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Introduction to Flex 2

Introduction to Flex 2. by Rich Tretola. About Me.

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Introduction to Flex 2

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  1. Introduction to Flex 2 • by Rich Tretola

  2. About Me • Rich Tretola is a senior software developer at Herff Jones, Inc. specializing in Rich Internet Applications. He is an award winning Flex developer and self proclaimed Flex evangelist. He entered the field of Web development in the late 90s and has been building applications ever since. Other than Flex, Rich builds applications using ColdFusion, Flash, and Java where he is a Sun certified programmer. Rich is highly regarded within the Flex community as an expert in RIA and is also an Adobe Community Expert. He runs a popular Flex blog at http://www.everythingFlex.com and has appeared in the Web Developer's and Designer's Journal. Rich is also co-founder of Flextensions.com - A Flex Component Marketplace.

  3. Rich Internet Apps • A Rich Internet Application (RIA) is an application that runs in the traditional browser, but utilizes an intermediate layer that can bypass the traditional page refresh that has been a standard of most current Web applications. The most common tools that can achieve this intermediate layer include JavaScript used in Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) applications, as well as Flex or Flash using the Flash Player. Other RIA solutions include OpenLaszlo (which utilizes the Flash Player as well as AJAX), XUL (which is dependent on a Mozilla compatible browser), and the Windows Presentation Foundation (which is part of the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0).

  4. Benefits of RIA • RIAs offer a richer interface that provides a more engaging user experience without the need for page reloads. • RIAs offer real-time feedback and validation to the user, triggered by user events • The look and feel of a traditional desktop application can be accomplished with a RIA • RIAs also can include a full multimedia experience, including audio and video • RIAs have capabilities such as real-time chat and collaboration that are either very difficult or simply impossible with traditional Web applications.

  5. Overview of Flex 2 • Flex was developed to create a development environment that more closely resembled the traditional development environment utilized by other programming languages. The goal was to take the already tremendously successful Flash visual development environment and open it up to programmers who are more comfortable with a code-based model.

  6. Pieces of Flex 2 • Flex Builder 2 • Free Flex SDK • Flex Data Services (FDS) • Flex Charting

  7. Flex Builder 2 • Flex Builder 2 is the new development tool that (although it is not necessary for Flex development because any text editor can be used) offers the most complete development environment for rapidly creating Flex applications.

  8. Free Flex SDK • The Flex Software Development Kit (SDK) is a free download from Adobe and includes the Flex framework (component class library), compiler, and debugger. Using the text editor of your choice, you can create the ActionScript and MXML files for your application, and then compile to SWF using the SDK.

  9. FDS • Flex Messaging Service • Publish/Subscribe messaging • Data Push • RPC Services

  10. FMS • Flex Messaging Service • FMS is one of the pieces that make up FDS, and it allows for the creation of applications that support real-time messaging, as well as collaboration. The messaging service has support for Java Message Service (JMS), as well as other existing messaging services, allowing for the creation of cross-platform chat applications.

  11. Publish/Subscribe • FMS uses the producer/consumer publish/subscribe metaphor, which allows for the creation of co-browsing applications. To understand what is meant by a co-browser application, imagine a company’s customer service representative being able to make edits to a form on the user’s screen in real time while the user watches

  12. Data Push • Data push is the capability for the server to push data changes to the client without any user interaction or polling of the servers. This can be critical when an application has hundreds or thousands of users connected, and they can all see changes to business-critical data in real time.

  13. RPC Services • Remote Procedure Calls • WebService- The WebService component can be used to access any Web service that complies with the WSDL 1.1 standard • HTTPService — The HTTPService component can send HTTP GET, POST, HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, TRACE, or DELETE requests. It does not support multi-part requests. • RemoteObjects — The RemoteObject component uses Action Message Format (AMF) to transfer data that is a binary format and is the fastest of the RPC Services.

  14. Flex Charting • The Flex charting components are a set of rich charting components that enable easy development of professional dashboard and business intelligence (BI) systems. The charting components are sold as a standalone product, or bundled with Flex Builder 2.

  15. What makes up Flex • MXML - XML tag based language • ActionScript 3 (AS3) scripting language based on ECMAScript 4

  16. MXML • The first element of the programming model, MXML, is an XML language that defines the user interface for an application. MXML is also used to define non-visual aspects such as server-side data sources and bindings between the user interface and the server side. • <mx:Label text="Hello World!"/>

  17. MXML Application <?xml version="1.0"?> <mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" > <mx:Panel title="Example Application using MXML"> <mx:Label text="Hello World!" fontWeight="bold" fontSize="30" /> </mx:Panel> </mx:Application>

  18. AS3 • The ActionScript programming language is used in Adobe’s Flash Player. Included are built-in objects and functions that allow you to create your own objects and functions like many object-orientated programming (OOP) languages. • AS3 is the the first version to have full support for Object oriented programming

  19. AS3 Sample Class package { public class Person { public var firstname:String; public var lastname:String; public var email:String; } }

  20. Real World Samples • http://www.asfusion.com/apps/homelocator/ • http://www.omnova.com • http://elk-x.de/sae/accomFinder/ • http://www.dashboardcompany.com/Gallery.asp • http://www.kwstudio.com/haworthCatalog/ • http://www.boomslide.com/flexDraw/ • http://www.hjconnection.com/steveforell • http://www.ringdesignonlline.com • http://everythingflex.wordpress.com/2006/11/15/fotobooth-flex-version-of-the-mac-application/

  21. Code Samples • Drag and Drop (chapter 8) • Repeaters (chapter 8) • Print Jobs (chapter 8) • Charts (chapter 10)

  22. Contact me • rich@richtretola.com • http://www.everythingflex.com • http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Flex-2-Rich-Tretola/dp/0470102675

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