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Chapter 1: Introducing Cairngorm
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You can also see that a number of interfaces (e.g., IValueObject) simply serve as markers to identify types
of classes.
Additionally, as you will see in the next section, which discusses the major components for Cairngorm,
not all these classes are directly used in building Cairngorm projects. However, they are all part of the
Cairngorm framework and the documentation exists should you need to refer to it.
Major Components of Cairngorm
In the article entitled Flex 3: Introducing Cairngorm (Adobe Customer Training/Partner Enablement
Group), Thomas Burleson of Universal Mind, and Leo Shuman of Adobe Customer Training, under the
guidance of Matt Boles (
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/introducing_
cairngorm.htm
l ), the major components of Cairngorm are defined as follows:
ModelLocator
Services
Commands
Events
Controller
This list is a good starting point for understanding the components of Cairngorm, but it mixes specific
components with general concepts. For example, the first item in the list is an actual class name found in
the framework; services are used in the framework but are actually represented by a class called the
ServiceLocator; commands and events are types of classes; and the controller is represented by a class
called the FrontController.
In addition to components in this list, there are two other types of classes commonly used in Cairngorm
that are not included in the list. These are value objects and delegates. The most likely reason for their
omission from the list is that their use is generally considered optional. However, there is a com.adobe
.cairngorm.vo package for value objects and, while there is no delegate class or interface in Cairngorm,
their use is common enough to warrant examination as well.
This book will therefore be defining the major components of Cairngorm in terms of the classes
commonly used in Cairngorm projects:
ModelLocator
ServiceLocator
Commands
Events
FrontController
Value objects
Delegates
A chapter will be devoted to each of these components. For now, here is a brief description of each.
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