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January 30, 2007
Ajax Data Services and FABridge Update on Labs
AJAX Data Services is a new JavaScript library that lets you access the powerful messaging and data management capabilities of Flex Data Services directly from JavaScript. With this library, you can integrate application clients built using Ajax technologies with the same back-end data services used by Flex application clients. This means that data from Flex applications can now be automatically synchronized with other Ajax applications, ensuring that both users see the most current, accurate information.
Significant updates have also been made to the Flex-Ajax Bridge (FABridge), which, as you know, allows JavaScript-enabled components to interoperate with Flex-enabled components embedded in the same web page.
Using both FABridge and the new Ajax Data Services library, you can now leverage the full benefits of both the Flex programming model and Flex Data Services, providing full interoperability with existing or new Ajax applications.
Both of these libraries are planned to be added to upcoming versions of Flex Data Services.
Posted by mchotin at 11:21 PM | Comments (2)
January 29, 2007
Help the Flex team plan for the future
Now that Flex 2.0.1 is out the door, the team is deep in planning for future releases. To make sure we’re focusing on the right things, we need to hear more from the community, so if you’re using Flex please take a few minutes to fill out a short survey.
The survey can be found here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=801873200349
As always, we appreciate your valuable feedback.
Thanks,
The Flex team
Posted by flexteam2 at 12:05 PM | Comments (5)
January 24, 2007
2 new Flex utilities on Labs
We've placed 2 new utilities on Labs this afternoon.
First, some Flex Ant tasks which should be useful to everyone who does command-line or automated building of Flex applications (source is included). Second, the Flex Compiler Shell (FCSH) which s very useful for those not using Flex Builder to compile their apps on a regular basis.
You can get lots more info on the Labs pages. We hope you find these useful and feel free to send feedback!
ETA: A special note of thanks should go to Summer '06 intern Spiros Eliopoulos who did the majority of the work on the Ant tasks. Spiros, you rule!
Posted by mchotin at 11:30 AM | Comments (10)
January 20, 2007
Component: Docking Toolbar
The Docking Toolbar is now available on the Adobe Flex Exchange (click the Exchange link if the direct component link doesn't seem to work). You may post questions and feedback in the comments here and the authors will try to respond.
Posted by mchotin at 05:03 PM | Comments (13)
January 17, 2007
Flex Developer Certification is Here!
Well it took a little while but you can now become an Adobe Certified Expert in Flex 2! As of this posting the Adobe web site isn't updated but the most important info is in the Exam Preparation Guide (this is a local copy so the most up-to-date version will eventually be on adobe.com).
You can register for an exam via Thomson Prometric today and Pearson VUE will be available in a few days. The exam costs $150 US or local currency equivalent.
Go get certified!
Posted by mchotin at 12:39 PM | Comments (10)
January 05, 2007
Migrating to 2.0.1 With ColdFusion Extensions
Summary: If you've created projects with the 2.0.0 version of the ColdFusion Extensions for Flex Builder, you need to add -context-root "" to the additional compiler arguments in order to compile with 2.0.1.
The whole story: With the 2.0.1 compiler we've made a change intended to help users understand when they need to set a context root setting. That's a setting that's critical to set correctly in order for your Flex client services to work with a Flex Data Services or ColdFusion server.
Previously we defaulted this setting to an empty string, which worked fine for simple, standalone ColdFusion installations, which completely hide the concept of a J2EE context root/path from you. However it was wrong for every other server case. This caused a lot of pain for FDS customers because their services would simply not work and there was no indication that the context root setting was the cause.
So, for 2.01 we do the following:
1) ColdFusion projects default the context root to an empty string, as before.
2) All other projects produce a compiler error if the context root is not set, when needed.*
*The context root setting is needed whenever parsing a services-config.xml file that uses it as a variable, as do the default services-config.xml files that ship with FDS and ColdFusion.
So, in theory everything should work as it did before for ColdFusion projects, projects that don't use FDS or CF would be unaffected, and only FDS users would get this new, helpful compiler error. And in practice, yes, ColdFusion projects created with the main New Flex Project wizard work exactly the same without any migration steps.
Except we missed one case. The ColdFusion Extensions, an optional install on top of Flex Builder, add another wizard called the "ColdFusion/Flex Application Wizard", a.k.a. the CF SuperWizard. This guy does everything from creating the project to populating it with code that accesses your database backend via ColdFusion. Upon upgrading to 2.0.1, projects created with this CF SuperWizard in 2.0.0 will start producing this compile error:
The services configuration includes a channel-definition 'my-cfamf' that has an endpoint with a context.root token but a context root has not been defined. Please specify a context-root compiler argument.
To fix this, you'll need to perform this small migration step on each SuperWizard-created project, either before or after you upgrade to 2.0.1:
1. In Flex Builder, right-click the project in the navigator and select Properties.
2. Select the Flex Compiler page.
3. In the additional compiler arguments field, append this:
-context-root ""
Please note: Do not use an equals sign. The correct syntax is -context-root "", NOT -context-root="".
One other note. If you are using a J2EE ColdFusion installation, that is, you selected a WAR/EAR install instead of a standalone "Server" install when you installed ColdFusion, then you will need to set the context root to the actual context root you deployed the ColdFusion WAR/EAR to, rather than an empty string. For example:
-context-root "mycontextroot"
So, sorry for the trouble ColdFusion Extensions users! We introduced this change rather late in the 2.0.1 release cycle and just missed this case. To be clear, this does not affect ColdFusion projects created with the main New Flex Project wizard, only those created via the CF/Flex Application Wizard in the CF Extensions that you must install separately.
Posted by tomlane at 11:49 AM | Comments (3)
Flex 2.0.1 is here (OSX support, bug fixes, and much more)
Just before the holidays, the Flex team put the finishing touches on an important update to the Flex products, and now we’re happy to say that Flex 2.0.1 is available on the Adobe web site. The official announcement isn’t for a few days, but you can get the bits starting now.
In addition to fixing lots of bugs, the 2.0.1 release adds some great stuff to Flex, including:
* Flex Builder support for OS X (PPC and Intel) and Eclipse 3.2
* Support for automated functional testing, including Mercury QuickTest Pro integration
* A number of new features in the free SDK, including modules, dynamic CSS, and native support for FlashType encoding.
For a more complete rundown, see the Logged In article by Matt Chotin in the DevCenter.
How do you get it?
If you’re already a Flex Builder or Flex Data Services customer, you can download the updaters from the Flex support center.
If you’ve been waiting for Flex Builder on the Mac, you can buy a copy now from the
online store. The Mac version will be available through all of our other channels shortly.
You can also download the free trial or the updated version of the free Flex SDK (http://www.adobe.com.go/tryflex).
Is it safe to migrate?
Applications developed with Flex 2.0 should recompile seamlessly with 2.0.1, but make sure you look through the release notes for any gotchas.
We hope you enjoy the update and look forward to seeing the results.
Posted by flexteam2 at 05:46 AM | Comments (8)