Reflex at 360|Flex

Reflex was finally demoed for the first time at the recent 360|Flex Conference. This new component framework is familiar to the Flex Framework in features and use though it is completely independent. Reflex extends the Flash Player through composition adding a robust layout, skinning, a component suite and an MXML workflow.

Probably the most unique aspect to the design of the Reflex system is a concept called Behaviors. A Behavior defines specific logic or interaction for a component, which is usually made up of several behaviors. As with component skins behaviors may be added and replaced at runtime and will utilize the styling features of the Flash Builder.

Through skinning and changing behavior a component can be completely redressed without extension. Below is an example of a list of data, moon phases and their cycle percentage:
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A Flash Tribute

I tried out the editing features in Camtasia Studio for Mac (top screencasting software) and really liked the process. It was easy to throw together a mix of audio and media and spend a few too many hours tweaking and enjoying the creative flow.

Well, creative is a relative term, see the results:

Viva la Flash!

Reflex: Rethinking Component Design

So is the title of the upcoming 360|Flex presentation on Reflex, a toolkit for Flash developers that has been in the works. The conference in March will finally mark its début:

With the emergence of so many new technologies it is an exciting time to be a developer. Embracing the spirit of advancement, Reflex was created to extend the Flash Platform with a component toolset worthy of its industry. Reinventing the features of Flex for the creative workflow, Reflex enhances the Flash Player (rather than abstracting it) to meet the demands of next generation applications and devices. Come be among the first to see what Reflex can do and learn about its unique architecture, the details of the project, its goals and its future. (session description)

The presentation will begin at 1:00pm on Tuesday, the 9th of March. Right after lunch. Be sure to come early for a good seat.

Custom Binding Released!

Delivered as promised. It has a smaller memory footprint, a faster clock-speed and, best of all, it’s 100% weak-referenced. Data binding is supposed to be light and unobtrusive. Now you can have the smallest ActionScript 3 binding available, released as a component of the open source Flight Framework.

Flight’s data binding is powerful and simple, consisting of two classes. A Binding object represents a single data source: a source object and a source-path, such as model and "user.userName". Any number of event listeners and object/property pairs can be registered with this single Binding instance, allowing each to update when the data source changes. This class may be useful for special needs, but you usually don’t deal with Binding directly.

The Bind class is the primary interface to Flight binding and is used much like you would use Flex BindingUtils. This class exposes a static API for adding and removing bindings and listeners. It can also be instantiated via MXML for special cases where you need weak-reference binding that curly-brace bindings just don’t support. Here’s an example of usage:

Binding via Static ActionScript API:

// Bind.addBinding(target:Object, targetPath:String, source:Object, sourcePath:String, twoWay:Boolean = false):Boolean
 
Bind.addBinding(this, "userTxt.text", this, "model.user.userName");

Instance binds via MXML:

<!-- constructor: Bind(target:Object = null, targetPath:String = null, source:Object = null, sourcePath:String = null, twoWay:Boolean = false):void -->
 
<flight:bind targetPath="userTxt.text" sourcePath="model.user.userName"/>

Visit the Google Project to download release 0.8.1 or higher.

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Finally! Undo in Flash/Flex TextFields

One of those things that the browser has built in that you wish would just work in Flash – a simple TextField undo & redo. My brother recently released a really slick solution to the problem. It isn’t a UI component – it sits above the display list and works with all types of Flash TextFields: Flex components, Flash components, bare naked TextFields. It’s really small (1 manager and 3 command classes) and you attach it to the highest level display object necessary for a custom level of influence – so if you want the whole app to be effected then you attach it to the root.

Here’s what the API looks like:

var undoTextFields:UndoTextFields = new UndoTextFields();
undoTextFields.target = this;


Boom! done. (sound effect not included) And it works just like the browser – each TextField has its own undo/redo independent of the others.

NOTE:
The component uses the Flight Framework history without adopting the rest of the framework methodology. A great use of Flight, as it prescribes utility and a minimalistic approach to development. I’ll probably demo this utility at my upcoming presentation.

Flight Framework: Early Beta.

It isn’t easy for me to release code that isn’t finished, so I’ve had many projects come and go without ever seeing the light of day. But not Flight, not this time.

I’ve posted about Flight before: it’s a simple and powerful application framework in ranks with Cairngorm and some of the newer frameworks. Here’s an excerpt from Flight’s initial post:

The Flight Framework is the evolution of an ActionScript framework that has been around for a few years. It was a replacement to Cairngorm and was originally designed for web-based, design-centric applications such as logo makers and book builders. Even now the framework ships with the CommandHistory – an entire solution for undo and redo – and other practical utilities that strengthen its offering.

Flight Framework maintains an emphasis on supporting capable clients: Flex and Flash applications that are much more than just a pretty face to a server implementation. Through features like domains (modular MVC systems) and a prescribed structure, the framework transforms component scripting into real application development.

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360|Flex: Speaking on Undo & Redo

And such a nice conference! I’m pleased to say that I will be speaking at the best conference around for Flex and Flash developers. The presentations at this conference have real depth for developers, and this year looks like a great lineup: the schedule.

My topic is on a subject I’ve dealt with frequently. Over the last few years I’ve been heavily involved in building up design-centric tools and applications, all Flash/Flex based. Of course, one of the first requirements of these type of applications is undo and redo:

Undo History with Flight – level 200, Intermediate
Undo & redo is a core feature to many applications, yet it’s missing from your Flash and Flex projects. Learn how to easily add history to your applications with little effort. This session covers the concepts, benefits and the techniques of history management. It breaks down the complexity of undo & redo implementation into simple code, illustrating the use of the Command Pattern and providing the tools necessary to get up and running within minutes. This session is targeted toward intermediate developers, but will be a great overview of application history for beginners and non-programmers.

Also, there’s a pre-showing of the presentation at our next uFlash meeting. For everyone else, don’t forget to register for 360|Flex! The discount pricing for early registration is first come first serve.

ActionScript 3.0 Language Reference for Flash Player 10

I can never find the language reference for Flash Player 10. I finally bookmarked the thing, but thought it might be useful to share the (apparently un-indexed) web location: flash player 10 language reference

The api for the new Vector type is here, which is identical to the Array in all ways except the sort and sortOn (I wish they’d have Array and Vector implement a similar interface)

Also the references I use the most recently
• the new drawing api features: GraphicsPath, GraphicsData, lineBitmapStyle
• DisplayObject 3D: the ever-so-cool ‘z’ coordinate, PerspectiveProjection, Matrix3D

And I’d love to get involved with the dynamic sound generation, but right now that’s left to my genius co-worker Joe Snow.

<XML> Graphics

I’ve been doing some heavy research lately in FXG and Degrafa, digging through source code and everything. FXG and Degrafa are both graphics formats in XML markup (like SVG), both opensource, both pretty cool. I wasn’t particularly in favor of a markup format for graphics, with designing applications via MXML and such. I’ve now been converted. I think it’s really cool, useful for things like versioning, etc, and provides a more approachable file specification for developers to implement.

I still think designing is best done (for the most part) in a design tool like Photoshop and Illustrator. I’ve built several ActionScript-based design/editor apps in the past and wanted to put that experience toward a really great design tool that supports the two formats. Somewhere in the process I got a little excited (this will be no surprise to anyone who knows me) and started building my own graphics format. It serves no real purpose that FXG and Degrafa don’t cover, but I love it and it’s been very fun to build.

I’ll be getting back on track now with a FXG/Degrafa design app. Because of my under-the-hood time with the two formats I’d like to present on the formats and XML Graphics in general. I’ll get into the pros and cons and the future predictions sometime on the blog too.

Project Hosting with Codespaces

I’ve been using Codespaces for a few months now and have to say I really like it. Floyd Price started this Subversion hosting solution 3 years ago in his basement. Now based in Coventry (UK), his group of 6 continue to develop this Ruby on Rails project management software, driven largely by my personal complaints I’m sure.

What I like most is how separate and configurable projects and repositories are. I can create any number of “projects” in my space, attach multiple SVN repos to each, and even share repos between projects. It allows me the freedom to invite contributors to some projects and keep other projects all to myself. Each project has a ticket system, wiki, file storage, and can have a public portal for the community to read up on projects and even submit bugs. Now all I need is custom design and a sandwich maker!

Love the service, keep it up Floyd and co.