Oliver Merk's Personal Blog - AIR

Flash Builder 4 Linux Notes

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:34:00-0400

OK, so there's no such (official) thing as Flash Builder 4 for Linux (unless you know how to use "the Internet" and something called "Google"). Despite Adobe's reluctance to give us the "choice" (ahem) of OS to use, some clever people have figured out how to get most of FB4 to work on, in my case, Ubuntu. Here are some tricks I had to use to get it really humming: Problem: Packages Missing
(OK, this one's just me being stupid)
Use View: Package Explorer, not Navigator Restore Control-Shift-R
(Most annoying bug in FB4!)
Windows -> Customize Perspective -> Command Groups Availability:
De-select "Flash Navigation"
Restart Eclipse
If this doesn't fix the problem, go back into Command Groups Availability:
Select "Java Coding"
[You may need to re-save the Flash perspective to enable these] Restore Flash Context Menu
(i.e. right-click on project and see Flex options)
Windows -> Customize Perspective -> Shortcuts
Add Flash Builder Restore Context Menu Icons
(Actually turns out to be an Ubuntu thing:)
Issue these commands in your terminal:
gconftool-2 -s -t boolean /desktop/gnome/interface/buttons_have_icons true
gconftool-2 -s -t boolean /desktop/gnome/interface/menus_have_icons true
Let me know if you have any others...

Flex Camp 3 Toronto

Mon, 17 May 2010 11:39:00-0400

Flex Camp 3 Toronto is an afternoon/evening event for RIA developers and anyone else interested in Adobe Flex. We've engaged some world-class presenters for this event, including Adobe's Lee Brimelow and Renaun Erickson. Whether you're just starting out or a seasoned pro, there will be hands-on as well as lecture-style demonstrations that are designed to engage you. Please note that we will be charging a modest $25 CAD fee (includes GST) to offset the costs of food and first-class venues. We'll also be giving away copies of FDT Pure to every attendee, as well as a chance to win a full license to Flash Builder 4 Premium! The event is filling up quickly. If you're interested in attending, we recommend that you sign up soon! Head over to http://www.torontoflex.org to register.

My MAX 2008 Presentation

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:30:00-0400

Here's my preso from MAX 2008. If you save the attachment you'll have the cheat sheet that was distributed at the session (until we ran out;)

Thanks to slidesix.com for their presentation application. Let me know if you have any questions or additional tips to share!

Toronto Flex User Group Meeting: MAX2008 Goodies!

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:13:00-0400

Our next meeting will be on Thursday December 4th, 2008 at Oakham House on the Ryerson Campus, starting at 6:30pm:

Oakham House
Room: Oakham Lounge
55 Gould Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 1E9

http://www.oakhamhouse.com/pages/directions.php has directions and parking information.

The evening's theme will be MAX2008 Goodies. We'll look at new product announcements, betas and other news that comes out of the San Francisco MAX conference the week of November 17th.

If you're planning to attend MAX and would like to help present, just drop me a line.

As always, don't forget to register free at www.torontoflex.org so we know how many people to expect.

If you're interested in presenting an application or topic in the future that would be of interest to the group, let us know and we'll try to get you some time at an upcoming meeting.

Thanks,
Oliver

Upcoming ColdFusion/RIA Seminars

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:51:00-0400

I'll be presenting at a couple of CF/Flex seminars at the end of the month, along with Rick Palmerio, my New Toronto Group cohort.

These introductory sessions are aimed at the decisions makers, the suits, the money people. If you're trying to sell the ColdFusion or Flex platforms within your organization, this would be a great place to send your boss.

Registration is FREE and attendees will receive a free copy of Flex Builder!

[EDIT:]
CANCELED: OTTAWA:
Adobe Systems Canada
343 Preston Street, Ottawa, Algonquin Room
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008
9:00am 11:00am
Continental Breakfast served at 8:30am
Register here TORONTO:
Oakham House
63 Gould Street, Toronto, ON Canada
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008
9:00am 11:00am
Continental Breakfast served at 8:30am
Register here

Next Toronto Flex User Group Meeting

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:40:00-0400

The next meeting of the Toronto Flex User Group will be held on October 23, 2008 at Oakham House (Ryerson campus). This time around, we've got two User Group members presenting. As always, if you're interested in presenting something at a future meeting please contact me via the website. Please visit torontoflex.org for more details and to sign up. It's free!

ComboBox with Type-Ahead

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:42:00-0400

Here's an enhanced version of the Flex ComboBox with type-ahead functionality. It's evolved over several projects and is stable so I hope others might find it useful. You can use whatever data provider you need; the filter works against the data in the labelField property. The data provider can be a simple list of strings (as per the example) or complex objects. Right-click to view and download the source. Feel free to use this in your own projects, make any changes you want, and tell your boss that you created it;) Enjoy... ComboBox with Type-Ahead [new window]

Flex 4!

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:57:00-0400

The first Gumbo Downloads are ready to download at opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Download+Flex+4. Time to start reading and hacking. I'll post more here when I discover anything cool. [Addendum: Flex SDK 3.1 and Flex Builder 3.0.1 appear to be out as well]

Cairngorm Open-Sourced!

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:28:00-0400

The title says it all. I'm glad to see Cairngorm opened up this way. Hopefully we'll see more frequent updates and improvements. There are already some good items in the bugbase (below); if there's something you would like improved about Cairngorm, now's your chance! New Cairngorm Home Cairngorm Bugbase Alister's Announcement Steven's Announcement

Flash Switcher

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:44:00-0400

Flash Switcher is a Firefox add-on by Allessandro Crugnola for those developers concerned with Flash Player versions. I tried it a while back when it was Windows-only. It's now got Linux and Mac capability as well and works with FF3! Get Flash Switcher Also check out his Flash Tracer if you haven't already. Thanks Allessandro!

From the Other Side of the Interview

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:36:00-0400

Part of my job includes interviewing candidates for developer positions (Flex, Java, ColdFusion, etc.). In the past two weeks I've sat through some of the most painful ones I can remember; not because of the candidates' skills, but their presentation. Some examples:

One person came in with a one page resume. Five typos, including one in the title. They claimed to be great at communication and document creation. Uh-huh.
During one of the longer interviews, the candidate openly stretched and yawned as he formulated the answer to a question. Sorry to keep you awake.
One claimed to be an expert Java developer. I asked what a Singleton was. They are not an expert Java developer.
Another claimed to be an expert at Flex communications. I asked what an AsyncToken was. They are not an expert at Flex communications.
Yet another said they were a ColdFusion expert, but had not tried that new-fangled CFC stuff yet. They are not a ColdFusion expert.

So some gentle advice for those seeking employment from someone who's been on both sides of the interview table:

Spell-check your resume. Then get someone to read it over for mistakes. Then get someone else to read it over for mistakes. Then get someone else to read it over for mistakes.
Don't exaggerate your skill set. I'll see through it, as will any competent technical interviewer. And they'll likely be royally pissed if you wasted their time with any blatant dishonesty.
Watch your manners. I know it's a nerve-racking experience, but you're presenting yourself to people for the first time and you've got one shot to make a good impression. Something like an open yawn is offensive on many levels.
The interviewer wants you to do well in the interview. We want to fill a position and we hope you're the right candidate for the job. If you sense the interviewer does not have this attitude, think about whether this company is the right fit for you.
The interview is a conversation, not an interrogation. Ask good questions about the company and your future role. We like that. But also listen carefully to our questions and answer them directly. If you don't know the answer, then say so. It's easier to overlook ignorance than dishonesty.

Hope this helps somebody. Hopefully the next person I interview;) Oliver

Speaking at MAX 2008

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:35:00-0400

I'm happy to announce that I've been asked to present a session on Advanced Flex Builder 3 Tips & Tricks for MAX 2008 in San Francisco this November. A topic near and dear to my heart! Hope to see you there!

An AsyncToken Primer

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:40:00-0400

Do you know what an AsyncToken is? Answer 1: The first thing I ask a Flex interviewee who claims to be proficient in Flex;) Answer 2: The official docs describe it like this: "This class provides a place to set additional or token-level data for asynchronous RPC operations. It also allows an IResponder to be attached for an individual call. The AsyncToken can be referenced in ResultEvent and FaultEvent from the token property." A bit confusing if you're not familiar with the asynchronous nature of remote calls in Flex. I've run into a lot of folks who don't know about this handy class so I'll try to shed some light. Whenever you make one or more external calls from your Flex/AIR application, you never know if or when those calls will return results (or faults) nor the order in which they will return. Even though you call remote objects "RO1", "RO2" and "RO3" in order, they may return in a different order. You might want different handlers for these results as well. One way to keep track of the calls is to assign an AsyncToken to each call. Instead of making your remote calls like this: myRO.myRemoteMethdod( ) You would do this: var token:AsyncToken = myRO.myRemoteMethdod( ) (Make sure you import mx.rpc.AsyncToken) You now have a variable, "token", which represents this particular call. Now you can assign token its own result and fault handlers like this: token.addResponder( myResponderClass ); ...where the myResponderClass class implements IResponder. Implementing IResponder simply means defining two methods with the following signatures:


public function result(data:Object):void
public function fault(info:Object):void

So you can set the result and fault handlers for your remote calls at call time rather than hard coding them into your RemoteObject, HTTPService or WebService tags. This is exactly the way Cairngorm and other microarchitectures operate. A final cool feature of AsyncToken is that it's a dynamic class, which means that you can add properties to the token when you make the remote call, then read those properties back in the result/fault handlers. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

New Toronto Group Now Hiring!

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:33:00-0400

Looking for work in the Toronto area? New Toronto Group (my employer) is now hiring! If you're a Flex developer, or a Java developer looking to get into the RIA space we'd love to hear from you. We're looking for consultants, developers and trainers, so if you're interested in any or all of these, please email a resume and cover letter to: Ed Van Beilen
New Toronto Group
edv _at_ newyyz.com
Hope to hear from you soon!

Simeon Bateman's EasyMVC

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 19:05:00-0400

Happy new year, Flexers! I just came across Simeon's EasyMVC site at http://projects.simb.net/easyMVC/. EasyMVC is a Flex framework for those smaller apps which don't warrant a full Cairngorm implementation. I highly recommend that if you're struggling with learning Cairngorm or find it too heavy for your purposes, take a look at this framework. Once you understand it, you may find a transition to Cairngorm easier when you need it. Great work, Simeon! Thanks for sharing this. <mx:Shameless>
Of course, if you're really struggling with Cairngorm, take the new course from New Toronto Group (my employer), written by yours truly;)
</mx:Shameless>