Viva! LiveDocs >> Regaining Scope from ItemRenderer in Flex 2
I am on some kind of streak with LiveDocs, where I’ve found answers to the last dozen or so hurdles I’ve encountered developing in Flex and AS3. I can’t recount them all, but my latest issue had to do with losing scope with an inline component inside a dataGrid itemRenderer.
http://www.adobe.com/livedocs/flex/2/langref/mxml/component.html
Basically, I have to add icons in a few columns inside a dataGrid. These icons need to change based on each row’s data. That’s where the itemRenderer comes in. The challenge really came when I needed to add a click handler to the icon. Once inside the itemRenderer component, I was no longer able to call methods in the application code. LiveDocs (to the rescue) informs me that I need to make that method public and use “outerDocument” when I call that method. Needless to say, it worked.
Now that I’ve really lost the casual reader, let me continue my praise of LiveDocs for providing me a detailed solution that somehow both kick ass Flex books (O’REILLY’s Programming Flex 2 and Wrox’s Professional Flex 2) seemed to gloss over. And now, back to the code.
JetBlue’s inFlight Mashup feat. Google Maps
Having flown JetBlue between Boston and San Jose very frequently over the last 2 years, I had grown accustomed to seeing the very useful flight tracker powered by Mapquest (old flickr photo). For those who have never been on JetBlue (or flew Delta’s Song airline, when it was in service), the flight tracker shows you the course of your flight and shows geographically where your plane is on the map.
While working on Yahoo! Maps, I often wondered what benefit Mapquest had by providing JetBlue with the detailed maps and related data. Whatever incentive it was, it seems that privilege (or honor, or rights?) to power this flight tracker has now been given to Google. On this recent flight, I noticed the logo in the top right had switched from Mapquest to Google, and that the map images were a bit different and more enhanced.
I still don’t know what the real incentive is for either Mapquest, or Google (or Yahoo! if they wanted) to offer these tiles, other than to have their logo in front of those passengers on the plane. And, getting folks like me to blog about it and mention the word Google a couple of times.
Links: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_jetblue.php, http://crunchgear.com/2007/06/07/jetblue-uses-google-maps
On Flash Lite 3, Heavy expectations
The average Flash platform developer is mystified by what Flash can (or cannot) do in the mobile space. There are very few coders in the community that can speak to it, and speak to it well. Flash Lite 2.x came so abruptly, and is being trumped by its successor so quickly, that there have been few ground-breaking apps to show developers what Adobe’s mobile platform entry can really do.
When you compare the enthusiasm and activity against other Adobe juggernauts like Flex 2 and AIR (formerly Apollo), it’s hard to explain the absence of leadership for Flash Lite. Those in the space that do post often, are usually informing us of their most recent trip to Asia, or showcasing for us the latest Flash-lite capable device they’ve found in a cereal box. Seriously, there seems to be more constructive commentary on Flash Lite 3 from uber-gadget sites like Engadget than http://www.flashdevices.net/, the self-proclaimed “flash development resource for mobile devices”. I’m not saying that sites like these aren’t good, but they fall short of the frequency and depth of coverage found in many Flex 2 and AIR coverage sites.
My expectations for Flash Lite are soaring, but I need help from you mobile enthusiasts and evangelists to get really excited. Here’s what I’m looking for:
1. SITES: A one-stop-shop that lists each and every device that ships and/or can support the Flash Lite platform. Don’t be shy about having a section that tells me about future devices coming out, and when those devices will be available. Please don’t ‘occasionally’ do a blog post just showing me photos of an array of devices I can’t recognize. A master list, showing the device, model name/number, carrier and availability date, updated even weekly, would be perfect.
2. VIDEOS: Follow the lead of video.onflex.org and show me compelling Flash Lite apps and how they work. Profile those cutting edge developers who love to show off their work and their code.
3. BOOKS: There is one book on Flash Lite. I own it. It is pretty cool. But it reminds me of another Macromedia/Adobe platform that only had one book covering it, and that was the now-notorious Flex 1.5. Publishers, I’m sure, are more than willing to fund and publish some Flash Lite books, and I know there must be a handful of authors looking to write well on the subject. Although there is a sufficient amount of documentation on Flash Lite (there was, I believe, for 2.x), nothing says ‘really learn me over the weekend while sitting by the pool’ like a nice book on the subject.
4. more SCOTT JANOUSEKs: Has there been a more single throttling force for Flash mobile (outside or inside Adobe)? Can he be cloned and put through whatever superhero evangelist training program that folks the likes of Mike Downey or Ted Patrick go through? Got to mention Mario and Alessandro here too, for their decent and frequent postings and presence in the field.
So, I don’t think I’m asking or expecting too much. Flash Lite 3 (according to the now ancient February 2007 press release) is expected first half of this year. There is still time to get this going right and I promise you, Adobe, if you provide and nurture resources for the platform as I’ve suggested above, you’ll have a quite the significant following.
Personally, I worked a lot with Flash 2.x and I am very excited about FL3. Like so many developers though, I am super busy with Flex 2 and AIR-related projects. It really will take more than just a cool and novel factor this time to draw me into the Flash mobile world, again.
Father’s Day of Dreams
I spent my first Father’s Day at the Red Sox game where they completed a sweep of the San Francisco Giants. The game was only but a warm-up to the post-game festivities. The Red Sox invited all fathers and sons in attendance to come play catch on Fenway’s sacred field. And so I, along with my dad Howie, brother Nathaniel and 3-month-old son Chase (first time at Fenway Park) floated on to the field and enjoyed every second of it.
What a day it was. And our adventure continues as I am actually blogging on the ferry boat between Hyannis and Nantucket. We’re about to arrive on the island to visit Chase’s Grampy as our amazing trip continues.
Chase at the ballgame
Chase attended his first Major League Baseball game, seeing the Red Sox play the Oakland A’s. His first trip to Fenway Park will be June 17th, Father’s Day. The match up will be a special one as the Red Sox play the San Francisco Giants in Boston. Should Chase continue to grow up in the Bay Area, he’ll enjoy knowing his first pair of games were featuring the Red Sox and both Bay Area teams. Here’s Chase just over 3 months old:
He has made us just as happy as, apparently, we’ve made him!
Adobe’s week to remember
It’s called sweeps week and in broadcast television it means the week where networks gear up for the upcoming advertising season. The week is usually marked by the network airing all-new and often super-sized shows featuring the very best content, guest stars and exciting episodes.
Unless you’ve been super busy tracking Tony Soprano or Paris Hilton, you should have realized that Adobe’s sweeps week is upon us. Waiting for Adobe announcements has become an unlikely, yet feverish hobby of many Flash, Flex and Apollo enthusiasts.
For starters, Ted Patrick’s revealing rush of features on the upcoming Flex 3 has to mean something for the long awaited new version of the ever-growing juggernaut that is Adobe’s optimal web development platform. His daily posts last week provided RICH and COMPELLING articles, not to mention some ultra-revealing screenshots that he could have easily charged money to see.
Next, the naming of Adobe’s new desktop platform currently known as Apollo seems to be nearing. Every other post listed on MXNA (the ones that aren’t on cold fusion) seems to indicate a new name is around the corner. This anticipation goes back to ApolloCamp and before, where Kevin Lynch announced Apollo was a code name and that’s it. I don’t understand the hype really, other than most of us love the name Apollo and can’t imagine it being anything else. But that hasn’t stopped all the buzz and guessing out there. People are throwing out all sorts of ideas, and it’s funny to watch the people who know what the name is going to be restrain themselves from crossing the line in their blog posts (sort of what I’m doing now).
Folks are doing all they can to decipher the new name. It appears Ted’s ‘blurred’ screenshots of the new name spurred all sorts of techniques. It’s like analyzing a Beatles cover. People are putting it under the magnifying glass (Photoshop-wise), reading it backwards in a mirror and staring at it while playing Wizard of Oz in the background.
And what of the rumors about Flash Player and some new features there. Surely, we couldn’t comprehend a new version of the player. Didn’t we just reach 98.4% or something just a month ago? But the folks in Redmond are putting the pressure on, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see something in that department.
It’s building up to be a crazy week. There’ve been too many posts. So many people can barely keep a tight lip. MAX is less than 4 months away, and that’s short time for Beta testing. Something’s in the air, that’s for sure, and we’ll all be talking about it feverishly in the days to come.
FlashForward 2007: Why your manager may not approve
For the 2nd year in a row, the powers that be have rejected my request to attend one of the Flash community’s most storied, festive and long running conferences. Although the rejection has come from different companies, with different budgets, the disapproval for my attending Flash Forward this year comes for the same reasons.
To managers, FlashForward looks too much like a festival, with little value to the growing professional. The lack of a structured exhibit hall means little subsidizing for the conference, hence the inflated ticket price. Upon review of the conference, managers see animation, apparent emphasis on design and a spotlight on a Flash film festival. This is hardly, in their eyes, the best use of a typical limited travel budget and even more limited development time you have.
I thought I would be creative this year and make a bid for an all-expenses-paid presenter slot, but I am not one of the elite 28 speakers chosen at this year’s, Boston-based show. And I do mean elite! There is hardly a name you won’t recognize speaking at FlashForward coming up this fall. But management doesn’t see value in names. They look at the session titles, which FlashForward planners try to suggest be as ’snappy’ as possible upon submission.
Compare the short and spunky session titles of FlashForward to that of the more structured and curriculum-oriented, lower cost conferences like 360 Flex. You simply won’t find a ‘User Experiences Using Alternate Navigation and Command Gestures’ or even a ‘Memory Management for Flex/Apollo Developers’ in the FlashForward lineup. You see, management likes seeing sessions like these. It means that you’ll come back with better process and efficiency on the brain; a better developer.
I’m not suggesting Aral Balkan’s ‘Rediscovering Fun!’ at FlashForward won’t be super cool, but it’s hardly worth the nearly $2000 your manager needs to approve for travel and attendance to get you to Boston this September.
And here’s a travel tip from a Boston native: Those lucky enough to be going to the conference, try and get there a few days early. The Red Sox are playing at home and the Yankees are in town.
Manny with Oakley Thumps
Boston Dirt Dogs (Getty Images Photo / Jed Jacobsohn)
Follow Me
Follow Me
Upcoming Engagements
-
