Summary of Flex application features

User interface controls

Controls are user-interface components, such as Button, TextArea, and ComboBox controls. You use MXML tags to add controls to an application.

For more information, see Using Controls in Developing Flex Applications.

User interface containers

Containers are user-interface components that let you control the layout characteristics of the user-interface components that they contain. You can use containers to control child sizing and positioning, or to control navigation among multiple child containers. You use MXML tags to add containers to an application.

For more information, see Introducing Containers in Developing Flex Applications.

MXML components

MXML components are Flex components written in MXML files. They provide an easy way to extend an existing Flex component and encapsulate the appearance and behavior of a component in a custom MXML tag. You use MXML tags to add MXML components to an application.

For more information, see Building an Application with Multiple MXML Files in Developing Flex Applications.

ActionScript components

ActionScript components are Flex components written in ActionScript classes. They are a good choice for nonvisual components. You can use MXML tags to add ActionScript components to an application.

For more information, see Creating ActionScript Components in Developing Flex Applications.

SWC components

SWC components are created in the Flash MX authoring environment and exported in SWC files for use in Flex applications. They are a good choice for complex visual objects. You use MXML tags to add SWC components to an application.

For more information, see Developing Flex Applications.

Data binding

The data binding feature provides a simple syntax for automatically copying the value of a property of one client-side object to a property of another object at runtime.

For more information, see Binding and Storing Data in Flex in Developing Flex Applications.

Data models

Data models let you store application-specific data. They are used for data validation and can contain client-side business logic. You can define data models in ActionScript classes or MXML tags.

For more information, see Binding and Storing Data in Flex in Developing Flex Applications.

Data services

Data service objects let you interact with server-side data sources. You can work with data sources that are accessible using SOAP-compliant web services, Java objects, or HTTP GET or POST requests.

For more information, see Managing Data in Flex in Developing Flex Applications.

Data validation

Data validators help you ensure that the values in the fields of a data model meet certain criteria. For example, you can use a validator to check whether a user entered a valid ZIP code value in a TextInput control.

For more information, see Validating Data in Flex in Developing Flex Applications.

Data formatting

Data formatters let you format data into strings before displaying it in the user interface. For example, you can use a formatter to display a phone number in a specific format.

For more information, see Formatting Data in Developing Flex Applications.

Cursor management

Cursor management lets you control the cursor image within a Flex application. You can use cursor management to provide visual feedback to users to indicate when to wait for processing to complete, to indicate allowable actions, or to provide other types of feedback.

For more information, see Using the Cursor Manager in Developing Flex Applications.

History management

History management lets users navigate through a Flex application using the web browser's Back and Forward navigation commands. It also lets users return to the previous location in an application if the browser accidentally navigates away from that location.

For more information, see Using the History Manager in Developing Flex Applications.

Drag-and-drop management

Drag-and-drop management lets you move data from one place in a Flex application to another. This feature is especially useful in a visual application where your data can be items in a list, images, or Flex components.

For more information, see Using the Drag and Drop Manager in Developing Flex Applications.

ToolTips

ToolTips let you provide helpful information to application users. When a user moves their mouse over a graphical component, a toolTip pops up and displays its text.

For more information, see Using ToolTips in Developing Flex Applications.

Styles, fonts, and themes

Styles, fonts, and themes help you define the overall appearance of applications. You can use them to change the appearance of a single component, or apply them across all components.

For more information, see Using Styles and Fonts in Developing Flex Applications.

Behaviors

Behaviors let you add animation or sound to applications in response to user or programmatic action.

For more information, see Using Behaviors in Developing Flex Applications.

Repeaters

Repeaters let you dynamically repeat any number of controls or containers specified in MXML tags, at runtime.

For more information, see Dynamically Repeating Controls and Containers in Developing Flex Applications.

Image and media importing

You can use MXML tags to import several images into applications. Flex supports several formats, including JPEG, PNG, GIF, and SVG images and SWF files. In addition, you can use the MediaDisplay, MediaController, and MediaPlayback controls to incorporate streaming media into Flex applications. Flex supports the Flash Video File (FLV) and MP3 file formats with these controls.

For more information, see Importing Images in Developing Flex Applications.

Deferred instantiation

Deferred instantiation lets you determine when controls and other components are created when you invoke a Flex application.

For more information, see Improving Startup Performance in Developing Flex Applications.

JSP tag library

You can use the Flex JSP tag library to add MXML code to your JSPs or create custom HTML wrappers for your Flex applications.

For more information, see Using the Flex JSP Tag Library in Developing Flex Applications.

ActionScript scripting

ActionScript lets you perform actions with the components that are represented by MXML tags. You use ActionScript in your Flex applications to do the following:

• Handle events
• Define custom functions and methods
• Call ActionScript functions
• Work with components after they are instantiated

For more information, see Working with ActionScript in Flex in Developing Flex Applications.

Debugging

Flex includes support for debugging and warning messages, an error-reporting mechanism, and a command-line ActionScript debugger to assist you in debugging your application.

For more information, see Debugging Flex Applications in Developing Flex Applications.

ActionScript profiling

The ActionScript Profiler helps you identify performance problems in applications. It can show you where too many calls to a particular method might be occurring or where an object's instantiation might be taking too long.

For more information, see Profiling ActionScript in Developing Flex Applications.

Administration

Flex includes several configuration files to administer the behavior of your applications. Settings specific to the Flex application are defined in the flex_app_root/WEB-INF/flex/flex-config.xml file. Web application settings are located in the flex_app_root/WEB-INF/web.xml file.

You can use the mxmlc tool included with Flex to compile your MXML files into SWF files without requesting them from a browser or Flash Player. To use mxmlc, you must have a Java runtime environment (JRE) in your system path.

For more information, see Administering Flex in Developing Flex Applications.