is now updated because FLX app has now dark mode UI and many of the editors have been modified:

FLX v1.2.4 has been released. This “minor” release contains a lot of new features, extensions, improvements, and a new project template: MQTT Client with UI. The new applet project template provides a starting point for implementing custom MQTT client applets. This fully functional sample applet implements a MQTT client UI that consists of three screens:

1. Settings Screen: for establishing a connection to a MQTT Broker
2. Messages Screen: for viewing the messages received for subscribed topics.
3. Publish Screen: for publishing messages under defined topics.

Users can use the template as a starting point for creating a custom MQTT clients. Here are screenshots from the MQTT client applet:

Over 1700 Material Icons as Built-in Resources

FLX 1.2.4 includes now over 1700 material design icons as built-in resources (the outlined version). These are the same icons that developers use in Android Studio. FLX 1.2.4 also provide a totally new Icon Picker bottom sheet with search function to use this large collection of icons:

FLX v1.2.3 released today has support for creating MQTT clients with fully customisable UIs. FLX includes a new MQTT API based on Eclipse Paho MQTT library. With this new API it is possible to create your own MQTT clients that can:

• Create connections to MQTT Brokers
• Subscribe and unsubscribe arbitrary topics
• Receive messages for the subscribed topics
• Publish messages via a connected broker for defined topics

FLX v1.2.3 includes a simple MQTT demo which uses HiveMQ’s Public MQTT Broker. The demo is provided as a project template. FLX v1.2.4 will have a more advanced MQTT client demo with a UI consisting of three UI screens:

1. Settings Screen: Setting up a broker connections and subscribed topics
2. Received messages screen: Displays all the messages received for subscribed topics
3. Publishing screen: For sending messages to the selected topics

Unlike any existing MQTT Client App available for Android, A MQTT client implemented with FLX is fully customisable UI and logic wise:

• Implement your own automated re-connect policy
• Write logic using visual connect to utilise any API provided in FLX: HTTP API, IFTTT API, File API, Android Sensors API
• Implement desired UI consisting of any number of UI screens and by using large set of UI widgets:
  • Button and clickable Icon or Image
  • Text, MarkupText and TextField (input)
  • RadioButton and RadioButtonGroup
  • CheckBox
  • Spinner
  • Switch
  • Slider
  • List
  • BottomSheet (modal)
  • Layouts: Row, Column, Stack, Center, ScrollView

Some screenshots for MQTT related code:

FLX has got its second major update after changing the UI to dark mode. Now the previous Resources feature has been replaced with a totally new Repository feature which provides a more advanced UI for importing, previewing, managing, and using various resource types:

• Image resources
• Audio resources
• Code snippets: forms, functions, definitions, or entire libraries as code blocks

Resources can be organised to hierarchical folder with notes and todos. See the screenshots of the new Repository feature below. See the FLX User Guide’s section Resources for details on how to use the Repository feature.

FLX 1.1.4 is now available in Google Play Store.

This version goes even more on dark side – now the visual FLX language and the visual code editor have been stylised to dark mode.

There is a new Code Snippet Picker which can be used for easily and quickly adding code snippets from your Resources Library to visual code.

Version 1.1.2 of FLX is now available in Google Play Store.

The most significant updates on this version are:

• Dark styling
• New typography
• Improved Image Picker which allows now to import images from file system or from system clipboard directly in Visual Code Editor (see image of it in the slide show below).
• Improvements on value editors, e.g. BeansShell Script editor (see image of in the slide show below).
• New function, e.g. easier to use HTTP API functions and widget functions.

Release 1.1.1 of FLX is approaching. The biggest change in this release is the new colour scheme and typography for the application. I personally prefer dark mode both in mobile and desktop apps, and I have been planning to turn FLX to the Dark Side for a long time. Now it is going to finally happen. Take a look:

A new version 1.1.0 of FLX is now available from Google Play Store. This release introduces couple of new, really powerful features:

• BeanShell integration which enables executing Java source code within a FLX applet. The implementation is based on open source BeanShell library which is widely used in many, various systems. See page BeanShell Integration for more information. Just remember: “With great powers come great responsibility”.
• Sensors API which enables read various Android sensors, such as light, gravity, and acceleration sensors. More info available on Sensors API page.

I am happy to announce that FLX – Visual Programming IDE app is finally in production after years of development during weekends and evenings. And this is just the beginning. I have a lot of new ideas for extensions and features. One of those ideas is to add MQTT client capabilities to FLX so that it can be used to control and monitor MQTT enabled IoT devices.

The app is free and available from Google Play Store.