Adobe Flex is a set of tools and technologies that allow creating Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) in the popular Flash SWF format, supported by 98% of web browsers. Shifting away from Flash's movie stage and timeline paradigm, Flex allows developers to work in a familiar Eclipse-based development environment. Among many new features, Flex brings powerful tools for data binding, XML support, and the ability to move RIAs into the desktop via the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR).
Grails enables the coding-by-convention rapid-application development techniques available to web frameworks like Django and Rails using syntax and technologies familiar to Java developers. Built on the Groovy language, Spring, and Hibernate, Grails enables developers to quickly integrate into their RIAs familiar Java libraries like Drools, Lucene, and Adobe's BlazeDS Flex remoting.
Published with the developer in mind, firstPress technical briefs explore emerging technologies that have the potential to be critical for tomorrow's industry. Apress keeps developers one step ahead by presenting key information as early as possible in a PDF of 150 pages or less. Explore the future through Apress with Flex on Grails, which brings both these versatile technologies together into a unified development and technological platform that allows you to rapidly develop powerful and visually stunning RIAs in the following ways: Explore and extend the power of Grails rapid application development to the world of Flash/Flex. Bridge the radical changes to RIA development promised by Flex and integrate them into a view layer technology for Grails. Seamlessly integrate Flex and Grails development through new tools, techniques, and methodologies from real-life applications developed from one of the world's leading digital agencies.
What you'll learn Build a complete end-to-end web application integrating the best features of Adobe Flex, Flash, and AIR with the power and simplicity of Groovy and Grails. Understand and use the tools with methodologies needed to get Flex and Grails working together in the development cycle. Fully explore communication options between Grails and Flex. Walk through a complete example using the Adobe BlazeDS server-based remoting framework and REST-based HTTP Service alternative. Use Flex and ActionScript to set up a dynamic navigation and presentation layer for you RIAs. Learn how Flex facilitates data binding, XML support, states, transitions, validation, embedding audio/video, and desktop integration. Add robust Java-based enterprise-level functionality--search, search engine optimization, security, content internationalization, and RSS feeds--quickly and elegantly to your RIAs via Grails plug-ins. Learn comprehensive strategies in which you can use the content management and CRUD functionality of Grails to separate the functionality and rich media assets of your Flex RIA into manageable interconnected parts.
Who is this book for?
Digital agencies and designers looking for a robust rapid-development environment and methodology that is highly scalable, powerful, and based on proven Java-based technologies. Also, companies and individuals who want to engage Flash/Flex/AIR as a view technology for legacy and emerging enterprise web applications.
