Can I use ArcObjects in web application in Flex?

Question

Hi

I want to make a web application in flex, so I want to ask that can I use the ArcObjects in this code.
For example I want to Create a new Shapefile and want to add/Edit/Delete data in this shapefile, can I do this using ArcGIS API for flex or can i use the ArcObjects to do this kind of job n how?

Regards,
Arfan Qadir

Drew · Answer

For example I want to Create a new Shapefile and want to add/Edit/Delete data in this shapefile, can I do this using ArcGIS API for flex or can i use the ArcObjects to do this kind of job n how?

If your main goal is to add/edit/delete spatial data I suggest using ArcGIS Server 10 (in pre-release already). The new version will come with spatial editing capabilities. I dont believe new new version will 'create' shape files but you can use a custom web service (as mentioned by rlwatson) to do that operation.
 
Can I use ArcObjects in web application in Flex?

Flex uses a programming language called Actionscript and is all client side in the browser. It has its own API that allows you to do basic GIS functions, but is no where near as robust as ArcObjects.  You can learn more about the Flex API with the link below:
http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisserver/apis/flex/apiref/index.html

Drew

RichardWatson · Answer

I think that you are in the weeds here.

Flex wants to consume RESTful web services.  What you need to do is to have a web service which calls ArcObjects.

The code which accesses ArcObjects can either be in the web service or in a Server Object Extension.