Foundation Flex for Developers: Data-Driven Applications with PHP, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, and LCDS

Flex is a very powerful and versatile technology for creating web application front-ends. But what every good web application needs is a robust data source, be it XML, or a database. Flex is very adaptable in terms of connecting to data sources, and that is the main focus of this book.

In Foundation Flex for Developers, authorSas Jacobs assumes that you've got the basics of Flex down already, and explores in detail how to create professional data-centric Flex 2 and Flex 3 applications. In the first half of the book, she starts off with a brief exploration of Flex and ActionScript 3.0, before looking at application essentials in detail—creating custom components, user and web browser interactions, binding, formatting, and validating data, debugging, and more.

In the second half of the book, the focus is on connecting Flex to data sources, and covers XML, LiveCycle Data Services, PHP, ASP.NET, and ColdFusion in detail, via a series of step-by-step case studies.

• Covers Flex application basics
• Covers connecting Flex 2 and Flex 3 to a variety of Data Sources
• Includes several complete case studies

• How to create custom components
• How to handle user and web browser interactions
• How to debug Flex 2 applications
• How to bind, format, and validate data
• How to load and write external content
• The essentials of XML, and working with it in Flex 2, including E4X
• The essentials of Flex Data Services
• How to build up data-driven Flex 2 applications with PHP, ASP.NET, and ColdFusion backends

This book is for any Flex developer who knows the basics of building Flex user interfaces, and wants to learn how to connect their applications to data sources.

Adobe's Flex is a revolution in building web applications, and this books covers in detail one of the most important aspects of Flex development—bringing data into applications from various sources, and manipulating and presenting that data.

This is the first book to focus exclusively on that topic, and all the major possible data sources are covered, including XML, Flex Data Services, and PHP, ASP.NET, and ColdFusion server-side applications.

The book covers both Flex 2, and the soon-to-be-released Flex 3, available in about October 2007.

Sas is a Web developer who loves working with Flash. She set up her business Anything Is Possible in 1994, working in the areas of web development, IT training and technical writing. The business works with large and small clients building web applications with ASP.NET, Flash, XML and databases.

Sas has also spoken at conferences such as Flash Forward, MXDU and FlashKit on topics relating to XML and dynamic content in Flash. In her spare time, Sas is passionate about travelling, photography and enjoying life. One of her most fervent wishes is that Flash will take over the Web!