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Here is a valuable course by David Gassner, an instructor with Lynda.com who teaches a number of courses available through Lynda.com. The topic I am discussing here is Flex 3.0., or more specifically, Adobe Flex Builder 3.0. Adobe Flex is a collection of different technologies used for developing Rich Internet Applications. So what is Flex and what is a Rich Internet Application? The term “rich internet application” was introduced by Macromedia (now merged with Adobe) in March 2002 (ref: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/whitepapers/richclient.pdf ). Rich Internet Applications are web applications that have the features and functionality of desktop applications. This includes greater interactivity and ease of use, than one might find on websites that do not employ or display rich internet applications. Rich Internet Applications can access databases as well, and utilize a variety of additional server-side programming languages.
[Note: Look for examples of Flex Rich Internet Applications on the Future Wave Designs websites, in particular here at our Rich Internet Application Showcase link.]
While Adobe Flex Builder 3 is not the only application tool for creating Rich Internet Applications, I personally find it to be one of the most powerful, feature-rich and easy to use methods for doing so. In this course, Flex 3 Essential Training, available for purchase, on DVD, from the link included in this article, David Gassner does a wonderful job presenting the essentials of developing web applications within Adobe Flex Builder 3.
We begin with the basics, covering the native Flex application markup language called MXML and the use of the ActionScript 3.0 programming language which is often used within the code for Flex Projects and Applications. We compare the use of the Design view with the Source view as well as the Debugging View and when to use each. We cover the various controls and containers that make up the Flex Class library, moving to working with Data, including databases on the server and incorporating the PHP server-side programming language into Flex Projects.
This is a very comprehensive course, well taught and presented in an easy to follow format. I highly recommend this as a Flex training tool. As comprehensive as this is, there is still more that David Gassner covers about Flex 3 in his follow-up training title with Lynda.com entitled “Flex 3.0: Beyond the Basics.
