Adobe AIR: Building Desktop Applications with Flex  (2 days)

Onsite and private classes available. Please enquire directly for details..

Description

This course is designed to equip experienced Adobe® Flex™ developers with the skills needed to develop robust desktop applications using Adobe AIR™.

Course length

Two days

Prerequisite

Flex 2: Developing Rich Client Applications course, or equivalent experience developing Flex applications

Course outline

Introducing the course

• Introducing Mastery Learning
• Understanding the course format
• Reviewing the course prerequisites
• Reviewing the course outline

Introducing Adobe AIR

• Exploring the Adobe AIR development toolset
  
  • Understanding the runtime application
  • Understanding the Adobe AIR SDK
  • Looking at Adobe Flex Builder™ 3
• Reviewing the Adobe AIR tools for Flex Builder 3
  
  • Creating Adobe AIR projects
  • Exporting Adobe AIR applications
• Walkthrough: Review the course application

Getting started with Adobe AIR

• Creating your first Adobe AIR application
  
  • Creating an Adobe AIR project
  • Creating a main application
  • Compiling an Adobe AIR application
  • Running an Adobe AIR application
• Walkthrough: Create an Adobe AIR application
• Packaging and deploying applications
  
  • Exporting an application
  • Code-signing an application
  • Selecting application content
  • Installing an application
• Walkthrough: Export and install application
• Learning Adobe AIR fundamentals
  
  • Understanding the application container
  • Exploring the Adobe AIR file format
  • Understanding the application descriptor
  • Understanding the application display attributes
• Walkthrough: Examine the Adobe AIR package and change its descriptor
• Getting help and other resources

Creating native windows

• Creating a window
  
  • Using the Window class
  • Adding content to a window
• Walkthrough: Create, open, and close a native window
• Modifying the window display
  
  • Changing the window type
  • Changing the window chrome
  • Setting window transparency
  • Going full screen
• Walkthrough: Control chrome, transparency, and full screen
• Manipulating windows
  
  • Getting an instance of the window
  • Resizing a window
  • Moving a window
• Walkthrough: Maximize, minimize, restore, and move a window
• Using window events
  
  • Identifying the window events
• Walkthrough: Control window behavior through event listeners

Using the file system

• Using the File class
  
  • Using the File class
  • Creating directories
• Walkthrough: Creating directories and files
  
  • Moving and copying file system objects
  • Deleting file system objects
• Walkthrough: Copy, move, and delete file objects
• Using the Flex 3 Adobe AIR components
  
  • Reviewing the component types
• Walkthrough: Use file browsing and display components
• Using file streams
  
  • Creating directories
  • Reading and writing files
• Walkthrough: Read and write to a text file
• Working with file formats
  
  • Using binary and encoded characters
• Walkthrough: Read, modify, and write a binary file to the desktop

Connecting applications

• Communicating between applications
  
  • Using LocalConnection
• Walkthrough: Connect to another Adobe AIR application
• Communicating with the browser
  
  • Using the URLRequest class
• Walkthrough: Interact with a remote service via URL
• Using HTML content
  
  • Loading HTML content
• Walkthrough: Load HTML into an Adobe AIR application
• Getting occasionally connected
  
  • Monitoring services
  • Detecting HTTP connectivity
  • Detecting Socket connectivity
• Walkthrough: Add network detection

Using the clipboard

• Moving data with copy and paste
  
  • Using the clipboard
  • Getting data from the clipboard
  • Writing data to the clipboard
• Walkthrough: Moving data with copy and paste
• Using drag and drop
  
  • Exploring the drag-and-drop stages
  • Dragging with the clipboard
• Walkthrough: Drag an image into the application

Persisting application data

• Using embedded SQL databases
  
  • Understanding the database file
  • Opening a database
  • Creating a database
• Walkthrough: Create a new database
• Using SQL statements
  
  • Managing the database
  • Managing the data
  • Using best practices with embedded databases
• Walkthrough: Update database and records
• Working with data types
  
  • Using Date data
  • Using XML data
  • Using BLOB data
• Walkthrough: Use date/time and BLOB data

Understanding Adobe AIR security

• Considering Adobe AIR security
  
  • Learning about security sandboxes
  • Understanding the domain considerations
  • Detecting Adobe AIR capabilities
  • Understanding the security best practices
• Walkthrough: Add capability detection

Customizing application deployment

• Setting the application's desktop icon
  
  • Using application icons
• Walkthrough: Add icon to application
• Setting system tray notifications
  
  • Using the shell
  • Using the system tray
• Walkthrough: Add a system tray icon
• Customizing application chrome
  
  • Understanding application chrome
• Walkthrough: Change application chrome
• Creating a seamless installer
  
  • Adding the installer
• Demo: Review the badging process
• Summary and review