Adobe AIR Programming Unleashed

by Young, Stacy Tyler; Givens, Michael Tyler; Gianninas, Dimitrios

• ISBN13: 9780672329715
• ISBN10: 0672329719
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-11-09
• Publisher: Sams Publishing

Summary

Covers version 1.5 of Adobe AIR Written to help you hit the ground running, this book teaches you how to build state-of-the-art rich desktop applications on the breakthrough Adobe AIR platform. Stacy Tyler Young, Michael Givens, and Dimitrios Gianninas illustrate the power of this technology through practical application examples based on the official 1.5 release of Adobe AIR. Yours"ll discover how Adobe AIR helps you solve problems you just couldnrs"t solve before by extending the reach of your web applications onto usersrs" desktops. Building on your existing knowledge of Adobe Flex, HTML, JavaScript, and Ajax software, yours"ll master the powerful Adobe AIR platform--moving quickly from task-oriented examples to larger-scale, real-world projects. The authors donrs"t just cover coding--they help you maximize your effectiveness throughout the entire development lifecycle via design patterns, frameworks, build process, continuous integration, and automated testing. If yours"re ready to build the next generation of rich hybrid desktop applications, Adobe AIR is the development platform yours"ve been searching for...andthisis the book you need to kick-start new projects using this exciting new technology. Detailed information on how to... Install and configure your Adobe AIR development environment Build the next generation web/desktop hybrid applications to run on Adobe AIR Add new desktop capabilities to your web applications such as native windows, local file I/O, and client-side databases Create HTML/Adobe Flex mash-up applications Push data to Adobe AIR clients using BlazeDS, an open source Java remoting and messaging technology Package, distribute, and update Adobe AIR applications Work with display objects in 3D space by leveraging Adobe Flash Player 10 Build Adobe AIR applications using common frameworks like Cairngorm Create automated builds using Apache Ant, complete with FlexUnit testing strategies Create a peer-to-peer photo-sharing application by combining Adobe AIR and Java Part I Getting Started with Adobe AIR 1 Introduction to Adobe AIR 9 2 Setting Up the Development Environment 15 3 Creating an Adobe AIR Application 29 4 Debugging Adobe AIR Applications 51 Part II Building Adobe AIR Applications 5 Working with Windows 67 6 Working with Screens 89 7 Working with Files and Directories 101 8 Understanding the Drag-and-Drop API 115 9 Working with Copy and Paste 129 10 Working with Native Menus 159 11 Adding User Notifications 177 12 Working with Local Databases 189 13 Understanding Networking and Local Connections 213

Stacy Tyler Young is a senior computer scientist for Adobe Systems in Ottawa, Canada. He’s been at the forefront of web technologies since the early nineties. His passion for computing goes back further to the days of the Apple II and the first Macintosh. Rudimentary software development began at the age of seven when he was introduced to the Logo programming language. “FD 60 RT 45” anyone?

 

Coming from a server-side development background, Stacy dove into Flex prior to its first release and has now expanded into developing solutions built on the Adobe AIR platform. His focus today lies in Interaction Design and how it can be applied to emerging technologies like Adobe AIR to help improve the user experience. In addition to hearing him speak at local BarCamps or development conferences, you can catch him discussing a mixed bag of technology, environmental issues, and tinfoil hats on his blog: http://stacyyoung.org.

 

Michael Givens is the CTO of U Saw It Enterprises, a web technology consulting firm based in Houston, Texas. He is an Adobe Community Expert in Adobe Flex and an Adobe Corporate Champion known to share his experience and evangelism of all things Adobe. Certified in both ColdFusion 5 and as an advanced CFMX developer, he has been using ColdFusion since the days of Allaire Spectra. He has written Adobe Apollo in Flight (Digital Short Cut), for Sams Publishing, written articles for the ColdFusion Developer’s Journal and the Web Developer’s & Designer’s Journal, and blogs regularly at www.flexination.info.

 

Dimitrios Gianninas is a lead RIA developer at Optimal Payments Inc. based in Montreal, Canada. His primary passion has always been UI development and has excelled in this realm using Adobe Flex for web applications and is now expanding his reach to the desktop using Adobe AIR. Dimitrios’ work has been showcased at conferences and written about in IT publications across the globe. He has also been a guest speaker at Adobe conferences, written articles for the Adobe Developer Center, been a Flex Derby judge, and now maintains his own technical blog at http://jimmyflex.blogspot.com.

Table of Contents

Getting Started with Adobe AIR
Introduction to Adobe AIR	p. 9
	p. 15
Creating an Adobe AIR Application	p. 29
Debugging Adobe AIR Applications	p. 51
Building Adobe AIR Applications
Working with Windows	p. 67
Working with Screens	p. 89
Working with Files and Directories	p. 101
Understanding the Drag-and-Drop API	p. 115
Working with Copy and Paste	p. 129
Working with Native Menus	p. 159
Adding User Notifications	p. 177
Working with Local Databases	p. 189
Understanding Networking and Local Connections	p. 213
Working with Adobe Flex AIR Components	p. 251
Securing Adobe AIR Applications
Understanding Security Sandboxes	p. 263
Using the Encrypted Local Store	p. 273
Deploying Adobe AIR Applications
Distributing Adobe AIR Applications	p. 283
Updating Adobe AIR Applications	p. 309
Architecting Adobe AIR Applications
Introduction to Frameworks and Design Patterns	p. 321
Building Adobe AIR Applications Using the Cairngorm Microarchitecture	p. 335
Agile Development with Adobe AIR
Creating a Build Process	p. 359
Incorporating Unit Testing	p. 373
Continuous Integration with Adobe AIR	p. 393
Real-World Projects
Contact Manager with Integrated Yahoo! Maps	p. 411
Peer-to-Peer Photo Sharing Using Adobe AIR, Bonjour, and Java	p. 421
Building a Video Distribution System	p. 427
Adobe AIR 1.5 and Adobe Flash 10 Extras
Using Adobe Flash 10 Features in Adobe AIR	p. 439
Appendices
A Adobe AIR Resources for Developers	p. 451
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Introduction IntroductionThanks for grabbing a copy of Adobereg; AIR Programming Unleashed!Adobereg; AIR technology is dramatically changing the landscape of web development. Even prior to its 1.0 release, the excitement around this product even in beta was astounding. With each new build, more and more features were being baked into the Adobe AIR platform--pushing the reach of Web technologies further into the desktop world.If you are a developer who has been locked inside the browser world along with the rest of us, this technology will breathe new life into both you and your projects.The goals of this book are remarkably simple:Make broad strokes through the fundamentals of the Adobe AIR platform to help you get up and running as quickly as possibleExplain concepts in plain English in an easy-to-read formatOffer approachable standalone code samples you can download, compile, and execute to see features in actionPersonally, I've always had trouble understanding concepts presented in software books on the first pass. Although the authors might be the supreme authorities on a subject, it's conceivable that they sometimes forget what's easy for them is not easy for someone just getting started.I've done my best to keep the writing on the straight and narrow with regard to simplicity. I sincerely hope it serves you well. Who Should Read This Book?This book is for any web developers looking to leverage what they already know and apply those skills in desktop software.The Adobe AIR platform supports applications developed with HTML, AJAX, Adobereg; Flex, Adobereg; Flashreg;, PDF, or virtually any combination thereof. I should note, however, that this title leans more toward Adobe AIR application development with Adobe Flex serving as the primary citizen.If you're also new to Adobe Flex, don't worry. The examples presented within the chapters are approachable for newcomers. Software RequirementsAdobe Flex Builder 3 has everything you need to build applications for the Adobe AIR platform. It is a commercial product available in standard and professional versions. However, if you are an educator or student, you can obtain your copy free by visiting this Adobe website:http://www.flexregistration.comStandalone software development kits (SDK) are available for both Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR. Both are entirely free. Combined with your favorite IDE, you can build Adobe AIR applications at no cost beyond your own time. In addition, the Flex SDK is now open source! Nightly builds are available to the public. For information on downloads or submitting a patch or to simply peruse the bug database, visithttp://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Flex+SDK Adobe AIRAdobe AIR is comprised of an SDK and a runtime component installed on the user's machine. It's similar to Adobe Flash, but, rather than operate within the browser context, the Adobe AIR platform offers a suite of native desktop functionality to applications. Another significant difference is that Adobe AIR applications are installed like native applications and offer direct access from the user's desktop.Windows RequirementsIntel Pentium 1GHz or faster processorMicrosoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4; Windows XP with Service Pack 2; or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise512MB of RAMMac OS X RequirementsPowerPC G4 1GHz or faster processor or Intel Core Duo 1.83GHz