Flex 2: Developing Rich Client Apps UK Classes & Lessons (Adobe)

About this class

Flex 2: Developing Rich Client Applications is a 3 day course which provides experienced application developers with hands-on, practical experience using Flex. This three day course introduces developers to all the primary features of Flex they'll need to know in order to build a fully functional, well architected front end for a Rich Internet Application (RIA).

Who will the lesson benefit?

This course is designed for application developers who want to bring the power of Rich Internet Applications to their web applications.

What prerequisites are required

To gain the most from this class, you should:

Be familiar with an object oriented programming language such as Java or C++.
Be familiar with XML terminology.

Contents of this class

Introducing Adobe Flex 2

Understanding rich Internet applications
Introducing the Adobe Flex 2 product line
The foundation of the RIA: Flash Player/Flash Virtual Machine
Understanding the Flex application process flow
Getting help and other resources
Exploring the course application 13

Getting Started with Flex Builder 2

Understanding the relationship between Eclipse and Flex Builder 2
Exploring the Flex Builder 2 interface
Creating a project and your first application
Creating a main application page and running it
Using debugging
Getting help in Adobe Flex Builder 2

Learning Flex Fundamentals

Creating a simple Flex application
Creating your first Flex application
Laying out a Flex application with containers
Adding user interface controls
Creating bindings between components
Architecting an application with MXML components
Creating properties and methods of MXML components

Handling Events

Understanding events
Creating event handlers using inline ActionScript
Using inline ActionScript
Handling events with ActionScript functions
Placing ActionScript functions in external files
Understanding the event object
Implementing the add EventListener method

Using Simple Controls

Getting familiar with Flex controls
Using the Button control
Using a CheckBox Control
Using NumericStepper controls
Using Text controls
Displaying images
Adding simple controls to an application

Laying Out an Application with Containers

Understanding Containers
Using the Application container
Setting an application's layout
Using the Panel container
Using the Form container
Using the Grid container
Using Box Containers
Using the DividedBox container
Using the Tile container
Container best practices
Using the ControlBar container
Component layout and sizing rules

Laying out an Application

Using Constraint-Based Layout
Understanding absolute positioning
Positioning components within the Canvas container
Positioning components inside a Canvas
Creating a constraint-based layout using Flex Builder 2
Creating a constraint-based layout in MXML
Using constraint-based layouts with nested components

Using View States for Application Design

Understanding view states
Creating two states for the Contact page
Controlling view states
Reviewing the generated MXML code
Creating view states that include custom components states

Creating Application Navigation

Understanding navigator containers
Using the LinkBar container
Using the TabBar container
Using the ViewStack container
Navigating the Cafe Townsend application using the ViewStack and TabBar container
Using the TabNavigator container
Using the Accordion container
Using ButtonBar & ToggleButtonBar
Using the Application Control Bar container

Customising the Application

Customising Flex application look and feel
Using the Styles API to change look-and-feel
Using theme styles
Changing the look and feel of the Cafe Townsend application
Applying behaviors to components
Applying transitions to view states

Using MXML and ActionScript Data Models

Using the MVC design pattern
Creating an MXML data model
Using ActionScript classes as a data model
Instantiating an Object in MXML from an ActionScript class
Creating an ActionScript constructor with parameters
Defining class methods

Exchanging Data Between Components

Using Custom Events
Understanding the problem with bindings
Using a binding to get data from a component
Creating custom events
Creating, dispatching and handling a custom event
Sending data with a custom event

Retrieving XML Data with HTTPService

Retrieving XML data at runtime
Handling results
Retrieving data at runtime with HTTPService
Handling results using an event handler
Handling faults
Making HTTP requests to different domains

Looping Through Data Using a Repeater

Understanding the Repeater component
Using dataProvider data in repeated controls
Dynamically creating components using a Repeater
Using Repeater data in ActionScript
Referencing repeated components

Displaying Data Using the DataGrid

Using the DataGrid control
Displaying Simple XML Data in a DataGrid
Specifying DataGrid columns
Specifying DataGrid columns
Formatting DataGrid columns
Using item renderers and item editors
Using the TileList and HorizontalList
Using events and selected items with list-based components