Programming Flex 2: The Comprehensive Guide to Creating Rich Internet Applications with Adobe Flex [Paperback]

Chafic Kazoun (Author), Joey Lott (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 059652689X | ISBN-13: 978-0596526894 | Publication Date: April 23, 2007 | Edition: 1st Ed.

Is there an easier way to build and deliver rich internet applications (RIAs) other than the Flash IDE or Ajax? Absolutely. With Adobe Flex 2, the Flex 2 SDK, and this book, you have all you need to build RIAs. Programming Flex 2 offers you plenty of practical and useful examples that reveal how and why to use a particular feature of Flex 2, and when and when not to.

As part of the Adobe Developer Library, Programming Flex 2 is the authoritative guide to this new Adobe framework. You learn to use a markup language called MXML and a vast library of off-the-shelf and highly-configurable components to build Flash-based applications that combine the immediacy of the Web with the functionality and responsiveness of desktop applications. You also discover why -- with the Flash Player runtime environment and the powerful ActionScript 3.0 programming language -- the possibilities with Flex 2 are nearly limitless.

Topics include:

• Managing Layout
• Working with Components
• Working with Media
• Managing State
• Using Transitions and Effects
• Working with Data
• Customizing Application Appearance
• Client Data Communication and Remote Data Communication
• Debugging Flex Framework Applications
• Creating Custom Components

Flex may be easier to learn than the Flash IDE, but you still need a reliable guide to the framework. Programming Flex 2 not only serves as a reference, but provides valuable and practical insight into this new technology. As you learn how to build Flex applications, you'll also discover how Flex works. This book supplies all the information you need in one convenient place.

Adobe Developer Library is a co-publishing partnership between O'Reilly Media and Adobe Systems, Inc. and is designed to produce the number one information resources for developers who use Adobe technologies. Created in 2006, the Adobe Developer Library is the official source for comprehensive learning solutions to help developers create expressive and interactive web applications that can reach virtually anyone on any platform. With top-notch books and innovative online resources covering the latest in rich Internet application development, the Adobe Developer Library offers expert training and in-depth resources, straight from the source.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chafic Kazoun is the founder and Chief Software architect at Atellis, and is widely considered one of the world's top experts on Flex (outside of the Adobe Flex engineering team). He has worked with Flash technologies since 1998 and with Flex since its inception, and he has a deep understanding of the internals of the Flex framework. He maintains a busy speaking and consulting schedule. When he's not busy developing solution-based applications, Chafic is actively involved in the Flash community, delivering presentations at numerous conferences including Adobe's MAX, Flashforward, FITC, Spark Europe, and MXDU. He is also the contributor of numerous published works and is the author of Programming Flex 2.0, a book recently released by O'Reilly Publishing. He is also an Adobe Community Expert, and shares his thoughts on his blog http://www.rewindlife.com.

Joey Lott is a founding partner of The Morphic Group, a Flex and Flash consulting company. At The Morphic Group Joey serves as a technology director, building some of today's most innovative Flex applications and advocating for the use and adoption of agile software development methodologies. He has written many books on Flex and Flash-related technologies, including Programming Flex 3, ActionScript 3 Cookbook, Adobe AIR in Action, and Advanced ActionScript 3 with Design Patterns.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st Ed. edition (April 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059652689X
• ISBN-13: 978-0596526894
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,064,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clearly Written; Well-Organized, May 1, 2007

By 

Brett Merkey (Palm Harbor, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Programming Flex 2: The Comprehensive Guide to Creating Rich Internet Applications with Adobe Flex (Paperback)

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The authors do a good job introducing the concepts and techniques of Flash-based Flex programming. Much of the content is directed at developers completely new to creating Flash content although familiarity with an object-oriented programming language and the latest trends in JavaScript (see my other reviews for examples) is recommended.

I won't recapitulate the chapters, which are given above in the editorial review. I just want to point out that the chapter order is not random but based on the authors' step-by-step approach though basic concepts.

To follow the examples you will need either:
- the free Flex SDK and your favorite code editor
or
- a trial version of Flex Builder

I give the authors credit for doing the extra work to show both alternatives in the samples. Believe me, the Flex Builder way takes far fewer steps!

I was disappointed with two things:
1) The URL for the book Web site was wrong. When I did find the book page on the O'Reilly site, there was no code download link. Since many code snippets were quite extensive, this lack is more than an inconvenience.

2) Each chapter stood more or less on its own. There was no integrated example to build upon from chapter to chapter.

This book fills in the gaps of the official Flex documentation and helps get you comfortable quickly with Flex.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good overview, but falls short as a reference book, May 21, 2007

By 

Cvilly (San Mateo, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Flex 2: The Comprehensive Guide to Creating Rich Internet Applications with Adobe Flex (Paperback)

I've been using this book for about a week or so now and while I think it's well written and provides a good foundation for Flex development concepts, I find it lacking as a reference book. In particular, the index is nearly worthless. It seems like every time I want to look up a property or component, even some common ones, they are not listed. I've had better luck with Google searches and Adobe Live Docs. It's also very light on ActionScript because the author has another separate book dedicated to that subject.

If you want to read a technical book cover to cover, this may be for you. If you need to dive right in and are looking for a good reference book, this is not it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Seems fine till you have to work, June 13, 2007

By 

D. King (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Programming Flex 2: The Comprehensive Guide to Creating Rich Internet Applications with Adobe Flex (Paperback)

I picked this book up and felt like I was sliding right into Flex. The concepts are familiar, the book lays the concepts out logically, I installed Flex Builder and did an initial HelloWorld and thought "This will be fun!"

After reading a couple hundred pages, I wanted to start a project. This is where the problems with the book hit me. The topics are covered at a very superficial level, and without any hands-on exercises. You don't proceed through simplistic but pedagogically useful example scenarios. I'm now reviewing the book, and its too-scant index (which makes it an unacceptable reference later), and realizing that I gleaned little about how to construct an application. How do I hook the MXML model to my ActionScript classes that provide the controllers? There's a VERY brief chapter on the life cycle of Flex apps and I'm sure I'll be able to figure this out because I've done similar things, but this is more a theoretical discussion of the concepts behind Flex than a how-to on programming Flex. Tastes great, (but) less filling. My guess is that a better hands-on Flex book plus a good ActionScript 3.0 book would be a much better choice, both for learning and for later reference.