Focus: Creating Flex Components
ItemRenderers and ItemEditors Explored!
by Theo E. Rushin, Jr.
The Flex framework contains several controls that represent data as a list of items, including List, TileList, Menu, Tree, HorizontalList, DataGrid, and AdvancedDataGrid. These controls all have a default view for displaying data and a default editor for editing it. However, custom ItemRenderers and ItemEditors let you take your Flex code to a whole new level. Theo explores what you can do with ItemRenderers and ItemEditors and shows us three techniques for creating custom ItemRenderers in the first part of this series.
Download the code for ItemRenderers and ItemEditors Explored! Part I
The Life and Times of a Flex Component
by Douglas Knudsen
Having trouble creating custom components? Did you know that all components have a specific, set life cycle – an order and process by which they are created, updated and destroyed? Yes, indeed they do, with a few noted exceptions. Douglas Knudsen explains in detail what this component life cycle is and the things you need to know when creating and using your own components in your Flex applications.
Download the code for The Life and Times of a Flex Component
Getting a Handle on Flex Events
by Matt Guest
Events are one of the most useful features introduced in ActionScript 3 and one of Flex's main tools for reusability. An event can communicate any type of information to any components that care to listen, providing a cornerstone to extensible, modular applications. Matt Guest explains why we need events in Flex and how to use them effectively in our applications.