Tim Walling

Following up on my post on how to use the Loki API from within a Flash app, I’m posting an example with source for doing the same thing within a Flex app.

What’s noteworthy about this example? For starters I tried to avoid the need for any Javascript (other than embedding) in the HTML page. The LokiAdapter class I’ve written injects all needed Javascript dynamically. I’m working towards a 1.0 release of this adapter and have put the initial source code up on a Google code project. The other big change is the move to AS3. My initial example was an FLA which used AS2. I usually avoid using AS2 but thought it might be helpful to have an example which used it. So it’s there if you need it but I probably won’t be building on that example any longer. I should also point out that I’ve only gotten this working with Firefox. I still have to work out all of the browser issues.

I’ll post something when I get the 1.0 SWC files uploaded on the Google code site. I’ll be including one for Flash and one for Flex. To run the example application you’ll need your own Loki key and developer key from Google to use the Google maps API for Flash.

Demo:
http://www.timwalling.com/loki_flex/loki.html

Source:
http://code.google.com/p/lokiadapter/

Recently a friend of mine asked if it was possible to use the Loki Javascript API from within Flash. Loki is a location aware plugin which once installed allows a user to find their location using available WiFi signals. I created an example which uses the javascript API to show you you’re location on a flash based Yahoo! map. The source code is available in a zip and you can view the working example here. I’ll probably play around with this a bit more so that the javascript gets inserted dynamically from Flash and I’d also like to have some Flex examples.

Demo:
http://www.timwalling.com/loki/loki.html

Source:
http://www.timwalling.com/loki/loki_flash_example.zip

A new version of FlashDevelop has been released and among the updates are some tweaks to the autocomplete feature. It’s worth pointing out that this 3.0.0 version of FlashDevelop is starting to include some integration with the Flex debugger (currently only trace statements are supported), something which I feel will really make the tool a viable alternative to Flex Builder. Java 1.6 is required for Actionscript 3 development so grab that as well if you want to test out all the features of the latest build.

FlashDevelop 3.0.0 Beta 4

Java 1.6 (Java 6)

If you try out FlashDevelop and like using it, don’t forget to support the project by donating!

Recently I wanted to find out how to compile SWC libraries which could be used in Flash CS3 since I knew it was possible to go the other way using the Flex Component Kit for Flash CS3. As of Flex 2.01, support was added so that Flash and Flex authored SWC’s were compatible (previously I believe the SWC format differed between them). The focus of the update however was on getting Flash authored components into Flex and only in passing was the reversed case mentioned as being supported.

Read the rest of this entry »

A project I worked on in the fall went live not too long ago. I’ve been meaning to post something about it and I plan to follow this up with another post regarding my use of the CASA Framework within the project.

Gravis Footwear went through a redesign of their site and I worked on a small timeline piece which was built in Actionscript 2. It was a fun, little project which gave me a chance to do some Flash/AS2 work which I’ve been doing a lot less of since joining Allurent and working on Flex full-time.

After working with Actionscript 3 and Flex 2 for about a year now, I have to say I found the CASA Framework for Actionscript 2 extremely helpful. I always find it interesting when you leave a technology for a while, then come back with a fresh point of view. At my current job I’ve had the opportunity to gain a lot of experience in the area of application design and implementation and bringing that knowledge back to something like Flash and the timeline forces me to revisit my old habits and techniques for building applications in Actionscript 2. I noticed this same thing when I started playing around with FlashLite and had to revisit the Flash 4/Actionscript 1 language. I found that I had a fresh perspective on how I might have done things back in the day versus how I ended up doing them now in the same language.

I’ll post a follow-up regarding the parts of the CASA Framework I used soon. If you missed the link above, here’s a link to the Gravis Footwear timeline.

http://gravisfootwear.com/community/brandhistory.aspx