When to DataGrid and when not too!

This week I saw an implementation using a DataGrid that was way overkill. I MEAN WAY WAY OVERKILL!

In short, I thought I would list when NOT to use a datagrid.

Per the Adobe Flex docs here is the use for a datagrid.

The DataGrid control is intended for viewing data, and not as a layout tool like an HTML table. The mx.containers package provides those layout tools.

In short, a developer was using a DataGrid as a way to list visual objects in vertical order. Basically they were using a DataGrid as a VBox.

It even increased the size of the SWF by 40k compared to using a VBox.

Yahoo Web Messenger Built in Flex!!!

http://webmessenger.yahoo.com/

This is very cool! This would make for a great Apollo app!

Congrats to yahoo messenger team!

Flex 3 to go open source

Adobe has announced that Flex 3 will be open source. Check out a great video interview here. http://www.podtech.net/home/scobleshow/2826/breaking-news-adobe-flash-flex-goes-open-sourc

Harnessing the power of Verity, ColdFusion, and Flex 2 – Part 2:

Yes it’s finally done! No really!

Update: The article is now live and can be found here

Part 2 will be on Adobe.com Monday 16th 2007! This article went through more twists and turns then expected. In short, I built a fully functioning Flex 2/ColdFusion/Verity document search application. The problem was that to walk a reader through line by line and explain how everything was working would have resulted in a 100 page book!

While still explaining how to call the CFC and handle a result from Verity, I didn’t get into detail explaining all the other Flex 2 features that are used such as:

  • Array Collections
  • Shared Objects
  • Action Script Value Objects
  • Custom Events
  • Dispatching Custom Events
  • Drag & Drop
  • Item Renderer’s

While relevant to how the entire app works, getting into explaining them would have resulted very large article with parts 1 – 8!

I assume there will be questions, and I will be more then happy to answer them here.

This was to demonstrate how Flex 2 could provide a cool interface for searching Verity collections. I plan on building this app out further as there is so much more that can be done. I actually have another version of this app that uses best practices that were not used in the article as it would just have added more to explain. The point was to show an example as easy as possible, not get into best practices.

I will be posting a new version of the application here on the blog that you are free to use in your own environments. There are many features that are missing from the sample application that I am very excited to add in.

If you have any features that you would like to see added please let me know and I will try to incorporate them.

Update: The article is now live and can be found here

Going to work at Adobe HQ!

I am going to work on a large FLEX 2 project at Adobe corporate headquarters for about 6+ months!

Before starting this trip I was living in Buffalo NY. Its going to be a long time away from good friends, and family. As much as I love the wonderful Buffalo snow I cannot wait to get to San Jose and see the Adobe building first hand.

While I have been very lax in my blogging efforts, I plan on making almost daily blog entries about my experiences in San Jose.

Developer Search

We are looking for talented developers that when needed we can subcontract work to. Mainly looking for Flex 2, ColdFusion, Flash Developers, Flash Designers. But other skill sets are needed as well!

Please Send:
1) Your resume
2) Your contact info
3) Projects you have worked on
4) Your Rates
5) How much are you willing to travel?
6) What type of work do you like?

A New Chapter Begins!

I'm sad to say that I have decided to leave my current employer, New Era Cap Company. I have been at New Era since January 17th 2005 in which I was the Lead Online Applications Developer. In that role I got to work on many exciting projects using Flash, Flex 1.5, Flex 2, and ColdFusion MX 7. New Era is the official baseball cap of MLB and has many licenses with NHL, NBA and more. It was a great experience to work there and I wish everyone at New Era the best.

So you are wondering the obvious questions right? Where are you going? What are you doing?

For many years I have always wanted to dive into full time consulting. Starting January 22nd 2007 New Point Media-Advanced Online Solutions Group will open for business. The primary focus will be Flex 2, Flex 2 Data Services, ColdFusion MX 7, and Flash Development. We will also offer creative services, Flash interactive development, database management and more.

If you are looking for any of these services please give us a call. My contact information is at www.NewPointMedia.com at the bottom right. Yes I wish the website was finished as well, but we are already taking on clients so a decision was made to take the time to do it right and launch on the 3.1.2007.

Again I wish all of my friends at New Era the very best, we had many good times!

  • Jon Malley aka "The Jonster"
  • Cara Santiago
  • Alan Stewart
  • Barbara Severin
  • Tony Sauls
  • Jesse Peffer
  • Mike Conti
  • Mark Harris
  • Richard Voyce
  • Siobhan Smith
  • Liza Ploughman
  • Debbie Lovern
  • And anyone else I forgot!

Harnessing the power of Verity, ColdFusion event gateways, and Flex 2

Today I have a new article up on the Adobe developer center. In part 1 we use a DirectoryWatcher event gateway to watch the directory(s) where your documents reside. If a change occurs, the CFC (ColdFusion component) listener will refresh the Verity collection. This way, you efficiently automate the process of refreshing your Verity collections.

Part II we will create a rich document search interface with Flex 2. You'll get deeper into Verity's powerful search features such as category support, search suggestions, searching within a result set, and more. You will use the power of Flex 2 to create a richer and engaging search interface.