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:
(more…)

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.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

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.

It Will Be: The not-a-blog

I generally think of Blogs as a useful (and sometimes a useless) collection of thoughts, information, or even meaningless conversation. But one important distinction is that it is a collection, not was a post once. So I write this post in way of an apology for this not-a-blog excuse of a website, and to commemorate a 2-year (plus some) break of silence.

Thank you Jacob, for always linking to the website though it’s little more than a url. And thanks to Andy and all those who have ever prodded me to write more (more doesn’t seem the right word) on my blog. It might actually be a regular thing someday, if I learn not to wait for that next redesign to feel like I can write again.

Tyler Wright to speak at FlashForward

If you haven’t guessed, I’m Tyler Wright. I started out in life hoping to be an artist and even went to school with a declared major of Illustration. Somehow I’ve become a full-time web developer programming the applications that get designed by someone else (currently the mediaRAIN designers). My niche: Flash ActionScript

I am scheduled to speak at the FlashForward Conference for the first time this September. I am co-presenting with the amazing developer and good friend, Rob Taylor. The title of the session is Browser Power for Flash. This FlashForward presentation is about drawing on the strengths of the browser to make the Flash experience a better one. We’ll show stuff like embedding JavaScript in Flash, Flash SEO (search engine optimization), dynamically embedding Flash in the web page, etc. Examples used will be navigation and bookmarking within a non-pagenated Flash site, disabling and re-tooling the Flash right-click menu, using custom fonts in your HTML and many others. More on this as the presentation develops.

You’ll find the name at the bottom of the list of speakers: Tyler Wright (I’m a little behind the rest of the world, alphabetically). I hope to meet you at the conference for those of you planning to attend!