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—— Flex, Flash Builder and Adobe AIR Training——

Adobe Flex and AIR are growing fast and I can train your team. As one of the first Flex Certified Trainers in the UK, I deliver great courses in Flash Builder 4.6. Everything from MXML syntax through Actionscript 3, best practice, unit testing, charting and styling can be covered. There's not likely to be anything you need to do in Flex that I can't help with.

Flash Builder, the new name for Flex, includes a whole raft of stuff I'd love to train your people on, including the packager for iPhone.

ActionScript 3 Training

I've delivered many training courses in Actionscript 3, both in Flash and Flex. Any version of Flex or Flash is fine with me.

So make the most of your existing web services and get a smashing Flex Application together ahead of everyone else.

—— Some new software from Adobe ——

Flash Builder | Flash Catalyst | Text Layout Framework | Packager for iPhone

Flash is so popular Adobe want to make it easier for more people to join the fun. Flash-based applications like the BBC i-player (built with Adobe AIR) are raising people's expectations, so Adobe are adding new tools to help people build:

• Flash content for websites (from banner ads to entire sites)
• Flash-based games, media players and training tools
• Adobe AIR widgets, which run on the desktop with or without an internet connection

Flash Builder 4.6

This is the new version of Flex Builder. There is huge potential for confusion over names, so to be clear:

• Flash Professional CS5.5 is good old Flash that we all know and love. Great for designers, not so good for coders
• Flash Builder 4.5 is the new name for Flex Builder. Brilliant for coders, but no drawing tools for designers
• Flex will still be the name for the underlying framework behind Flash Builder 4.6

Who Wants What?

• Anyone developing native apps for any mobile platform: Apple iOS, Blackberry Playbook and Android devices.
• Everyone using Flash CS5.5 will still be using that for animations and wiggly stuff
• Developers using Eclipse (e.g. for Java) may well move to Flash Builder 4.5, so plenty of upgrade-training opportunities here

Top New Features in Flash Builder 4.6

• Astoundingly simple mobile development, testing and deployment
• 'Skinning' an application (making it look pretty) is much easier with the 'Spark' theme
• The old 'Halo' theme is still supported, as is the whole Flex way of doing things
• New namespaces separate component purposes more logically
• Built-in Unit Testing
• Wizard-based model-driven development
• Better CSS support
• Easier data-centric coding

More Info

• Flash Builder 4.6 Premium includes some stuff not available in Flash Builder standard, such as charting
• It is based on Eclipse, so existing Java developers will be well at home
• Adobe AIR applications can be built directly within Flash Builder 4.6, Flash CS5.5 and Flex Builder 3
• I train Flash Builder 4, 4.1, 4.5, 4.51 and Flash Builder for php

Flash Catalyst

Flash Catalyst is another new thing with Flash in its name.

• Flash Catalyst lets you import designs from Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash or InDesign and convert them to working Flex components
• Layers, text, vectors etc. all survive within Flash Catalyst, so visual elements can be made into actual buttons, text entry fields and other controls
• Flash Catalyst writes the code for you, so a designer can pass a user-interface design (that actually works) to a developer for use in Flash Builder
• Although you can see the generated code, you can't edit it within Flash Catalyst. That would be a job for Flash Builder

Typical Workflow: Designer to Developer

• Designer draws some cool stuff with whatever design software they like
• The designs are imported into Flash Catalyst where buttons, labels, scroll-bars etc are identified in the design
• Extra 'states' can be added, so buttons change on hover, or visual elements come and go as the user progresses
• The finished project is saved out of Flash Catalyst
• Developer imports this into Flash Builder and writes the business logic to make the site work
• The ouput from Flash Catalyst cannot be opened back in your original design softwware

Text Layout Framework (TLF)

Now part of Flash, a lot of people are dead excited about the fantastic improvements in online text that the Text Layout Framework provides. So here's the basics:

• Text Layout Framework works right now, in Flash Player 10
• It provides much clearer on-screen text
• There is far better control of the text, like you'd expect in print-based packages such as InDesign
• Proper right-to-left and top-to-bottom text is supported

Packager for iPhone

This fantastic tool lets you rapidly develop in Flash or Flex, then publish for iOS devices such as iPhone, iPad and iPod. Many popular iOS apps have already been created via the packager for iPhone, and developers often find it much easier to create apps in Flash or Flex then transcode to native Apple code using this tool.

• Develop in Flex, test right there on your iPad, Android or Blackberry device
• Create a single package for iOS, Android, desktop etc.
• Engage with touch, motion, gps, sound, camera etc.
• Capitalize on encrypted local storage