- All documentation available in the Flash CS3 product is available online on Adobe’s website, including many parts that may be downloaded in PDF form (if that’s your preference). For those that are new to programming, or maybe if you just need a bit of help learning about classes and objects, check out Getting Started with ActionScript in the documentation.
- Adobe provides a lot of great articles on their website. Be sure to check out the Flash Developer Center and the ActionScript Technology Center, which are both a part of the larger Adobe Developer Connection.
- Consider the ActionScript 3.0 Language and Components Reference a must-have tool for looking up properties, functions, styles, and events for all of the classes available natively in Flash Player and included with Flash CS3. Unlike other documentation that you might only read when you’re starting out, this resource will be useful almost everyday that you work with Flash and AS3.
- Many articles online discuss the differences between ActionScript 2 and ActionScript 3. For example, Emmy Huang has a quick overview of new AS3 features in Tips for learning ActionScript 3.0. Another article by Gary Grossman and Emmy Huang you might want to check out is simply titled ActionScript 3.0 Overview. Also, be sure to look at the ActionScript 2.0 Migration document to see what functions and classes have been changed, moved, or removed. When changes exist between AS2 and AS3, this document often includes instructions for how you should change your approach.
- Many online forums are dedicated to Flash and ActionScript where you can ask questions and learn from others. I frequently visit the ActionScript.org forums. Another you might consider checking out is Kirupa’s Forum, which has a popular thread created by senocular called ActionScript 3.0 Tip of the Day. There are many more forums out there, so be sure to spend a couple of moments with your search engine of choice to find them.
- Similarly, mailing lists are a good source of information for learning about Flash and ActionScript and for asking questions when you run into trouble. Rather than going to a forum in your browser, you send and receive community messages through your email client. Flashcoders has always been a popular list. The Mail Archive provides an alternative online view of flashcoders content.
- Join a local Flash user group or consider starting your own. Typically, Adobe user groups meet once a month, and they offer tutorials and presentations by local experts or special guests from the worldwide community. These guests tend to work with Flash in the trenches for companies large and small. From time to time, you might even get to meet a real Adobe employee who can offer excellent insights into the products they develop or promote. For more information, check out the Community section in the Flash Developer Center (and try the Flex Developer Center too).
- Learning from instructional videos seems to work well for many new developers. Lynda.com offers many hours of video focused on Flash CS3 and ActionScript 3 for a low subscription price. Lee Brimlow’s site gotoAndLearn offers free video tutorials about Flash.
- Go to conferences like Adobe MAX or other events like FlexCamp, ApolloCamp, and the OnAIR Bus Tour. These events frequently include hands-on sessions where instructors walk you through the basics step by step, and you’ll meet experts and fellow learners alike. If a conference seems expensive, consider asking your boss if your company can help cover the cost. Companies often don’t mind paying for tickets and travel to these sorts of events if what you’ll learn will directly impact your work.
- Read other people’s source code. One of the best ways to learn to be a developer is to see how others do things. Try to understand how their code works, and take a few moments to change things and experiment with it. If you’re not exactly sure where to start, you might want to view the source code for the user interface components in Flash CS3. On my PC, those class files are located here:
c:/Program Files/Adobe Flash CS3/en/Configuration/Component Source/ActionScript 3.0/User Interface - Finally, you’ll discover that the blogging community centered around Flash is quite strong and innovative. Be sure to visit the Adobe XML News Aggregator, Fullasagoog, and Feed Squirrel. Each of these sites provide a central point for many Flash and Adobe-related blogs. Use them to discover your favorites.
Tag Archive for 'flex-applications'
06
May
How to Learn Flex
I figured it would be helpful to have a list of resources for getting started with Adobe Flex. While this list probably can’t be considered a fully comprehensive source of Flex information, I hope it helps to get someone started building cool Flex RIAs.
- Adobe’s official Flex Quick Starts offer some simple code samples to get you started.
- If you find yourself doing a lot of work with Flex, the Flex 2 Language Reference will be your new best friend. Every component property, method, event, style, and more are at your fingertips. You can access it directly under Flex Builder’s Help menu too.
- The flexcoders mailing list is a great place to ask questions if you’re having some particularly difficult problems with Flex. You can also read the flexcoders archives through The Mail Archive for an easier reading and searching experience.
- Similarly, sign up for the flexcomponents mailing list to learn about building components for Flex. You shouldn’t post general questions here because it’s specifically meant for queries related component development. Even if you aren’t into building components, I recommend watching the discussions because some of the list’s experts often share insights into the darkest corners of the Flex framework.
- The Flex Cookbook is a community-driven site that includes a lot of short and simple how-tos for Flex. The style is much like the ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook. As an exciting bonus, the best contributions to the site will be considered for inclusion in the printed version of the Flex 2 Cookbook from O’Reilly.
- Join a local Flex user group or consider starting your own. Typically, Adobe user groups meet once a month and include tutorials and presentations by local experts or special guests from the worldwide community. These guests tend to work with Flex in the trenches for companies large and small. From time to time, you might even get to meet a real Adobe employee who can offer excellent insights into the products they evangelize.
- Play around with the Flex sample applications from Adobe. They come with Flex Builder, or you can access them on the official website. The best part is that you can right-click on each application and click “View Source” to look at the complete source code for each one. Additionally, and perhaps not as well known, you can download the source code for all the ActionScript 3.0 examples that appear in the Flex documentation in one big ZIP file from Adobe’s site too.
- Ted Patrick and Mike Chambers recently introduced video.onflex.org to offer free downloadable recordings of Flex-related conference sessions and speakers for those who couldn’t see it live. These videos often include information on “hidden” features, upcoming technologies like Apollo, and other interesting goodies.
- Books for Flex have been a bit slowing coming out of the publishers, but we’re starting to see some good stuff on store shelves. Current and upcoming books that focus on Flex and ActionScript 3.0 include the following:
