Flex

Tomorrow night I’ll be in Austin, Texas speaking at the Java User Group about Better Software with Java and Flex (Try the Google Cache Page in case the site is not working). And then next week I’ll be at Stir Trek in Columbus, Ohio presenting about Flex and the Cloud. I hope to see some of you at these events!

The Flex 4 SDK has some great new features but for existing Flex 3 apps upgrading might not yet be an option. Luckily Adobe’s professional tooling for Flex, now called Flash Builder 4, is abstracted from the underlying SDK. This means that you can take advantage of many of the new Flash Builder 4 features while still using the Flex 3 SDK. I recently recorded a screencast showing how to use Flash Builder 4 with Flex 3 projects. Check out “Moving projects from Flex Builder 3 to Flash Builder 4” by Andrew Shorten to see my screencast.

In Episode 23 we chat with Adam Flater and Rob Rusher about some very controversial topics. Adam points out James’ wishful thinking when we discuss what defines something being a “Flex application”. Jon gets the award for best quote of the episode when we discuss Flex and its community. Things get fun as we discuss Silverlight and Flex differences. As we wrap up Jon rates the wonderful scotch we were drinking an 8 out of 10.

In this video I walk through the basics of building Adobe AIR desktop applications in Flash Builder 4 using the Flex 4 SDK. Let me know what you think.

Here are some upcoming presentations I’ll be doing about Flex:

• Cincinnati March 24 - cincyFlex - What’s new in the world of Flex?
• Cincinnati March 25 - CinJUG - Flex in the Cloud
• Philly April 8 - Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise - Building Client/Server 2.0 Apps with Flex
• Houston April 13 - Houston Adobe User Group and Space City Flex Users Group
• Dallas April 14 - JavaMUG - Using Flex and Java to Build Rich and Highly Interactive Software

I hope to see you at one of these events!

One of my most viewed blogs is one of the most simple demo apps I’ve built. It’s a simple Flex app that lets the user draw with their mouse and then lets them save their drawing. I’ve updated the Flex Paint demo to Flex 4. Check it out:

(View the source code)

Flex 4 and its counterpart, Flash Builder 4, are now publicly available! We’ve also launched a new flex.org and added a ton of new Flex 4 samples in Tour de Flex!

Rich Internet Applications are the next generation of software. For the first time in the history of software the goal is not to simply collect or interpret data, but to make those tasks productive and simple. RIAs move us up the hierarchy of user and business needs. It is unproductive to change technologies and create the same old stuff. We change technologies because they provide new value like closing more deals, reducing task completion time, or gaining customer loyalty.

Two great Flex conferences have recently posted their video recordings:

• Flex Camp Wall Street
• Flex on the Cloud

There were numerous great sessions and speakers at each of these conferences. At Flex Camp Wall Street I presented “Flex Stuff I am Excited About”. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I’ll be attending and presenting at a number of great events over the next few weeks:

• February 26 Flash Camp Chicago
• March 8 - 9 Devnexus in Atlanta
• March 10 Flex in the Cloud in Atlanta
• March 16 - 19 Java Posse Roundup in Crested Butte, Colorado
• March 17 - 19 The Server Side Java Symposium in Las Vegas

I hope to see you at these events!

Here is a new screencast that walks through the basics of integrating Flex 4 and Java:

(Open full-size video in a new window)