Getting Started withFlex and PHP

Ryan Stewart

@ryanstewart

blog.digitalbackcountry.com

ryan@adobe.com

github.com/ryanstewart

500100 4400259

13 T

Live in Seattle, WA

Into: Beer, Mountaineering, Geolocation

Agenda

What is Flex?Flex and PHP: The Why and the Workflows

Advanced PHP Features with FlexUsing PHP and the Flash Platform

Flex is Not:

Basic AnimationsBanner Ads

Simple VideoMenu Bars

Small Pieces of Interactivity

Simple Animation, Vector Graphics, Banner Ads,Progressive Video

Interactive Widgets, Streaming

Video, Advanced Drawing, Sound Generation,

Filters/Effects

Real-Time CollaborationData Visualization, Gestures

RIAs, Games

HTML5HTML5

Pyramid of Flash Features and Use Cases

Flex is Applications

Flex is for Developers

Open Source SDKFamiliar Programming

Model3rd Party Libraries and

FrameworksDeveloper Tutorials

Flex is Rich, Extensible Components

Flex is Consistency

Flex is Productivity

Developer Tooling

Flash BuilderBuilt on EclipseCode completion, syntax highlightingIncludes debugger, network monitorBuild desktop or browser apps

Other Flex Developer Tools

Visual Studio Plugin

IntelliJTextMate Bundles

In-Browser Applications Desktop/Mobile Apps

Flex FrameworkComponents, Data Connection APIs, Compiler, Debugger, Validators, Effects

PHP Code Exposed as Services that connects calls data from external data sources

XML / JSON / AMF / HTTP(S) / SOAP / Socket / RTMP

Compile to SWF Package

How Flex and PHP Work Together

<XML>

Data Formats with Flex/PHP

{JSON}

010000010100110101000110(AMF)

Your first Flex App

Easily Connectto Data

Create PHP classes based on a database

Easily connect to any exposed services

Test operations and define typesGenerate forms based on data typesBind data to interface components

Flash Builder Data Wizards

AMF and the Zend Framework

Intro to AMF

A binary file format that represents a serialized

ActionScript object

Created as a way to exchange data with the Flash Player

Allows you to map data types to Flash Player types

Open Specification

AMF and PHP Projects

AMFPHP - Great, open source, easy to use, still the standard

ZendAMF - Part of the Zend Framework, most up to date

WebORB PHP - Part of WebORB family, comes with code generation tools

SaberAMF - Lightweight AMF implementation, similar to AMFPHP

http://www.jamesward.com/census/

What About Design?

Designing Flex

The ability to tweak styles with CSSChange themes that affect every component

Work with a designer to skin components

Designer/DeveloperWorkflowFlex’s component model

separates design from logic

Allows developers to take and easily integrate

designer content

Flash Catalyst is the UI designer for Flex

applications

Leveraging the Designer in Flex

Taking Flex and PHP Further

Real-Time Data Over Sockets

Client Server

Request

Response

Who Am I, What Am I, Where Am I Going?

Who Am I, What Am I, Where Am I Going?

Typical HTTP Call

Repeat

Client Server

Connection

Push

Socket Call

PHP Can Act as Socket ServerFlex can Connect via Socket Class

Provides the capability to roll your own real-time data access

Using PHP to Manage Collaboration

LiveCycle Collaboration ServicesCloud-based service for collaboration

Uses Flash to enable real-time data transferIncludes a PHP library for managing service

Management, authentication

PHP and Collaboration

Flashndroid

@ryanstewart

blog.digitalbackcountry.com

ryan@adobe.com

github.com/ryanstewart

500100 4400259

13 T

Questions