The Flash Platform is changing. Flash Builder and Flash Catalyst have brought a new separation of design and coding to web development that enables a much more efficient and streamlined workflow. For designers and developers used to the close confines of Flash, this is a hugely liberating but at first alien concept. This book teaches you the new workflow for the Flash platform. It gives an overview of the technologies involved and provides you with real-world project examples and best-practice guidelines to get from design to implementation with the tools at hand.

• Includes many examples
• Focuses on real-world situations
• Covers designer and developer workflow

What youll learn

What youll learn

• Use the new workflow from design to implementation.
• Learn best practices for Flex development.
• Determine the right tools for the job.
• Gain basic knowledge of Flash Catalyst.
• Gain basic knowledge of Flash Builder 4.

Who this book is for


This book is intended for people that want to understand how design and development are brought closer together with Flash Catalyst and Flash Builder 4. Although it can be quite helpful to already have some basic knowledge of Flex, the book will provide you with an overview of the main features and lots of coding examples that are explained in detail.

Table of Contents

1. Flex and AIR: Taking RIAs to the Next Level 
2. Flex 4 SDK: Overview of the New Features 
3. Flash Builder 4: The programming environment
4. Flash Catalyst: bridging the gap 
5. Choosing the Best Workflow 
6. Case Study: An E-Commerce Site
7. Managing RIA Projects
8. Frameworks 
9. Best Practices

Customer Reviews & Comments
This is one of the first books to talk about Flash Catalyst and demonstrates an all-too-common mismatch between the marketing needs of the publisher and actual competency and focus of the writer. Despite the descriptions provided by Friends of Ed, very little is actually on the designer-developer workflow of Catalyst and Builder. Instead, the book (written by a well-respected ColdFusion developer) focusses on enterprise workflow particularly heavy in back-end technologies and real-time data integration. UI designers and developers should look elsewhere for a true Catalyst and Builder workflow guide. For example, instead of a standard informative introduction (i.e. how Catalyst and Builder work together), chapter one is a history of mainframes, servers, and an overview of backend technologies including AMFPHP, Zend, LifeCycle, and (of course) ColdFusion. Flash Builder and Flash Catalyst are introduced later and both are included in the Workflow and Case Study chapters, but most of the actual example code is for realtime data integration. The author briefly mentions UI code and design material for the projects, but the content was omitted and remains inaccessible: neither the book nor the author's website provide the customary download links. The last three chapters return to familiar ground for enterprise: managing RIA projects, frameworks, and best practices. Common fodder for programmers, but little to do with Flash Builder and practically nothing for Catalyst. As a developer-designer (the natural beneficiary of a Catalyst-Builder workflow guide) I found this book to be misdirected and disingenuous - it's really written for ColdFusion developers wanting to get into Flex. A ColdFusion or enterprise programmer should write a review of this book. They could probably give it a much higher (or more accurate) rating.

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