Flex should be as easy to learn as it is to use. And with Hello! Flex 4, it is! This illustrated tutorial builds your know-how from the first Hello World example up to a practitioner level using an entertaining style that makes learning a breeze. You'll learn to make easy-to-use interfaces, eye-catching animations, and powerful data-driven features.

Hello! Flex 4 progresses through 26 self-contained examples selected so you can progressively master Flex. They vary from small one-page apps, to a 3D rotating haiku, to a Connect Four-like game. And in the last chapter you'll learn to build a full Flex application called SocialStalkr—a mashup that lets you follow your friends by showing their tweets on a Yahoo map.

Whether you're a weekend web developer or you want big things from Flex, this book is a great place to start.

Learn how to:

• Create engaging animations and transitions
• Handle user input
• Access and display data
• Communicate with the server
• Use open-source components

About the Author

Peter Armstrong is the co-founder and CEO of Ruboss Technology Corporation, a Vancouver, BC area company focusing on Adobe Flex and Ruby on Rails development and consulting. Peter is also the author of the Manning book Flexible Rails: Flex 3 on Rails 2, the book which inspired the creation of the RestfulX framework, the RESTful way to develop Flex and AIR applications that easily integrate with Ruby on Rails. Peter was a key part of the team that won the 2006 Adobe MAX Award for RIA/Web Development, is the organizer of the Vancouver Ruby/ Rails Meetup group and is a frequent speaker on using Flex and Rails together.