A client has an existing AS2 app. A shopping cart that allows the user to customize four different products along 7-10 dimensions, essentially. Think of it as one of those shoe customizers - you can pick the sole, the laces, the heel, the top, the tongue, etc. As things are defined, the displayed image updates accordingly.

The client wants to explore ways to update the app and has requested an assessment of the different options available to them - jQuery, HTML5, AS3, etc.

Anyone have tips on where to begin? The structure of the doc, things to address, things to ignore, etc.?

I can give you a comforting hug. :hug: Hope that helped.

Is it really heavy timeline? if it is you may need to start with a spec and forget current code... if not maybe it can be ported, I recently had to port some as3 to as2, since I used signals it actually ended up cleaner, and then for banner I had coded in AS3 with signals and a pagecontroller I managed a port the code to AS2.

For porting the first step is probably to get the as2 code in a good format, my opinion is if you minimize event inheritance and use signals it will allow you to move to html5 or whatever much easier.

If you can't work with the current code/timeline maybe go with screenshots and then define functionality for them. Maybe create some simple prototypes of and complex parts or try porting and skipping out difficult parts to get an idea, its just not feasible to estimate this sort of thing without some exploration work or loads of experience.

If you need some help I am free at my day rate, and would be happy to look at porting it to a haXe version that could support as3, as2, html5 and plain html, or be able to atleast give you some idea how easy it might be to port to haXe based version. Not yet brilliant on the haxe html/5 but thinking about reconstructing some recent flash banners as html to prove my current workflow.

Thanks, JLM. That's great info, but I'm not looking for info on implementation so much as I am on how to structure a review of the technological options available to the client. Suggestions on commonly used criteria would be especially helpful - browser compatibility, percent adoption, size of community, etc.

Do you have access to the old files to first of all see what assets are 'portable' and which will need to be recreated?

Obviously, graphical elements won't need to be touched if they are called externally but a lot of your work will depend on what currently exists code-wise and the quality of it.

Out of experience though I'll tell you that these things usually end up being rebuilds from scratch anyway. But once you know what you've got and explain what they currently have then it becomes much easier to branch off into your different streams of browser compatibility, percent adoption, size of community, etc..

sorry got called away and now can't finish all my thoughts......will add later

I would do a SWOT of each proposed technology (of which you've proposed 2—AS3 and HTML5). Then tie them together at the end with a table that compares bullet points from each of the sections: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.

SWOT. A great launching point and way to frame the info. Thanks.