Flex 3, Flash CS3, Adobe Air, and Actionscript 3.0 Tutorials for the Masses
Jun 12 2007
A short example outlining the use of dispatchEvent to send an event from a custom component to the main application (this video assumes you know the basics of creating custom Flex components :
Jun 11 2007
Here are the basics of getting a movieclip out of the library and onto the stage using a custom Actionscript class. The key point is to import the linkage name you assigned the movieclip in the library (in this case, “Box”) to make it accessible in within the class. You can then assign whatever properties you want to it (in this case, x and y):
Jun 10 2007
This video shows the basics of setting up a Document Class for your Flash CS3 .fla:
Jun 09 2007
Let me just start by saying before I picked this book up I had already played around with Flex 2 enough to build fully functional RIAs. Based on my years of Flash experience and from simply poking around with the help files and I thought I had learned how things were “supposed” to work with Flex 2. Boy was I wrong.
This book taught me the true essentials of Flex 2: data binding, proper use of containers, navigation, states, printing, and a lot more. Each time I would read a new chapter, I would have to stop and say, “Wow, it’s that simple?” And developing Flex 2 RIA really is simple, I just had no idea so I always took the long, complicated Actionscript route instead of taking full advantage of what the Flex 2 components have to offer.
I admit that I’m in love with Flex 2 and I feel that part of what makes this book so great is the subject matter. Granted, it doesn’t teach many advanced topics or explore creative ideas, but it does teach you what you need to know. I guess that’s why they call it the “Essential Guide”. After reading this book from front to back, my efficiency for developing RIAs has increased one-hundred fold because I now have a firm understanding of the simple stuff.
This book is well-written and has plenty (but not too many) screenshots to accompany the step-by-step walkthroughs. I also found the book to be well-organized and have a nice flow to it where it doesn’t hit you with loads of information until you’re prepared for it. Basically, if you look at the table of contents, you can rest assured that you’ll understand each one of those topics by the time you’ve finished reading the chapter. Don’t skip ahead to the end though, you might ruin the ending :)
I can’t really comment much on the Coldfusion or Charting chapters as I don’t have ColdFusion and I don’t have a Charting license, but I’ll just go on faith that they work as explained.
If you’re just starting out with Flex 2, this book will help you build a good foundation for developing any project you’ll work on in the future.
If you’ve been working with Flex 2 for awhile already, this book may still be able to help you out by showing you some of the simplified ways of doing things that you may have missed (just like I did).
Jun 08 2007
Video Preview
This video shows a simple Flex states example where buttons on two different panels switch between “state1″ and “state2″.
Jun 07 2007
Video Preview
This video shows how after you create your custom component, you can add them into the application through drag n’ drop. You’ll see the drag n’ drop method automatically create a namespace called “ns1″ which points at the “MyComponents” folder. You’ll also see how making changes to custom components (naming the title “My New Panel”) automatically reflects in multiple instances of your custom component in your application.
View CustomComponents.mxml
View PanelOne.mxml (Remember, this is inside of the “MyComponents” folder)
The Six Steps
1. Create a new folder in your project (this menu pops-up when right-clicking on your project folder)
Continue reading “Creating Custom Flex Components in 6 Steps”
Jun 07 2007
Personally, I’ve always learned best watching other people work instead of being presented with a big block of code and having someone explain it to me line by line.
So just sit back, relax, and watch me work and maybe you’ll learn a thing or two. Ask questions if you have any and feel free to criticize as I would love to hear how you would approach these scenarios.
Thanks for stopping by,
John Lindquist