Introduction to Adobe Flex 3:
35-Hour Online Class and Hands-On Workshop.

Getting Started

• Creating a project
• Creating an MXML application
• Running an application
• Overview of the FlexBuilder 3 workbench
• Using design view to create a UI
• Productivity tips and shortcuts

Laying Out the User Interface

• Using containers
• Using constraint-based layouts
• Working with view states

Simple UI Controls

• Using Image, Text, Checkbox, and other controls
• Understanding data binding
• Using the Form layout container

Data structures and event handling

• Understanding user events
• Understanding system events
• Using event object data
• Dispatching events

Using remote XML data

• Retrieving XML data with HTTPService
• Accessing XML data with e4x syntax
• Populating an ArrayCollection
• Populating UI Controls using collections
• Using XML Data with a Tree control
• Transforming XML data into custom objects

Creating custom components with MXML

• Extending the List control
• Updating and deleting data from a custom component
• Implementing a basic MVC application architecture
• Understanding Value Objects
• Creating non-visual components

Using Controls and Repeaters with Datasets

• Using labelFunctions and itemRenderers
• Creating multiple controls from a dataset
• Alternatives to using a Repeater

Using Custom Events

• Creating a custom event
• Populating a custom event with data
• Declaring events for a component
• Understanding event bubbling

Creating custom components with ActionScript

• Writing an AS3 component class
• Instantiating Flex components in ActionScript
• Understanding the Flex component lifecycle
• Understanding the sizing and positioning mechanism

Using DataGrids and Item Renderers

• Working with DataGrid columns
• Creating an MXML item renderer
• Using inline custom item renderers
• Dispatching events from custom item renderers
• Sorting
• Styling rows, columns, and cells in AdvancedDataGrid
• Grouping data in an AdvancedDataGrid
• Displaying summary data in an AdvancedDataGrid

Using Drag & Drop

• Working with the Drag and Drop Manager
• Dragging and dropping between lists and grids
• Adding drag & drop support to other components

Implementing Navigation

• Using the ViewStack navigator
• Using TabNavigator
• Styling tabs

Using Formatters & Validators

• Formatting dates and currency
• Validating input
• Using regular expressions
• Building a custom Validator class

Customizing the Look and Feel

• Setting styles via tag attributes
• Setting styles via CSS
• Creating a custom skin

Accessing Server-Side Objects

• Understanding Remoting and AMF
• Mapping ActionScript objects to server-side objects
• Implementing basic CRUD functionality
• Using Flex Builder data wizards

Data Visualization

• Working with pie, line, and column charts
• Populating charts with data
• Handling chart events
• Animating charts
• Applying styles to charts

Modularization

• Creating Modules
• Working with Runtime Shared Libraries (RSLs)
• Techniques for reducing application size
• Creating Flex library projects

Deploying Flex applications

• Compiling for deployment
• Deploying on the Web
• Deploying on the desktop with AIR

Transitions and effects

• Fading in/out
• Animating with Move and Resize
• Rotating
• Zooming

Printing

• Creating a FlexPrintJob
• Printing the contents of a DataGrid
• Formatting with non-visible components
• Scaling printed output

Shared Objects

• Saving data locally
• Writing complex data structures to shared objects
• Reading data from a shared object
• Populating controls with data from a shared object

Debugging

• Logging with TraceTarget
• Mastering the Flex Builder debugger
• Using try-catch-finally statements

Profiling

• Understanding memory use
• Garbage collection
• Using the Flex Builder profiler
• Identifying memory leaks
• Identifying performance problems

An understanding of web terminology and some experience programming is required. Some experience with JavaScript or a server-side language such as Java, Python, .Net, PHP, or a similar technology is helpful but not required.

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