Adobe Flex 4: Training from the Source, Volume 1 [Paperback]

Michael Labriola (Author), Jeff Tapper (Author), Matthew Boles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0321660501 | ISBN-13: 978-0321660503 | Edition: 1

Adobe Flex: Training from the Source is the best-selling and most trusted resource for learning about Adobe Flex. Written by a team of authors with practical experience as consultants, mentors and developers of courseware, this book/CD uses project-based tutorials, and is designed to teach beginning Flex developers the details of building and architecting real-world rich internet applications using Flash Builder incorporating MXML and ActionScript 3.0. The book includes a CD that contains all the files used in the lessons, plus completed projects for comparison. This latest edition includes complete coverage of New Flex 4 features such as the Spark Component model, Advanced Skinning, Component Creation, and much more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Adobe Press; 1 edition (May 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321660501
• ISBN-13: 978-0321660503
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Computers & Technology > Graphic Design > Web Design > Flash

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read if you are new to Flex or getting used to Flex 4, June 14, 2010

By 

Adrian Pomilio "www.uiandtherest.com" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Adobe Flex 4: Training from the Source, Volume 1 (Paperback)

I have read many Flex related books and have been developing Flex applications for sometime. This book is the newest version for Flex 4 and the series has been around since Flex 2. The simplest way to put it is if you are brand new to Flex, still learning Flex, or trying out Flex 4 then you need to read this book.

This book takes you through a step by step progression of creating an actual application. This is not a book of quick snippets and neat tricks, this book is filled with fundamental knowledge that teaches you how to create a real application. This is not "Hello World" or "watch this neat effect."

The authors hit on all the key elements of Flex and chime in with tips as well. The format is easy to follow, and can serve as a reference guide when a particular pattern slips your mind. Some other features of this book are how the authors go through creating classes. They discuss constructors, and actually use packages which is something many other books/blogs leave out. In real world application development all classes are not shoved in one default package, they are broken up into proper packages based on functionality, and the authors show this in their examples. This is huge for new developers who are not used to organizing an application. The authors describe what some of the key concepts like 'static method' means and how it refers to a method that belongs to a class, and not an instance of the class.

From external data and databinding, to collections and cursors, this book is a must read for those developing Flex applications. There are parts of this book that have already reminded me and corrected some bad habits I was starting to develop.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book!, July 9, 2010

By 

Oliver Sims (Hampshire, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adobe Flex 4: Training from the Source, Volume 1 (Paperback)

Anyone learning Flex 4 using Flashbuilder 4 should get this book. It not only takes you through a whole number of things you need to know (and a whole lot that you'd like to know), it's also an excellent introduction to structuring apps. This is arguably the key to writing good code, and is often neglected in "getting started" books.
One thing I particularly like is the way the author first tells you what to do and (importantly) why, and then (if you wish) you can have a go at writing the code yourself. But always, you only look a bit down the page, and there's the code you ought to have written. This is a really good way to learn. And, of course, there's a CD with all the exercises not only shown complete, but shown as at the *start* of exercises.
Finally, the author knows that you're using a new development environment, and at the start, you're taken through some of the really important things - like debugging!
In summary, with more years in software than I like to think, this is probably the best "getting started" book I've yet encountered.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Introduction, July 26, 2010

By 

John M. Stokes - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Adobe Flex 4: Training from the Source, Volume 1 (Paperback)

The self paced training offered in "Adobe Flex 4, Training From The Source" is outstanding. It offers a clear and concise introduction to Flex programming concepts with extensive hands-on exercises. Even a seasoned developer like myself has found it informative and the pace of learning is adequate to keep me from getting bored.