UMass Amherst – CompSci 591U

Tour de Flex
You can download a copy of the Tour de Flex app at http://flex.org

Flex 3 language reference
I like to use the Flex 3 language reference often.  This is the same as the built-in help files.  I reccomend adding it to yoru bookmark toolbar:
http://livedocs.adobe.com/flex/3/langref/

Files
Here are the files from tonight:
http://flash.cs.umass.edu/lectures/flexlecture3.zip

Here are the files from Tuesday:
http://flash.cs.umass.edu/lectures/flexlecture2.zip

Here are the files from the prior Thursday:
http://flash.cs.umass.edu/lectures/10.27.09-FlexAppLecture1.zip

Uploading in flex
If you’re interested in uploading files with Flex, check out this sample:
http://weblog.cahlan.com/2006/09/uploading-files-with-flex-and-php.html

Make sure you set the permissions correctly on the php file and the file system where you’re trying to save the files.

Videos
There is no video for tonight… computer was acting up.
I will post the videos from the past two classes.

Alex

Hi All,

Alex is going to go over custom components in Flex which will probably take about half an hour. After that, we’re going to let you all work on your projects for the remainder of the class.

If you want to work, ask questions, etc., bring your files with you tonight.

FLEX REMOTING DOESN”T WORK CORRECTLY IN THE LAB. If you want to work on Flex remoting, bring your laptop.

If you don’t want to work on your project you can leave after Alex does his demonstration

Thanks

Just a reminder that I will be holding office hours on Wednesdays from 5:00 to 6:30 in the edlab. 

If you are coming to discusss a specific problem I suggest emailing me with the problem and your code beforehand so I can familiarize myself with the issue.  This will save us time and allow me to be more helpful.  Also, if you ever have small questions or can’t make it in to see me feel free to email me.

NOTE: This Wednesday (11/4) my office hours will be from 4:00 to 5:30 due to a scheduling conflict.

-Noah

Hi all,

Thanks for coming to class tonight and listening intently.  I’ll post the lecture video from last Thursday and the video + files from tonight, tomorrow.

On Thursday the topic is going to be “setting up a development environment for flex/flash applications”:

This is a great setup if you’re working in a team on a web project.

• How to setup an svn repository on flash.cs.umass.edu
• Using TortoiseSVN
• Creating a development server for your application
  • Checking the repository out onto your development server
• Using svn on the command line
• Writing an automated shell program to update automatically each time you commit

The overall goal is to show you how you can have a live Flex/Flash application, and then have a mirror-copy of your application on your development server.  This lets you edit your application without effecting your production product.

Alex

Progress Check #1 turn in path:

http://username.flash.cs.umass.edu/app/1

So you want to go into “public_html”, then create a folder called “app”, then create a folder inside “app” called “1″, then put all your files into the folder called “1″

What to turn in:

If you are using Flex, just turn in your entire Flex project folder

If you are using Flash, just put your FLA and SWF in there along with any other files you may have created

You don’t need to put your AMFPHP services or database tables in your progress check folder. I can check those manually.

**Also include a text file explaining quickly what you have done. It’s okay if you have just been writing your back end. Just write it down in the text file**

See you tonight,
- Andy

Just reminding everyone that the first progress check for the application is due this Tuesday by 6:00 p.m.

Check the class Calendar to know the due dates:

Calendar

Look over the rubric for the Application guidelines if you haven’t yet:

Application Rubric

**The due dates in the rubric are wrong. Go by the class calendar*

I’ll have your game grades for you in class on Tuesday.

Hi all,

Here’s the files for tonight’s lecture:

These are the end-files that we’re ending class with today…

http://flash.cs.umass.edu/lectures/2009-10-29 Flex Contact Example.zip

Important links:

SERVER CONTROL PANELS!!!

Our server is using an educational license from www.virtualmin.com.  You all can mess around with it by visiting:

http://flash.cs.umass.edu:10000

If you are having errors in your amfphp code, it helps to look at the error log.  Login to virtualmin and click on “logs and reports->error log”.

SERVICE CAPTURE

You can use ServiceCapture to debug your applications.  Get a copy at http://www.kevinlangdon.com/serviceCapture

Notes from the lecture:

PUBLISHING A RELEASE VERSION

To publish a release version of your application, you go to Project->Export Release Build.  This exports it to a folder called bin-release by default.  The published swf file is smaller than the bin-debug version because it does not have any debug capabilities.

THE ESCAPE METHOD

The files from today’s lecture contain a method called “escape”.  This prevents mysql injection.  To read more about what mysql injection is, Google it.  Always use this method – not only does it prevent sql injection, it also helps you stay organized in your code by warning you about undefined variables, etc..  The escape method uses sprintf(), which basically takes a string with certain parameters, and puts those parameters into the string.  The values that I use most often are ‘%s’: string, %d: integer, and %f: float.

DATA BINDING WITH COMPONENTS

Binding data to a component means you are telling that component to use that data in its display.  For example, if you have a datagrid that displays a list of sports teams, you would set dataProvider=”{aMyTeams}”, where aMyTeams might be an array or array collection.  Don’t forget to add the {}’s, and when you declare the variable aMyTeams you have to add the text “[Bindable]” before the variable:

[Bindable] private var aMyTeams:Array;

ARRAY UTIL IN Flex

The ArrayUtil class is a utility that converts your amfphp result into a workable array or arraycollection.

Hi all,

Tonight Andy’s going to be out so I’m going to cover for him and teach you some additional Flex and amfphp.

We found out after class Tuesday that the Macs can’t run Flex correctly because they’re missing libraries we need – there’s nothing we can do about it.

Please do not bring your laptops. Also, please do not log on to the computers. Instead of following along line-by-line, I just want everyone to watch, ask questions, and soak in the general ideas.

Anyways… looking forward to tonight’s class.  Provided we stay on track we should be able to leave a few minutes early.

**There will also be candy tonight to celebrate Halloween!**

Thanks!

Alex

Here’s the video lecture plus the files from Thursday’s class. Let me know if there are any problems.

Video

Files

Panda Hunters Game by Avi Weiss