Programming Flex 3

Chapter 2. Building Applications with the Flex Framework

The majority of this book is dedicated to programming Flex applications, with detailed discussions of working with MXML and ActionScript. However, to meaningfully use most of what we discuss in the chapters that follow, you’ll need to know how to create a Flex project, how to compile the project, and how to deploy that project so that you can view it.

In this chapter, we’ll discuss important topics like the tools needed to create Flex applications and how to create new projects for Flex applications. We’ll look at elements comprising a Flex project and discuss compiling and deploying Flex applications.

Using Flex Tool Sets

To work with Flex and build Flex applications, you’ll need tools. At a minimum, you must have a compiler capable of converting all your source files and assets into the formats necessary to deploy the application. That means you need to be able to compile MXML and ActionScript files into an .swf file.

There are two primary tools you can use that include the necessary compilers:

• The Flex Software Development Kit (SDK)

• Flex Builder 3

The Flex SDK is a free product that includes the entire Fl`ex framework as well as the mxmlc and compc compilers (see Building Applications later in this chapter for more details on the compilers). Download the SDK at http://www.adobe.com/products/flex/flexdownloads/.

Flex Builder 3 is a professional IDE designed for Flex development, and it too includes the mxmlc and compc compilers. ...