Java® and Flex® Integration Bible

Chapter 13. Developing a Storefront Server Application with Flex

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Designing and developing the Flex front end

One of the most popular uses of the Web is commerce. Whether you're buying a new DVD player or auctioning off your old CDs, many products are bought and sold online. Of course, this means that a store must exist in order to handle the sales. Some companies go with turnkey solutions to start but quickly learn that a custom solution is a better option.

As a developer or just someone who wants to build a store, you need to know how to properly develop the front end and the server side. The front end is what the end user interacts with, and the server side handles the behind-the-scenes processes.

In this chapter, you learn how to build a complete storefront end to connect to the Java back end you built in Chapter 12. By the end of this chapter, you will have the tools and knowledge necessary to build a custom store for yourself or your clients. The only piece you have to add is a payment process, which is covered at the end of this chapter.

Note

For the complete Java back end for the Web store application, see Chapter 12.

Designing and Developing the Flex Front End

In Chapter 12, you built the Java back end for the store application. In this chapter, you learn how to design and develop the Flex front end. The focus here is on scalability. The application should be able to handle a few thousand products just as effectively as it can handle one.

In order to build reusable ...