Flex Documentation and Studies

Flex.org is the place to go if you are serious about learning Flex. They have many of the resources you will need to get started. Just don't get ahead of yourself and get overwhelmed by the data overload of information that is available.

Personally I have been working my way through the documentation and trying to keep from jumping ahead. In the past I have taken programming courses and it seemed that as soon as I actually started to actually 'get' something it would be time to move on to the next subject. This is a great way to learn a {little of a lot}. Since my ultimate goal is to become an expert at developing RIA's I have decided that I am going to take my time and actually practice and enjoy the new things I am learning. There is SO much to learn and if you are not careful you will not be able to accomplish anything except wasting your time.

My recommendation is to go check out Flex.org. Try to work through their instructions.

If you happen to get stuck on a subject, try to move to the next. Sometimes you will experience a flash of understanding and be able to go back over the problematic areas and work through it with no problem.

I don't think I have had this much fun experimenting and learning with computers since the early 1980's. I have been writing any ideas for projects I get so that once I know how to make them a reality I will actually know what to work on.

Well, back to training for me. I have an entire world of knowledge to wrap my mind around..Somehow :)

Total Training in conjuction with Adobe offers 30 day trial

While on my journey to learn Flex and Actionscript I have come across a great resource provided by Adobe in conjunction with Total Training. You can sign up at the Adobe website and receive a 30 day trial of Total Training Online's Flex offerings!

These are the type of things that make the Internet community great. So if you are looking to learn Flex and you need a break from studying Mooks book (Essential Actionscript 3.0, a must have in my opinion) then you should go sign up for a trial! Heck if you really like it buy a subscription, I know I probably will.

Back to training for me, have a great day and I hope you enjoy this offering from Adobe and TTO as much as I am :)

Here are the details:

"Welcome Adobe Partners. What better way to learn Adobe® Flex® 2 than from Adobe Flex team veteran James Talbot and Adobe Certified Master Instructor Leo Schuman!

For a limited time, Total Training™, the leader in comprehensive, high-quality, interactive, software training, is offering 30 day access to over 17 hours of our Adobe Flex 2 online training titles, absolutely FREE.

How to Redeem
Sign up now to get your 30 day FREE subscription and start learning Adobe Flex 2.0 from the pros today. Complete the required information and Enter Activation Code: 29fa706d Once you input the activation code your 30 day subscription will begin."

Here is the link:

Link to Total Training Online

Flex Podcast

I have an hour drive to and from work everyday. Thanks to this fact, I am an absolute podcast fanatic. I have found that being able to listen to podcasts based on a subject I am trying to learn is a great motivator. It also helps me achieve the big picture. Being in the security field I constantly have to remain up to date on what is happening in the world and thanks to the people in that industry there are many resources available to analyst and enthusiast.

Flex has at least two great podcasts that I know of. If anyone reads this and knows of more please leave a comment. I would greatly appreciate it.

The two Flex podcasts that have been helpful to me so far can be found at

Jeffry Houser's Blog: The Flex Show Flex Podcast

and

FlashGameUI.com -- Flash Game University. Lots of great bits even if you are not trying to make a game!

Thank you Flex Community

I would like to thank the Flex community and everyone that has taken the time out of their lives to make learning Flex and Actionscripting fun. I have found many tutorials that have been a great help to me so far. I have also been listening to different Podcasts and reading the manuals. So far so good, I am learning. I am playing. And best of all, I am having fun!

Flex Resources I have been using to learn Flex:

Adobe Flex Documentation - http://livedocs.adobe.com/flex/2/
The Flex show - http://www.theflexshow.com/blog/ -- This is a great Podcast , thanks guys!
Flex.org - http://flex.org/ -- You gotta check this out if you are new to Flex


I have also picked up a copy of Essential Actionscript 3 by Mook, so far so good. I am learning and I am new to Flex. What more could I ask for.

Flex: The wave of the future!

Flex seems to be the wave of the future. In my minds eye I can see RIA taking over the Interweb over the next few years with Adobe leading the way. To be honest, I was a bit torn between following Microsofts lead and hedging all bets on Silverlight since it is new and, well lets face it, is provided by Microsoft. I think it is safe to say that MS is going to do everything they can to make sure that the silverlight plugin is available on as many PC's as possible. They own the desktop market and could easily get at least 80% of the PC's out there covered very quickly by simply adding it to any new software.

If I were Microsoft I would require users to install the Silverlight plug-in in order to validate Windows. If there is a problem with the user installing the plugin, they could offer another method of validation (the current method perhaps...). Most users would just click OK as long as the request is coming from Microsoft.

Sooo.... Keeping the above in mind, why would I choose Flex over Silverlight? Simple - The community. I intend on learning Actionscript 3, Flex and anything else I need to in order to make components, build RIA's, and just generally have fun in a great community.

Adobe is doing the right thing by releasing software to students and educational institutions and this will grow the community. Add to that the fact that it is going to be open-source (or is? not sure I am still a Flex Newbie remember!) and you can bet it will eventually outstrip any capabilities any company could provide on its on.

So I continue my journey of becoming a Flex Master... I think it will take a lot of work and time :)

Flex Newbie

For several weeks now I have been looking at the different WEB 2.0 technologies that are available in hopes of finding one that will work for an idea that I would like implemented.

I do not know if there is any financial gain to be made in this venture so I have decided that I will minimize any associated costs by doing everything myself.

Having some experience in C++ and a few scripting languages I hope that this will not turn out to be too painful. So far I have determined that Flex will become my best friend over the next few months while working on this project.