MAX Europe 2007 Recap and Assets
The first MAX Europe has come and gone, and I’m super-thrilled to have been a part of it. I had a number of hands-on presentations, all around developing and deploying AIR applications. I also had two speaking sessions, one on using Aptana for AIR development, and one on script-bridging with AIR. Following is a recap of the session contents for each, and any assets that were created.
Hands On: Deploying Flex and HTML/JavaScript Applications to AIR
Just like the title might suggest, this 1.5 hour session was filled with content. Though we encountered keyboard mapping problems, the majority of each class was able to successfully develop and deploy an AIR application. The application allowed the user to drag an image from the desktop into the AIR application, and have the image added to the UI using the respective technologies.
Each class got a slightly different version of the presentation as I refined it based on feedback (thanks!). The first class experienced the most detailed version, dealing with WordPad and the command-line. For the second class I rolled in the use of Aptana for code coloring and code intelligence. The third class got more of the same, but with less emphasis on the command-line tools.
Regardless of when you attended, the application was the same, and can be downloaded for HTML and Flex. The slides encompass the entire presentation as originally conceived. Code heavy, and step-by-step dialog screen shots should prove useful for self-study.
Building AIR Applications Using Ajax and Aptana
This was probably the hardest session for me to present. I use Aptana regularly, but I have to admit that there’s a ton of features in the IDE that I never use. So many features in fact, that I wasn’t sure what to include, and what not to include. The resulting presentation was somewhat of a hodge-podge, with an eventual leveling out focusing on the Ajax and AIR development workflow specifically.
I was really excited that Rob Rohan of CFEclipse fame sat in on the talk!
HTML and Script Bridging for Flex Applications in AIR
Script bridging, or the ability for ActionScript to leverage the HTML DOM and JavaScript directly, while simultaneously allowing JavaScript to access core ActionScript 3 classes and even libraries, is easily my favorite subject. I think it blurs the line heavily between what is Flash and HTML, and I think that’s a good thing for all parties involved (i.e. massive code reuse and sharing). Unfortunately, I was sick for this presentation, out of energy, and my voice was on the brink of disaster.
Still, I saw a number of folks taking notes and leaning in to hear more, which is really what kept me going - here’s to the great MAX Europe attendees!
I started the session in Flex Builder, setting a breakpoint, and taking a closer look at the properties of the HTML control (where you’ll find the “javaScriptWindow” object). Then using some ActionScript the Flex application evolves to reach inside the HTML DOM and get a value from an input field. Then the reverse happens and ActionScript sets values on an HTML input via the DOM. Setting and getting values is just the start, but most of the script bridging features lie in HTML.
On the JavaScript side of things now, we saw that anytime JavaScript uses AIR features, that it’s actually using classes from the Flash Player. Beyond that, we then loaded a SWF as a script resource and called public functions inside of it to see if we were offline or online. Then we used the ActionScript 3 Core Library to start capturing and encoding images of the screen - with JavaScript, using Flash Player features. I even showed a workaround for loading Flash content in HTML (which isn’t directly supported in AIR Beta 2 yet).
All the code goodness in a step-by-step form is available for the entire presentation.
Summary
Aside from being a first for MAX (to be in Europe), it was also my first time to Barcelona, Spain and I really enjoyed the relaxed culture of the Mediterranean. I found the architecture really interesting too. I got to try out my Spanish skills and found that my dialect (a mix of Mexican, Cuban, and Argentinian) was a little too sloppy for most. Once I slowed down and hit each syllable with less accent, I was far more productive. I got to take a lot of pictures along the way, and I look forward to MAX Europe 2008 for more!