Flex Builder 3 Alpha for Linux is out

If you use Linux then I have good news for you: we just released (November 24th 2009) a new version of the Flex Builder 3 plug-in for Linux. You can grab the bits from here.

There are no new features added to this update. However this version was tested on the latest Linux distros and the hardcoded expiration time has been extended beyond December 1st (this is the timeout for the previous release).

Click here to see the release notes.

November 25, 2009 | Filed Under Flex Builder | 4 Comments

Buy CS4 and get Flex Builder 3 for free

If you buy a Creative Suite 4 Web Premium or Master Collection you get Flex Builder 3 Standard for free. This offer started on September 15th and applies on purchases made to Adobe.com as well to those from authorized resellers.

For more details on how to claim your Flex Builder 3 Standard license check this link.

October 21, 2009 | Filed Under Flex Builder | 2 Comments

Blueprint – a plugin for Flex Builder to access online examples

I’m happy because my friend Bogdan and his team (it is a team from Adobe Romania) launched the Blueprint project. It’s still on beta, thus you can find it on Adobe Labs.

Here is the description from the product page:

“With Blueprint, Flex and Flash developers can now query for sample code just as easily as they use auto-complete. Blueprint brings the power of the entire Web inside of the Flex Builder 3 Development environment and provides sample-centered search results that allow the user to quickly look through many different examples from many different websites including documentation, blogs, and forums.”

And below you can see some screenshots of Flex Builder on my system.

This is how you access the new feature:

I placed the cursor after showFlexChrome, and clicked the Blueprint icon. The results appear shortly thereafter.

Enjoy!

About the rebranding of Flex Builder into Flash Builder

What’s this all about?

The next version of our IDE, Flex Builder, will be called Flash Builder 4. This summer, we will make available a public beta for Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst (check Adobe Labs from time to time, because this is where we will make them available).

At the same time, we will not change the name of Flex Builder 3. This will stay as it is now. Furthermore, the names of the Flex framework, and the Flex SDK, remain unchanged. The same goes for Flash Professional, which remains unchanged.

Why we are doing this?

This has happened to me more than once. When I ask people at conferences “Who’s a Flex developer?” many people are unsure how to answer. Why? Because some of you are using the Flex framework, to create Flex or AIR applications, and not our IDE (Flex Builder), some of you are using Flex Builder, but without using the Flex framework (you use ActionScript 3 to create Flash applications). Thus the uncertainty.

Of course, the correct answer is this: anyone who uses the Flex framework, is a Flex developer. It doesn’t matter what tools you use to create these applications. At the same time, any Flex application gets compiled into a SWF file, which is played by the Flash Player. The same happens with the applications written using ActionScript and not the Flex framework.

So looking at it from this perspective, I think it makes a lot of sense. Have the developer tool that is used for creating Flash/AIR applications with or without the Flex framework called Flash Builder 4.

What’s next?

We are working on the next versions of our tools and framework. As I said, this summer, on Adobe Labs, we will launch the beta versions of Flash Catalyst and Flash Builder 4. Both of these products will work with the upcoming version of our framework, Flex 4 (codename Gumbo).

I’m really curious about your feelings. Please feel free to drop a comment, if you wish!

May 16, 2009 | Filed Under Flex Builder | 16 Comments

Boot Camps: Introduction to Adobe AIR, and LiveCycle DS / BlazeDS

We’ve seen high demand for our two Boot Camps we’ll have as part of the Adobe Developer Day event on May 19th in Bucharest, Romania. Because the space we have limits the number of persons we can accept, we had to turn down a lot of people.

Because we hate to turn down people, I found a solution. We will do in the next months these Boot Camps in Bucharest (Adobe’s office), and for the people who can’t attend in person, we’ll do it online using Acrobat Connect. As a reminder these events are free.

What do you have to do? Just send me an email(s) with the one of the following session names a the subject to mihai dot corlan at adobe dot com:

These are the sessions we’ll do in our office, in Romanian

Boot Camp Introduction to AIR [RO]
Boot Camp BlazeDS/LCDS [RO]

These are the sessions we’ll do online in Romanian:

Online Boot Camp Introduction to AIR [RO]
Online Boot Camp BlazeDS/LCDS [RO]

These are the sessions we’ll do online in English:

Online Boot Camp Introduction to AIR [EN]
Online Boot Camp BlazeDS/LCDS [EN]

We are working to set up a system to sign up to these events online. For now, just send me the emails. We will notify you about the dates by email!

May 6, 2009 | Filed Under AIR, BlazeDS, Conferences, Flex Builder, Java, LCDS | 2 Comments

Flex Builder for Linux

The available version of Flex Builder for Linux is still in Alpha. One way to express your desire to have a Flex Builder for Linux is to vote this bug: http://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/FB-19053

Every now and then, at a conference someone comes to me to ask about the Linux version. If you are one of these persons, please go and vote.

April 30, 2009 | Filed Under Flex Builder | Leave a Comment

Flex SDK 3.3 is out!

Flex SDK 3.3 is out, and you can download it from here. The release notes are here.

March 4, 2009 | Filed Under Flex, Flex Builder | 4 Comments

Adobe TV segment: Generate a Flex/J2EE Database Application

Another segment has been released on Adobe TV, this time on how to generate a Flex and J2EE Database Application. I was a little bit sleepy and tired after three and a half days of MAX . I show how to create such applications using the data wizard, or LiveCycle Data Services and SQL Assembler. Enjoy!

March 2, 2009 | Filed Under Flex, Flex Builder, Java, LCDS, LiveCycle Data Services, Video | 7 Comments

Do you want to join the Flex Builder Pre-Release Program?

As you know, we are working hard on the next version of Flex Builder (code name Gumbo). There will be many additions that should appeal to PHP developers, and we want to hear your thoughts on these features. So, if you want to have the chance to be part of the Flex Builder pre-release program, just visit this link and fill in the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=p1w3z8obcRi28iht1_2fFzbQ_3d_3d

February 23, 2009 | Filed Under Flex Builder, PHP | 2 Comments

"Live Help / Call Center" application packaged using Flex Java WTP project and Export Flex Project Wizard

I am a little bit obsessed lately with the need to share a Flex project as easy as possible and to import a project with minimum work on my part. For example, I grabbed the LiveHelp / Call Center application made by Christophe Coenraets and I made it a single Flex with Java combined project with support for BlazeDS. What does this mean? It means if you have installed Flex Builder 3, WTP, and Apache Tomcat 5.5 you should be able to download this zip file, and then import the project using the Import > Flex > Import Flex project Wizard. You will have the BlazeDS server, Java code and Flex code in this project. After this, you’ll need to add this application to the Tomcat server. You can start the server from within Eclipse and run the mortgageapp.xml and callcenter.mxml and it should work like a charm.

However, because WTP links the name of the local JRE used in its configuration files, it is possible that the project will not work on your machine. The solution is very simple: just open the properties for the project and go to “Java Build Path”, then select the “Libraries” tab. Here you need to delete the “JRE System Library” entry and then click “Add Library” button. In the new window select the “JRE System Library” list item and click “Next”. On the next page select JRE 1.5 or newer and you are done.