Develop rich internet applications quickly and easily using Adobe Flex 3, ActionScript 3.0 and integrate with a Java backend using BlazeDS 3.2

If you want to try your hand at developing rich Internet applications with Adobe's Flex 3, and already have experience with frameworks such as .NET or Java, this is the ideal book to get you started. Programming Flex 3 gives you a solid understanding of Flex 3's core concepts, and valuable insight into how, why, and when to use specific Flex features. Numerous examples and sample code demonstrate ways to build complete, functional applications for the Web, using the free Flex SDK, and RIAs for the desktop, using Adobe AIR. This book is an excellent companion to Adobe's Flex 3 reference documentation. With this book, you will: Learn the underlying details of the Flex framework Program with MXML and ActionScript Arrange the layout and deal with UI components Work with media Manage state for applications and components Use transitions and effects Debug your Flex applications Create custom components Embed Flex applications in web browsers Build AIR applications for the desktop Flex 3 will put you at the forefront of the RIA revolution on both the Web and the desktop. Programming Flex 3 will help you get the most from this amazing and sophisticated technology.

The best way to showcase a powerful new technology is to demonstrate its real-world results, and that's exactly what this new Cookbook does with Adobe Flex 3. Wide ranging and highly practical, Flex 3 Cookbook contains more than 300 proven recipes for developing interactive Rich Internet Applications and Web 2.0 sites. You'll find everything from Flex basics, to solutions for working with visual components and data access, to tips on application development, unit testing, and using Adobe AIR. You also get ideas from the development community. Through its Flex Cookbook website (www.adobe.com/devnet/), Adobe invited Flex developers to post their own solutions for working with this technology, and from hundreds of posts, the authors chose the best and most useful solutions to supplement Flex 3 Cookbook. Each recipe inside provides a solution to a common problem, explains how and why it works, and offers sample code that you can put to use immediately. Topics include: Containers and dialogues Working with Text Data driven components DataGrid and Advanced DataGrid ItemRenderers and Editors Images, bitmaps, videos, and sounds CSS, styling, and skinning States and effects Working with Collections, arrays, and DataProviders Using DataBinding Validation, formatting, and regular expressions Using Charts and data visualization Services and Data Access Using RSLs and Modules Working with Adobe AIR Whether you're a committed Flex developer or still evaluating the technology, you'll discover how to get quick results with Flex 3 using the recipes in this Cookbook. It's an ideal way to jumpstart your next web application.

Unlike many Flex books that presume readers want to develop applications from scratch, Flex on Java is for developers in the real world-where Flex is one more technology being added to existing systems developed in Java, and where integration is the key indicator of success. Written for Java developers beginning to use Flex, Flex on Java shows how to use Flex alongside existing Java applications, and how to integrate Flex using familiar server-side technologies such as Spring, EJBs, JMS, and more. The authors, both Agile development experts, focus on Agile and test-driven development to enable readers to redesign applications that deliver more value and with zero defects. Throughout the book, readers will apply these techniques to refactoring a single application into a rich internet application using Flex and the BlazeDS framework. Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.

How soon can you learn Adobe Flex 3? With this book's unique hands-on approach, you will be able to tinker with examples right away, and create your own Rich Internet Applications with Flex within the first few chapters. As you progress, you learn how to build a layout, add interactivity, work with data, and deploy your applications to either the Web or the desktop. Learning Flex 3 offers step-by-step instructions that are clear and concise, along with tips and tricks that author Alaric Cole has gathered after years of using Flex and teaching it to fellow developers at Yahoo! You'll understand how Flex works, how to use the MXML markup language and work with ActionScript, how to deploy RIAs to the desktop using Adobe AIR, and much more. Whether you're a beginner, or an experienced web developer coming to Flex from another platform, Learning Flex 3 is the ideal way to learn how to: Set up your environment with FlexBuilder and Eclipse Create a new Flex project Use the different design views in Flex Write code with MXML Lay out your Flex application Embed images and graphics Build a user interface Add interactivity with ActionScript Handle user input Move, display, and collect data Add custom components with MXML Add sound effects, filters, and transitions Style your applications with CSS, skins, and themes Deploy applications to the Web, or to the desktop using Adobe AIR Also included are brief explanations of objects, classes, components, properties, methods, types, and other Flex attributes. You will find that Learning Flex 3 is not only the most complete tutorial for Flex, it's also the quickest way to get going with the latest version of this powerful framework.

Evaluating any new technology can be a challenge. This Short Cut is designed to help web application developers (and their team managers) understand if Flex is the right technology for their company or client. Although the authors of this book have a strong understanding of the Flex framework, this isn't a sales pitch for Flex. The authors believe that Flex is a good tool to solve many business problems, but it is not a cure-all. After reading this material, you'll know what's good about Rich Internet Applications. You'll know the capabilities of Flex 3, how Flex works, and how much it costs. We'll tell you about the challenges you'll face in developing with Flex, and show you the steps you'll take to create and deploy a Flex 3 application.

Flexible Rails is a unique, application-based guide for using Ruby on Rails 2 and Adobe Flex 3 to build rich Internet applications (RIAs). It is not an exhaustive Ruby on Rails or Flex reference. Instead, it is an extensive tutorial in which the reader builds multiple iterations of an interesting RIA using Flex and Rails together. Author Peter Armstrong walks readers through eleven iterations in which the sample application—pomodo—is variously built, refactored, debugged, sliced, diced and otherwise explored from every conceivable angle with respect to Ruby on Rails and Adobe Flex. The book unfolds both the application and the Flex-on-Rails approach side-by-side. Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.