Introduction to Flex technology.

1. INTRODUCTION TO
FLEX
Sumit Ray
Prajyot Rajigare

2. • What is flex
INDEX
• Why use flex
• What do you code flex apps in
• MXML
• ActionScript
• Flex Component
• Flex Events
• Pre-requisite for flex developer
• Recent Versions Of Flex
• Competitors
• Advantages
• Disadvantages
• Final word

3. WHAT IS FLEX
Flex is a framework for creating RIA’s based on flash player.
Defining exactly what Flex is can be confusing because
Flex actually includes a combination of
different technologies.
Flex is not a single software product,
but instead includes the four main pieces

4. 1. Languages
WHAT IS FLEX
• ActionScript
• MXML
2. Component Framework
• Flex SDK
3. Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
• Flex Builder
4. Cross-browser runtime
• Flash player

5. WHAT IS FLEX

6. WHY
To develop RIA’s USE FLEX
Client side Intelligence
Cross-platform, accessible applications
Richer and capable control library
It'll run on all the current browsers
on all platforms.

7. WHAT DO YOU CODE FLEX APPS IN
MXML
 XML-Based language used to describe
UI layout and behaviors of FLEX apps
ActionScript
Object oriented programming
language used to write
methods in the application

8. WHAT DO YOU CODE FLEX APPS IN
• It is the Heart of Flex
MXML
• Used to lay out user interface components
• Also to declaratively define non-visual aspects
of an application,
 Access to data sources on the server
 Data bindings between UI
components and data sources
on the server.

9. WHAT DO YOU CODE FLEX APPS IN
• It is more structured than HTML, and it provides a MXML
much richer tag set
e.g. data grids, trees, tab navigators, accordions,etc.
• You can write an MXML application in a single
file or in multiple files
• MXML also supports custom components
written in MXML and ActionScript files.

10. WHAT DO YOU CODE FLEX APPS IN
• Is the programming language for the flex ACTION SCRIPT
• It enables interactivity, data handling
• ActionScript is executed by the ActionScript
Virtual Machine (AVM).
• It is easy to being familiar with AS who
has basic knowledge of OOP.

11. FLEX
• Component library provides UI controls
COMPONENTS
 Simple : Buttons, Checkboxes, Radio Buttons
Complex : Data grids and combo boxes
• Developers use provided components to
design complex layouts and use
(or modify) the skins for a better look

12. • Flex applications are event driven FLEX EVENTS
• When the user interacts with an interface component
or when changes occur in the appearance of a
component, an event is dispatched
• When an event is dispatched, event listeners,
also called event handlers, designed in
ActionScript are called on to process
the event

13. PRE-REQUISITE FOR FLEX DEVELOPER
• Familiar with Object oriented concepts.
• Some exposure to web development and basic knowledge
related to web applications
• Knowledge of web services using Java / Spring
• Knowledge of basic and complex UI Components.

14. • Flex 1.0 VERSIONS
March 2004
• Flex 1.5
October 2004
• Flex 2.0
June 28, 2006
• Flex 3.0
February 25, 2008

15. VERSIONS
• Flex 4
March 22, 2010
• Flex 4.5
November 30, 2011
• Flex 4.6
February 22, 2012

16. • OpenLaszlo
COMPETITORS
• Microsoft Silverlight
• Curl
• JavaFX

17. 
Flex is for everyone, Flex is for all
ADVANTAGES

Flex applications have boadest reach

Cross-platform and native experience

Flex makes your application look good

Performance

Real time

Rich media

Offline Support

Accessible

18. 
DISADVANTAGES
There is no server-side component to ActionScript so you need
to find a way to pass data between Flex and your backend.
Flex does not have any built-in support for multithreading,

which complicates the situation further

Flex does not read or write files to the end-user’s
computer. This is a restriction of the Flash Player.

And the most important thing is, we
need adobe flash player to run the
application.

19. FINAL WORD
“ Flex is for flexible..”

20. Thank you..!