User Guide

20 Chapter 1: Introducing Flex
Where to next
This book contains an introduction to Flex and an overview of developing Flex applications. The
Developing Flex Applications book contains detailed information about these topics. For more
information, see the following:
• For information on MXML and ActionScript, see Chapter 2, “Using MXML,” on page 23,
and Chapter 3, “Using ActionScript,” on page 43.
• For information on using Flex components, see Chapter 1, “Using Flex Components,” in
Developing Flex Applications.
• For information on developing custom components, see Chapter 15, “Building an Application
with Multiple MXML Files”, and Chapter 18, “Creating ActionScript Components,” in
Developing Flex Applications.
Behaviors Enhances the user
experience through
animation, motion,
sound, and effects.
A behavior is a trigger, typically a user action, paired with
an effect:
• Effects include: Dissolve, Fade, Move, Pause, Resize,
WipeDown, WipeLeft, WipeRight, WipeUp.
• Triggers include: focusIn, focusOut, hide, move, resize,
mouseDown, mouseOver, mouseOut, mouseUp,
show.
Event model Occurrences that require
a response from a Flex
application. User events
include a mouse click or
a key press. System
events include
application initialization.
dragBegin
dragComplete
dragDrop
dragEnter
dragExit
focusIn
focusOut
initialize
keyDown
keyUpresize
mouseDown
mouseUp
move
show
and more
Style sheets Standard mechanism for
declaring styles.
Used for controlling color, font, sizing, and other
attributes of Flex components.
Managers Provides support for
high-level application
tasks.
• Drag and Drop Manager lets you move data from one
place in an application to another.
• Cursor Manager lets you control the cursor image
within your Flex application.
• History Manager lets users navigate through a Flex
application using the web browser’s Back and
Forward navigation commands.
• ToolTipManager displays hints when the user moves
the mouse over a Flex control.
Development
tools
Used to develop Flex
applications.
Debugger
ActionScript Profiler
Flex Builder
Deployment
tools
Used to deploy your Flex
applications.
Player detection
Content caching
Deferred instantiation
Feature Description Details