How do I learn Flex?
The world of Flex development is pretty big and it’s expanding all the time. There are many types of applications that can be built with Flex from dashboards to widgets, media playback utilities to Enterprise RIAs and don’t forget interactive kiosks and Internet aware desktop applications. One of the most common questions that I get asked is: How/Where do I learn Flex? I think one of the keys to mastery is a successful learning path. I also think that a solid foundation goes a long way. We’ve all heard the phrase: “crawl, walk, run…”
Here are some resources that helped me learn Flex. They are organized in a somewhat sequential fashion.
Beginner
Lynda.com
Adobe.com
- Flex SDK coding conventions and best practices
- Flex Examples Blog
- Adobe Flex Developers Guide
- Developing AIR applications with Flex
DClick Adobe Flex Coding Guidelines
Intermeditate
AtTest (practice exam engine for Adobe Flex Developer Certification)
Flexlib (open source user interface components)
Developing Flex RIAs with Cairngorm (Steven Webster, Adobe Consulting)
David Tucker
- Getting Started with Cairngorm – Part 1
- Getting Started with Cairngorm – Part2
- Getting Started with Cairngorm – Part 3
- Getting Started with Cairngorm – Part 4
Mate Framework
- Mate website
- Mate: Event driven framework for Flex (Article for Flash Magazine by Sean Moore)
Adobe Flex Community Expert program
Advanced
Flint (more particles)
Paul Ortchanian (scripted 3D, particles, bezier)
Misc. Resources:
Comtaste (Flex training)
Beyond Flex
Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
Test Driven Development by Example
How To Design A Good API and Why it Matters
Thanks for the comprehensive info, especially enjoying the Attest app!
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I’ve tried to systemize a lot of resources, my personal and my company’s knowledge about Flex into a training course. The resulting course is far from complete, because it is tailored for the specific needs of the company we’ve trained. The audience was predominantly from seniors, so lots of advanced topics are covered. I’ve succeeded in persuading them to make the course partially open (all materials and lectures are free for use and published on http://training.obecto.com/), thus providing a foundation for further conversation and discussions. But sadly, currently the Training Portal is a very quiet place.
Hi Sean,
There’s also the Flex in a Week video’s on Adobe’s site.
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/videotraining/
Readers should be aware that there are some major changes in component and states architecture in Flex 4. I feel learning Flex 3 components and changes is still valid but not to get too comfortable or spend too much time investing in the current Flex 3 component design…