Series
Working with Yahoo! Maps
by Brian Dunphy
In this series, Brian Dunphy walks us through key concepts in programming Yahoo! Maps applications in Flex.
Part 1
Part 1 deals with such topics as getting an API key, configuring Flex Builder to work with the Yahoo! Maps component, setitng up the mapping component within a Flex application and finally adding a basic marker to the screen. By the time you finish with this installment, you should be able to create a simple Yahoo! Maps application in Flex.
Download the code for Working with Yahoo! Maps Part I
Published in Flex Authority Volume 1 Issue 1
Part 2
In Part 2, Brian focuses on making a Yahoo! map interactive. Now that we've created a map with a simple marker (see Part I), Brian discusses how to load the map with data, such as the physical locations of your stores, using geocoding and an XML structure. Then he talks about extending the Yahoo! map's Marker class to make your markers interactive. You will learn a lot about the Yahoo! maps API and mapping in your Flex applications from this article.
Download the code for Working with Yahoo! Maps Part II Here
Published in Flex Authority Volume 1 Issue 2
Part 3
Now that we've learned how to make our map marker interactive, and to load the map with data, Brian teaches us how to create a basic search application and integrate some of the custom mapping widgets that Yahoo! has included in its API.
Read the introduction to this article.
Published in Flex Authority Volume 2 Issue 1
Developing a Game in Flex
by Billy D. Spelchan
Billy D. Spelchan is well known as a game creator on his site, BlazingGames.com, and he treats us to an absorbing explanation of the options for creating games in Flex.
Part 1: Plans and Foundation
In the first part of this series, Billy addresses the planning phase of a game, such as what technologies to use, what type of game to create, what options are available in Flex, creating a background story for your game, and more. By the end of the article, he has created the foundation for the Cleaner game demonstrating tiles and delta animation and plans on having a playable game by the end of part II and the completed game in part III.Download the Code for Developing a Game in Flex Part I
Published in Flex Authority Volume 1 Issue 1
Part 2: A World to Play In
In the second part of this series, Billy continues building the Cleaner game by creating a more complex game world with movement and a janitor player avatar. He explains the intricacies of creating a tile map, inserting the janitor into the map, giving the avatar movement, and changing the way the map looks in response to the avatar's actions. By the end of this article, through the use of Flex and XML, Billy has created a playable game – by no means finished, but playable. You can download the code for this game in the link below.
Download the Code for Developing a Game in Flex Part II
Published in Flex Authority Volume 1 Issue 2
Part 3: Beauty and the Beast
In the final part of his series, Billy populates his game with different monsters. He talks about creating monsters that work for your game world and designing movement animation that works.
Read the introduction to this article.
Download the Code for Developing a Game in Flex Part 3
Published in Flex Authority Volume 2 Issue 1
Under the Hood of a Flex/AIR Application Part I
by John Wilker
John Wilker, one of the creators of the 360 conferences, faced an interesting dilemma: How to let his attendees update their schedule for the 360|Flex conference whether they were online or offline? His solution was an AIR application, of course. In this series, he explores the process of building an AIR application with Flex and dissects the code for you. Part I covers the planning of the application and goes somewhat into the MXML that he used. Subsequent parts will cover the code in much greater depth.
Download the 360|Flex Session Survey Code
Download the 360|Flex Survey Backend Code
Published in Flex Authority Volume 1 Issue 1
Under the Hood of a Flex/Air Application Part II
by John Wilker
In part II of this behind-the-scenes look at the building of a Flex and AIR application for the 360|Flex session survey, John Wilker goes into the details of creating the SQLite database he used and integrating it into the application using Cairngorm. The details of this application's architecture, combined with the application code (available for download below) are sure to inspire and educate.
Note: Parts I and II use the same code base. If you've already downloaded the code for Part I, you don't need to download the code again.
Download the 360|Flex Session Survey Code
Download the 360|Flex Survey Backend Code