Feature Articles
Volume 2 Issue 2
Ten Questions with Adobe's Matt Chotin
by Leif Wells
This discussion with Matt Chotin, senior product manager for Flex at the time of Flex 4's development, gives great insight into what goes into a big software application like Flex.
Read the Introduction to "Ten Questions with Adobe's Matt Chotin"
Flex 4 is Here and I Love it
by Leif Wells
This article is a great overview of Flex 4, what's good, what could be better, community reaction to the new version, and why you too should be optimistic about Flex's future.
Read the Introduction to "Flex 4 is Here and I Love It"
Volume 2 Issue 1:
Flex and Open Source
by Giorgio Natili
Giorgio Natili explores what it means for the Flex framework to be open source, covering the differences in open source licenses, Flex tools and frameworks that are open source, and opportunities in the open source community.
Read the introduction to Flex and Open Source
The SQPhoto App: Rendering Photos Dynamically with Flex and PHP
by Pete Mackie
Rendering photos dynamically with Flex and PHP should be easy, right? Actually, the process is complex and full of potential pitfalls for the unwary developer. Pete Mackie explains just what it takes to build an application with a PHP backend and a Flex frontend that searches for and renders photos based on user input. The application code is available free for download at http://www.flex-authority.com/issues/integrating-flex/code/pete-mackie-sqphoto-application-code.zip.
Read the Introduction for "The SQPhoto App: Rendering Photos Dynamically with Flex and PHP"
Creating a Poll with Flex, PHP, and MySQL
Steve McLaughlin
Steve McLaughlin takes us through an application that creates a poll, has people vote on the answer, and displays the results, using Flex, PHP and MySQL.
Read the Introduction for "Creating a Poll with Flex, PHP and MySQL"
Download the code for "Creating a Poll with Flex, PHP and MySQL"
Building Rich Internet Applications with BlazeDS Connectivity
by Giorgio Natili
Giorgio Natili talks about the Service Connector class, a small class set compatible with the AMF protocol used by BlazeDS, LiveCycle DS (LCDS), AMFPHP and WebORB, etc., which works as a data bus in a Flex-based RIA. In this article, he describes using Service Connector to control data flow and delivery in an application using Flex and BlazeDS.
Read the Introduction to "Building Rich Internet Applications with BlazeDS Connectivity
Download the Code for "Building Rich Internet Applications with BlazeDS Connectivity"
Building a Flex Application Integrated with BlazeDS Messaging
by Aaron West
Pairing Flex with BlazeDS' messaging can lead to one amazing Rich Internet Application (RIA)! Aaron West takes us on an introductory article to using the two technologies together.
Read the Introduction to "Building a Flex Application Integrated with BlazeDS Messaging"
Download the Code for "Building a Flex Application Integrated with BlazeDS Messaging"
Volume 1 Issue 2:
Coding a Customer Information Kiosk RIA with Adobe AIR, Flex, and ColdFusion
by Andrew Trice
This three-part AIR, Flex and ColdFusion application is a great introduction to the process of building an application that melds three of Adobe's best products. With a focus on the Flex and AIR portions, this article is a nice balance of code and explanation that will help any new developer to Flex understand the process.Follow along by downloading the application code below.
Download the Example Flex Address Search with CFC
Download the Kiosk RIA example code
Building a Data Dictionary-Driven Form Field Control
by Bruce Kim
Standard form field controls need a lot of verbose code and developers have to get a considerable amount of detail correct to make them work. Defining your data in a centralized data dictionary will make your form fields much more concise, with the different pieces of the applciation accessing the dictionary to understand how to manage the data. Bruce shows us how to build a data dictionary and how to integrate it to make better, more manageable form field controls.
Download the code for Building a Data Dictionary-Driven Form Field Control
Flex Builder 3: Getting Started with the IDE
by Jun Heider
This article gives a good overview and exploration of the intracicies of Eclipse and Flex Builder 3. Jun does everything from defining Flex Builder's Eclipse terminology to addressing things like creating projects, customizing the IDE with different perspectives and views, running and debugging your projects, and managing your workspace. The multiple screenshots and tips in this article make it an effective introductory guide to Flex Builder 3.
Volume 1 Issue 1:
Hello Mate: A Beginner's Guide to the Mate Flex Framework
by Brian Rinaldi
What is Mate? How does it compare to Cairngorm, the Flex framework familiar to most Flex developers? In this article, Brian Rinaldi introduces readers to Mate, compares the two frameworks, and shows why you might consider Mate for your Flex development.
Download the code for Hello Mate: A Beginner's Guide to the Mate Flex Framework
Build Your Own Flickr Downloader
by Jack Herrington
Find out how to use the Flickr API to build an application that combines Flickr search functionality with the ability to download and play back images – allowing you to take your Flickr obsession with you wherever you go!