New Web applications require engaging user-friendly interfaces-and the cooler, the better. With Flex 3, Web developers at any skill level can create high-quality, effective, and interactive Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) quickly and easily. Flex removes the complexity barrier from RIA development by offering sophisticated tools and a straightforward programming language so you can focus on what you want to do instead of how to do it. And now that the major components of Flex are free and open source, the cost barrier is gone, as well! Flex 3 in Action is an easy-to-follow, hands-on Flex tutorial. Chock full of examples, this book goes beyond feature coverage and helps you put Flex to work in real day-to-day tasks. You'll quickly master the Flex API and learn to apply the techniques that make your Flex applications stand out from the crowd. Interesting themes, styles, and skins? It's in there.Working with databases? You got it. Interactive forms and validation? You bet. Charting techniques to help you visualize data? Bam! The expert authors of Flex 3 in Action have one goal - to help you get down to business with Flex 3. Fast. Many Flex books are overwhelming to new users-focusing on the complexities of the language and the super-specialized subjects in the Flex eco-system; Flex 3 in Action filters out the noise and dives into on the core topics you need every day. Using numerous easy-to-understand examples, Flex 3 In Action gives you a strong foundation that you can build on as the compexity of your projects increases. Purchase of the print book also comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book. You'll also get the Flex 3 in Action ebook and the Flex 4 in Action ebook upon its release both for free! Simply follow instructions on the insert to redeem your two free ebooks.

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.

With Professional Adobe Flex 3, put your prior experience with Flash, ActionScript and XML-based languages to good use and learn how to use the Flex 3 platform to create Rich Internet Applications and AIR applications. Understand the potential of the Flex 3 platform through practical examples and hands-on advice on topics like desktop deployment, developing applications in MXML, creating custom flex components, charting, targeting AIR, and data interconnectivity.

Discover how easy RIA development can be with this one-of-a-kind handbook from the Adobe Developer Library. Several clear, step-by-step mini-tutorials teach you about web services, event handling, designing user interfaces with reusable components, and more. After finishing this guide, you'll be able to build Flash applications ranging from widgets to full-featured RIAs using the Flex SDK and Flex Builder 3.0. With Getting Started with Flex 3, you will: Walk through sample RIA projects and see examples of amazing applications people have built with Flex Work with ActionScript 3.0 and the MXML markup language Build user interfaces using the controls and tools available with the framework Get a tour of controls available commercially and through open source Learn how Flex integrates with ASP.NET, ColdFusion, PHP, and J2EE in the server Build Flex-based widgets that let you display real-time data Use advanced controls to build 3D graphs, data dashboards, mapping applications, and more You'll find complete code for video players, a slideshow, a chat client, and an RSS reader, just to name a few. You also get plenty of tips, tricks, and techniques to leverage your existing programming skills, whether you come from an open source or Visual Studio-intensive background.

Adobe AIR is one of the hottest topics in rich application development. This exciting new technology is still in beta, but it's already being adopted by such web giants as eBay. With AIR, Web developers use their existing skills to build rich applications that flow seamlessly between the internet and the desktop. Adobe AIR in Action introduces AIR to developers familiar with Flex and JavaScript, showing them how to build solid AIR-driven desktop and hybrid applications. Using small examples, the expert authors walk web developers through the new topics they will need to develop AIR applications for the desktop. Readers will learn the essential features of the AIR API with examples and code samples that web professionals can use to get up and running in AIR quickly. The book describes how to create and customize native windows, read and write files and folders on the local file system. Web developers who read this book will be able to take instant advantage of the increased resources available to desktop applications. Sometimes-connected, web-enabled applications are gaining in popularity, and web developers of all stripes will want to add these skills to their toolbox. 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.

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.