Flex in a Week is available

Flex in a Week is a week-long, video based online training program for developers. This self-paced program is free and is intended to help developers accelerate their Flex learning. The training will eventually be a full 5-day program, however they are launching with the first three days which will provide developers with enough learning to get them started using Flex.They will complete the remaining two days of content over the coming weeks.

Take your Ajax apps to the desktop with Adobe

	Take your Ajax apps to the desktop with Adobe
	www.adobe.com/products/air

What is AJAX?

AJAX is coming from Asynchronous JavaScript And XML.

AJAX is programming technique combining client JavaScript code and Server-Side HTTP Requests. AJAX stands more popular in 2005 with Google Suggest.

AJAX is not a radically new programming language, but a new, more efficient way to use existing programming languages to get better, faster and user-friendly web applications.

With AJAX you can send and receive information to and from server on a small parts. You don’t need to get entire web page with new content. AJAX gives you ability to get exact this small part of information which is requested by the client and to put this information in exact place where the information stands for.

In classical Client-Server web application development, user have to fill some web forms, and click on Submit button. Then you have to collect user-data and post this information to the server. Next you have to get some data from a database, put this data in new web page and return this web page to user which looks to user like page-reload. This is old and slower.

With AJAX, small JavaScript in web page sends HTTP requests directly with the server and puts returned information in exact place without need to reload entire web page for user. This technique uses XMLHttpRequest Object.

Flex Gumbo API Reference available

The ASDoc API reference for Flex Gumbo, the next version of Adobe Flex, is now available at http://livedocs.adobe.com/flex/gumbo/langref/.

For general information about Gumbo, see the Gumbo page.ﾠ

Flash Actionscript Goodies

Heres a few helpful bits or flash actionscript code to help you on your way with developing dynamic flash content.

Random Number

There are a few ways to generate a random number in flash it all depends on what you need and how your going to do things, heres some examples:

Generate a random number between 0 and 10

variable = Math.random()*10;

Result: variable = 7.967452

Rounding a Random Number

variable = Math.floor(Math.random()*10);

Result: variable = 7

Random Number (Between specific numbers 10-20)

variable = Math.floor(Math.random()*(20-10+1))+10;

Result: variable = 15

Useful Key ASCII/ALT Codes

ENTER	13
BACKSPACE	8
0	48
1	49
2	50
3	51
4	52
5	53
6	54
7	55
8	56
9	57

Learn About Gumbo: The Next Version of Flex

Gumbo is the code name of the next version of Flex. New information about Gumbo has been made available on the Gumbo page of the Flex Open Source site.ﾠ

Highlights of the new information about Gumbo include the following:

Themes of the Release
Gumbo is being planned around three primary themes:

• Design in Mind
  A framework for continuous collaboration between designer and developer.
• Developer Productivity
  Improve compiler performance and add productivity enhancements.
• Framework Evolution
  Take advantage of the new Flash Player capabilities and add features required by common use-cases.

Recorded Presentations

• Matt Chotin provides a recorded preso outlining our plans for the next version of the Flex SDK (Gumbo)
• Ely Greenfield provides a video demo on Designer/Developer Workflow.
  See how you will be able to leverage the new Gumbo technology to start with a basic list and transform it into visually interesting, interactive, data-driven content – all without writing a single line of code.

White Paper: An Introduction to the Gumbo Component Architecture
This white paper provides a comprehensive look into our plans for the next version of Flex.

Gumbo Feature Specifications
Read, and comment on, the recently published specifications for Gumbo. Currently, there are eight specs available, with more on the way.

Summary Version of Gumbo Themes
Here is a summary version of the themes of Gumbo, the next version of Flex. Details of these Gumbo themes and other plans for the next version of Flex can be found on the Gumbo page of the Flex Open Source site.ﾠ

Design in Mind
A framework for continuous collaboration between designer and developer. We’re planning the following:

• A framework designed for continuous collaboration between designer and developer.
• Building out the MXML language to provide more toolability.
• Creating a format that describes vector graphics in XML that closely matches what Flash Player is doing.
• A new component and skinning architecture that will allow easy “skinnability” of components.
• Improvements in experience-oriented features such as states, effects, and layouts.

Developer Productivity
Improve compiler performance and add productivity enhancements. New builds are showing compiler performance improvements. Gumbo will add the following:

• Two way data binding
• Automation support for Flex components in AIR
• CSS improvements

Framework Evolution
Take advantage of the new Flash Player capabilities and add features required by common use-cases:

• New text features available from Flash Player 10
• Bi-directional and vertical text.
• New, nicely skinnable video component

12 Websites To Help You Learn Flash/ActionScript

In this article, you’ll find 12 wonderful websites that’s worth a bookmark if you’re looking into sharpening your Flash development skills. For each entry, you’ll find three tutorials from the website so that you can see what’s in store for you.

1. kirupa.com

kirupa.com is a site that features excellent Flash tutorials (as well as Silverlight, ASP.net, PHP, and Photoshop). There are plenty of well-written, detailed tutorials and articles pertaining to Flash sectioned into seven categories including Basic Drawing, Special Effects, Server-side Flash, and Game Development.

Tutorial examples:

• Simple Page Transitions
• Creating and Animating Clouds
• Falling Text

2. gotoandlearn.com

Some people learn best by visualization and following along with the instructor step-by-step in real-time. If you’re the type that prefers to learn by watching instructional videos, check out gotoandlearn.com – a website by Lee Brimelow that offers free Flash video tutorials.

Tutorial examples:

• ActionScript 3 Sound Basics
• Creating 3D Carousels
• Creating Flash Tooltips

3. gotoAndPlay()

gotoAndPlay() is dedicated to providing resources for Flash game developers. It’s a community that has a forum, interviews from professional developers, and reviews of books and resources. It also has tutorials and articles about Flash game development that can be filtered by topic, expertise, and type.

Tutorial examples:

• Developing a space shooter game
• Skeletal Animations
• How to protect SWFs from decompilers?

4. Adobe – Flash Developer Center

Adobe’s Flash Developer Center is a community for Flash developers. Here, you’ll find tutorials, articles, and related resources about Flash. You should also check out the ActionScript Technology Center for articles on specifically about ActionScript.

Tutorial examples:

• Using ActionScript to pause and loop the timeline in Flash
• Drawing with the Pen tool
• Creating a 3D button animation for Flash

5. Flash Kit

Flash Kit is one of the biggest and oldest community dedicated to Flash development. With over 600,000 members, you won’t have a hard time finding people with a similar interest in Flash. There’s a forums section, free resources that you can download and use in your Flash projects, and a large tutorials section that includes 18 categories.

Tutorial examples:

• Making movieclips point at the mouse
• Move a sprite with the keyboard
• How to use hitTest in a simple game

6. ActionScript.org

ActionScript.org is a site that provides resources and information pertaining to Flash, Flex, and ActionScript. They have a fairly active Forums section as well as an ActionScript Library that currently has over 700 objects you can download.

Tutorial examples:

• Drawing Shapes with AS3
• Simple reflection effect with AS2
• Physics in ActionScript 3.0

7. Flash and Math ActionScript 3 Tutorials

Flash and Math has a great collection of tutorials on AS3. They cover basic to advanced topics so that Flash developers of any level can find something they can read and learn from. Many of the tutorials include the source files for download.

Tutorial examples:

• Drag-and-Drop in Flash CS3
• Tween Tricks in Flash CS3 and ActionScript 3
• Simple 3D Drawing in Flash CS3 and ActionScript 3

8. Flash Tutorials on Pixel2Life

Pixel2Life, according to the site, is the “largest tutorial index catering to graphic designers, webmasters and programmers”. With over 40,000 indexed tutorials, you’ll find many links to tutorials in their Flash Tutorials section.

Indexed tutorial examples:

• Creating a Basic Flash Website (AS3 Version)
• Actionscript 3 Timer Class
• Stars animation above the city

9. Flash Perfection

Flash Perfection is a website with a large collection of Flash tutorials, tips, and tricks from various websites. Flash Perfection has 23 categories to help you find information more quickly.

Indexed tutorial examples:

• Atmospheric Steam
• Optimizing your Flash SWFs
• Quick and Easy Zoom Effect in Flash

10. metah.ch

metah.ch has some awesome video tutorials on Flash, ActionScript, Flex, and AIR. Files associated with the tutorials can be downloaded and used in your own projects.

Tutorial examples:

• Introduction to Loop and Event in AS3
• Connecting AS3 with a Database
• Interaction between AS3 and JavaScript

11. LukaMaras.com

LukaMaras.com offers detailed Flash tutorials and resources designed to help you learn Flash. There’s also a small forums section with over 3,000 registered users where you can discuss anything related to Flash.

Tutorial examples:

1. ActionScript drop-down menus
2. How to make pixel buttons in Flash the easy way.
3. How to make an amazing dynamic image gallery in Flash 8

12. Flashmagazine

Flashmagazine is an online magazine dedicated to Flash news, reviews, information, and resources. The Tutorials section has some excellent tutorials for Flash developers.

Tutorial examples:

• How to make a custom AS3 preloader
• AS3 Photo gallery
• Rollover effect using masks

I hope you found this article useful! Since there’s so many websites out there dedicated to Flash development, I can’t include them all, so if you didn’t see your favorite – please share it with all of us in the comments.

CS3 and Web 2.0 Icon Generator on Adobe AIR

I came across this cool little application built on AIR that lets you generate a CS3 or Web 2.0 style icon. They seem to have gotten the fonts correct so you can pick your color, type in a couple of characters, and have your very own icon. And of course when you save it the application uses the file APIs to write 4 different sizes of the icon for you. Perfect for an application.xml file.

Flash Player 10 Beta 2 Released on Labs

A new prerelease version of Adobe Flash Player 10, code-named “Astro,” is now available for download on Adobe Labs. Beta 2 includes the following new features:

• Enhanced Sound APIs
• Linux WMODE
• Video4Linux v2 Support
• unloadAndStop
• Limited Fullscreen Keyboard Access

A complete list of features and fixed issues can be found in the updated release notes.

Adobe, Google, and Yahoo! Make Searching SWF Files Easier

Today they made a big announcement that will make huge improvements in how SWF files will be indexed in top search engines. You can read the full details by checking out the official press release.

So what exactly has happened here? Basically they have created some new technology that they are providing to leading search engines like Google and Yahoo! which allow them to fully parse and index Flash files. Google is already using this new technology and Yahoo! is will be coming onboard shortly. This will greatly improve how your Flash sites will show up in search engines.

Since this is brand-spanking new technology there aren’t yet any “best practices” that have developed for how to make your SWF files take the most advantage of this new technology. These will develop over time. Look for details here as things develop. But this is a groundbreaking partnership that is a huge step forward for helping Flash become fully searchable.