We are diligently working on getting things ready for the Degrafa beta release. Things like documentation, samples, getting set up on Google Code and Google Groups, etc. are all being worked out as I write this.

Of course, with New Year’s celebration and the team being distributed all over the world, the roll out of all the components (documentation, samples, etc.) will probably be distributed throughout the day of the 1st. Then more will be added as the days go by. The main thing we want to get out there is the framework itself, so people can start playing. So stay tuned…

By the way, information will be distributed across these URLs:

• code.degrafa.com : Points to the Degrafa Google Code page.
• group.degrafa.com : Points to the Degrafa Google Group.
• samples.degrafa.com : This is where links to samples in the documentation will point to.
• docs.degrafa.com : This is where the Degrafa documentation will go.

This is all subject to change, but we’ll let you know if it does.

It’s about time, right? So, what’s taking so long? Well, our team grew a bit and we’ve spent the time to integrate some extra features that we felt would be important to have in the first release. When we set out to create this framework we definitely had some feature sets in mind, but in many cases the first beta will exceed them.

The public beta will finally be available January 1st under the MIT License. What a great way to start off 2008, right? For the public release, Degrafa will be available on Google Code, which will also provide a bug management system and integration with our new Google Group.

UPDATE: We moved our Google Group here. So if you signed up for the other one that was listed you’ll need to sign up for the new one to get current info. Sorry for the inconvenience.

As we work to polish things off, here’s a feature summary of what will be available in Beta 1. Keep in mind these are all accessible via MXML.

Stay tuned for more info and examples as we get closer to the date.

Shapes

Degrafa has a number of predefined shapes that can be used to create your graphics compositions:
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• Rectangles
• Circles
• Ellipses
• Lines
• Polygons
• etc.

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Freeform

If the Degrafa shapes aren’t flexible enough you can create your own using the following, including using SVG path data:

• Arcs (elliptical)
• Bezier Curves (cubic and quadratic)
• Paths
• etc.

or download from an ever growing library.

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Segments

Draw using segments:

• ï¾ MoveTo
• LineTo
• ArcTo
• Bezier To
• etc.

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Repeaters

Repeat an object to create advanced visuals.ï¾ 

Paint

Add fills or strokes using the following:

• Solid Fill and Stroke
• Gradient Fills and Strokes
• Bitmap Fill (position and repeat)
• Complex Fill (layer and blend fills)
• etc.

Binding & API Access

Degrafa supports the full MXML binding mechanism with runtime access, API access, collection support, etc.

Skins

Degrafa can be used for all your skinning needs. No more ActionScript and/or extending complex classes.

CSS

You may never create a skin again. Do more with CSS:

• background color (solid and gradients)
• background images (position, repeat, layer, and blend)
• border widths (left, top, right, and bottom independently)
• border colors (left, top, right, and bottom independently)
• border radii (left, top, right, and bottom independently)
• etc.

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We’d like to welcome Pavan Podila to the Degrafa team. Pavan has a strong background in WPF/XAML and has worked on complex UI designs and custom controls. He also developed the Illustrator to XAML exporter. Pavan feels Flex is very similar in principle to WPF, so he decided to get involved with Degrafa.

Pavan’s initial role with Degrafa will be direct parsing of SVGs (like those you might get out of Illustrator) into MXML Degrafa mark-up. Beyond that he’s looking to create a feature which will able to convert that MXML to XAML. Pavan is already moving at a rapid pace and we know his involvement will only add to the flexibility of Degrafa.

To learn more about Pavan’s work you can visit his WPF blog or his Flex blog.

As we got deeper into developing Degrafa, it became more apparent that all the features we want to include are more than just a couple of developers can handle. Ben Stucki expressed interest in adding to the Degrafa efforts in ways that can only be good. We’re glad to have Ben contributing, as it means we’ll be able to do more in a shorter time frame, like get the beta out.

A while back we mentioned CSS features for Degrafa, this is where Ben’s focus will initially lie. We know he’ll be able to take the CSS integration with Degrafa much further than we were anticipating on initially and add more to it. You can read more about some of Ben’s other projects on his blog.

We’re excited to announce that Andy McIntosh has joined the Degrafa development team. Andy has experience and passion in bridging the gap between designer and developer. His involvement will help us with Degrafa’s range of features, further optimize the framework and bring other perspectives on Degrafa’s capabilities. You can find out more about Andy on his blog.