Book Image

Flex 3 with Java

Book Image

Flex 3 with Java

Overview of this book

Flex 3 is a great technology for developing Rich Internet Applications for the Web as well as for the desktop. If you are a developer looking to design great-looking and sophisticated user interfaces that resemble desktop-based applications, and want to utilize an existing server technology such as Java to develop RIAs, this book is for you. Targeting developers who want to get started with Adobe Flex 3 programming, this simple and clear handbook introduces Flex technology quickly and straightforwardly. Utilizing your existing knowledge of Java, it gives you the insight and hands-on experience to program with Flex 3. This book provides comprehensive information on various aspects of Flex 3 and ActionScript 3.0. These include developing simple applications, handling events, creating custom components and events, using RPC services, integration with Java and BlazeDS, styling and formatting, and how to package and deploy Flex applications. You will start with downloading, installing and configuring Flex 3 SDK and Flex Builder 3 and learn basic concepts such as what MXML and ActionScript are, understanding UI components, controls, compilers, and more. Further you will develop simple applications and slowly advance into more depth where you will learn advanced concepts such as creating custom components, debugging, integrating with Java, using RPC services, styling, internationalizing, and deploying Flex applications, and more. One of the things you're really going to love about this book is that you will develop a full-blown e-commerce application using a combination of Flex 3, ActionScript 3.0, BlazeDS 3.2, and Java. At the end of the book you will have the knowledge and experience needed to develop Rich Internet Applications.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Flex 3 with Java
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
Preface
8
Communicating with Server-side Java

Compiling and running an application


Going forward, we will be using many small examples to explain Flex concepts, so it is important that you understand how to compile and execute Flex applications in Flex Builder. The compiling process generates common .swf file or binary file from your source files including MXML, ActionScript, SWC files (Flex component library files), and assets and resources. The Flash Player uses the binary (.swf) file to execute the application. This process is similar to the way Java files are compiled into .class files known as bytecode.

To understand how the .swf files are executed, let's look at the following diagram:

The two Flex compilers—mxmlc and compc—can be configured and launched from either Flex Builder or the command line. By default, Flex Builder will compile your application whenever you change and save any Flex source code files. To disable this default behavior, you can click on the Project menu and deselect the Build Automatically menu item.

If...