7a2857917d2aafe8c018c4c9b0cd987b
What we??™ll cover in this chapter:
Flex Builder interface
Using layout components
Using control components
Liquid design layout
Files used in this chapter:
Completed example archive: Chapter1-completedExample.zip
Chapter1Code.rtf
Let??™s start by having a look at where Flex fits into the bigger picture and then work
our way deeper. Flex is a part of what is being referred to now as the Adobe Flash
Platform. The Flash Platform is a family of tools that allow for the kind of dynamic
interactivity that we have become familiar with through flash websites in a variety of
uses. This includes Flash Lite, for mobile applications on cell phones and PDAs; Flash,
the dominant tool for highly interactive websites; Flex, specialized for rich Internet
applications; and AIR, for desktop applications. Each of these tools has a specialized
purpose or environment of use, but all have the same technology under the hood,
specifically the programming language ActionScript.
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INTRODUCING FLEX AND FLEX BUILDER 3
Chapter 1
Together these tools allow you to create interactive sites or applications that can run off a cell phone,
a web server, or your computer desktop and that have consistent interactivity without page reloads.
Rich Internet applications
Of these different environments, Flex is aimed at creating rich Internet applications, also called rich
media web applications. These applications are similar to websites except that they offer more functionality
than a traditional website.
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