Core Flex 4 – Elements vs Children

When I started using Flex 4 I tried to get up to speed by using the new version in a manner similar to its predecessor until I came across roadblocks or when I determined I was able to take advantage of the new features I had heard about such as skinning, states, etc. I quickly found that there were some obvious Flex questions that I was not able to answer without diving into the API docs and by playing with some examples so I could truly understand what is going on.   I knew from past experience that Halo was hiding a lot of the dirty details about what was going on in the display list, but once you start using Spark, you will come to see just how much Halo was really doing under the covers and why Spark is a much more ‘honest’ way of working with the display list.
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Spark Physics with Flex 4 Components and Box2D

A while back I created a few demos showing how to combine ActionScript physics engines (as well as 3d engines) with Halo components to create a physics-enabled UI. I wanted to see what could be done using the new Flex 4 Spark components and I was very surprised to find that almost nothing had been posted about using physics engines with Flex 4. Continue reading →

Flex 4 Released

I just checked the Adobe.com website and they’ve posted the links for the officially released versions of Flex 4 and Flash Builder 4. For those of you who have not yet taken a look at the great new features in Flex 4, I would encourage you to check it out. It is simply awesome.

The getStackTrace Super Bug

If you happen to be hitting an issue where an application runs fine in the debug version of the Flash player but hangs up in the normal version, read on. This could be your problem.

I’ve made good use of a tip I picked up from McCune on generating a stacktrace in my logging statements so that I can not only see the method that was called but also from where it was being called.
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Grading System Demo

When I started getting into Flex several years ago, the first real application I created was an online grading system for a small K-12 school that I was consulting with as a side gig.  That was around 2005, and after several years of use, the school has outgrown this initial design.  Since they are no longer using it, I decided it would be ok to publish a demo.
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PeekPanel – My New Flex Component

This is my latest experiment which I’ve named the “PeekPanel”. I saw this type of animation done on my phone and figured it would be a cool way to hide options or preferences in an application.  It borrows the look and feel from the FlexBook/PageFlip components already out there, but instead of simulating a book, this is more of a way to use the “flip” to hide other components.

Try it out by clicking the ‘Show Options’ button below and then change the corners and adjust the angles of the fold using the sliders.  I’ve also added the ability to see the computed geometry, gradients and lighting with the checkbox options. Click the ‘Ok’ button or anywhere on the component other than the revealed (hidden) panel to close the fold.

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Day 2 – 360|Flex Random Thoughts and Observations

Here are some additional thoughts about 360|Flex so far.

In case you missed it, here is day 1.

Day 2:

  • Most of the developers here seem to favor macs over pc’s. My guess is that Apple has at least 60% of the flex-nerd market.  Nice.
  • The axiis framework is really something special.  Once they get the transitions in place, it will really be a must-have library for anyone doing data visualization.  The way they are handling layouts and data binding is pretty slick.
  • Flex 4 is looking better and better but I’m not going to really get into it until they solidify the api a little more. Jeremy Saenz’s presentation today pointed out that the way skins are implemented in the current pre-release of Gumbo is still somewhat fluid and you can easily find yourself having to go back and re-work your examples.  This is to be expected in code that is still in the early stages of development but it is also what is keeping me from really getting my feet wet.  Once the beta is released, I’m all over it.
  • The Universal Mind guys have really put a lot of thought into their UX efforts.  I was surprised to find out that Adobe’s UX team is not the only game in town.
  • I was not aware that Joe Johnson and merhl.com are one in the same.  I’ve been reading his blog posts for years and yet I never knew who he was.  Actually, I still don’t know him, but I do know what he looks like now.

360|Flex Random Thoughts and Observations

My co-worker, Joshua, and I have just completed our first full day of sessions at 360 Flex here in Indianapolis. So far it has been well worth it. Just some random thoughts and observations:

  • The folks here are really cool and very friendly. They seem to be genuinely excited to be here.
  • I’ve gotten to meet several of the guys who are working on projects that I’m either very interested in or already use. This includes folks like Juan Sanchez, Doug McCune and Ryan Campbell just to name a few. It is cool to finally put faces with names after following their blogs for such a long time.
  • Indianapolis seems to be a pretty clean city and the downtown area is much more lively than I expected. There are lots of steakhouses and brew pubs.
  • Renaun’s presentation on structured log testing is something I can definitely use on my projects at work. I just hope I can keep the disciplined attitude that it takes to keep my tests up-to-date.
  • The enhancements coming down the pipe for Flex 4 are even more substantial than I realized. They will make writing Flex apps much more efficient. Too bad they are so vague about its availability.
  • So far, Michael Labriola’s ‘Any Which Array but Loose’ has been my favorite session. He really seems to know his stuff and I learned a lot about what is really going on in the different types of arrays, vectors, bytearrays and arraycollections.
  • I think Adobe initially thought that Flash Catalyst would be a great way to create Flex/Flash applications without all the messing coding. Now that it has been in development for quite some time, I think they’ve figured out that it is much better to position it as a tool for prototyping and wireframing applications and leaving the rest of the work up to the developers who want to get into the code.
  • The first night here, Obama was in town. His motorcade was supposed to pass right by the hotel but I never saw it. Too bad. Would have been cool to see the limo and the whole procession first-hand.
  • Every night there is a reception at the Rock Bottom Brewery. It is fun to socialize with everyone over a beer after a day of sessions.
  • The presentation I’m most looking forward to is the one on OpenFlux. The outside-the-box thinking that goes into a project like this is really something else. The impact that OpenFlux and Degrafa have had on the evolution of Flex 4 is really impressive.
  • This hotel is also a functioning train station. The rooms shake when a locomotive rolls through. They try to pass it off as part of the experience. My bet is that they just didn’t think it through.