Video: Using the Flash Builder 4 Data Wizards with BlazeDS 4

March 23, 2010 By 15 Comments

In this video, I demonstrate how to build Flex 4 applications with a Java back-end using the new “Data-Centric Development” features of Flash Builder 4 (including service introspection, value object and service stub generation, etc).

If you want to try it yourself, the environment I used for the demo is part of a new Test Drive I put together to allow you to get started quickly with Flex 4, Flash Builder 4 and Java. The Test Drive environment consists of a minimal version of Tomcat with BlazeDS 4 preconfigured to work with the Flash Builder 4 data centric features and a sample application. You can download the Test Drive here.

Filed Under: Flex

Flex 4 Sample Application using a Java Back-End, BlazeDS 4 and Flash Builder 4 Data Wizards

March 23, 2010 By 37 Comments

I put together a new Test Drive environment to allow you to explore the development of Flex 4 applications with a Java back-end using the new “Data-Centric Development” features of Flash Builder 4. These features include service introspection, value object and service stub generation, etc. This Test Drive is still work in progress: it currently consists of a single application called InSync (a complete Flex 4 rewrite of my contact management sample application), but I think it’s already valuable to understand the impact of the new Flash Builder 4 data features. Insync also demonstrates some of the new features of Flex 4: skinning, skinnable components, layout managers, etc.

Watch the video below to get familiar with the Test Drive environment and the sample application:

Installation Instructions

  1. Download flex-java-testdrive.zip, and unzip the file in your root directory.
  2. Open a Command Window or Shell, navigate to /flex-java-testdrive/tomcat/bin, and start Tomcat (for instance: catalina run).
  3. Open a browser and access http://localhost:8400/testdrive/InSync/InSync.html.

Importing the projects in Flash Builder 4

  1. In Flash Builder 4, click File > Import > General > Existing Projects into Workspace.
  2. Specify flex-java-testdrive/projects as the root directory and click finish.
  3. Explore the projects: InSync is the Flex project and java-testdrive is the Java project for the server-side classes.

In the InSync project, the classes in the services and valueObjects packages have been generated automatically by Flash Builder 4. My next blog post will show you how to generate these classes based on existing Java services deployed in BlazeDS.

NOTE: Because BlazeDS 4 hasn’t yet been released, this version of the Test Drive uses a nightly build of BlazeDS 4.

Filed Under: BlazeDS, Flex, Flex4, Java

New Flex 4 / Spring Integration Article

March 22, 2010 By 20 Comments

Along with the new Spring / BlazeDS Test Drive, I also updated my Flex / Spring integration article for Flex 4. It also reflects the changes in the latest version of the Spring / BlazeDS Integration Project (version 1.0.3).

The article is available here. Check it out… Flex + Spring is really a great platform to build Rich Internet Applications.

Filed Under: Flex

New Spring / BlazeDS Test Drive Available: Flex 4, BlazeDS 4, and Spring / BlazeDS Integration 1.0.3

March 22, 2010 By 18 Comments

For the Flex 4 launch, I created a new version of the Spring / BlazeDS Test Drive. All the sample applications are now built with Flex 4.

By popular demand, I also recreated an out-of-the-box “Test Drive Server”. This new Test Drive Server consists of a minimal version of Tomcat with BlazeDS 4 and the “Spring / BlazeDS integration 1.03” preconfigured and ready to use. It also includes a series of samples running “out-of-the-box” that should allow you to get up and running integrating Flex with Spring in minutes.

The Test Drive Server is using BlazeDS 4 because BlazeDS 4 allows you to use the new data centric development features of Flash Builder 4. Specifically, Flash Builder 4 can introspect Java remote destinations configured in BlazeDS 4 and generate corresponding ActionScript value objects and service stubs. I’ll blog more about this soon. Since BlazeDS 4 hasn’t yet been released, this version of the Test Drive uses a nightly build of BlazeDS 4.

You can access the Test Drive here. All the Flash Builder 4 projects are provided.

To learn more about the Spring / BlazeDS Integration project, visit the project home page on springsource.org.

Filed Under: Flex

Flex 4 and Flash Builder 4 Released!

March 22, 2010 By 2 Comments

Flex 4 and Flash Builder (previously known as Flex Builder) 4 have been released.

You can download the products here.

Also check out the brand new flex.org, and the reorganized Tour de Flex with a lot of new Flex 4 samples.

In addition to the new Spark component model which enables a new level of collaboration between Designers and Developers, there are many other new features worth exploring. For example, the data-centric development features – including services introspection, value objects and service stubs generation – are really compelling. There is a lot of great content on DevNet to learn more about this exciting release.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Flex