Better Drupal Interaction Design with Flex

RAFFLE: Cool prizes: a Flex + Drupal book, an exclusive Adobe Flex/AIR Launch T-shirt, and a ticket to one of our Drupal training courses at http://richmediainstitute.com will all be raffled at my talk on Tue.

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SESSION OVERVIEW
This lecture style session will cover more than basics. This course will show Flex (MXML) & ActionScript 3 code examples, but the Flex framework is very large and the entire thing can’t be covered in this short session. I will clarify and show how to think in terms of using Drupal for an RIA (Rich Internet Application). Flex can be used for pages but the technology lends itself better with an all encompassing interface and design that is your entire website or web application. Think outside of HTML & CSS!

TRACK
Design & User Experience

AGENDA
* Differences and similarities of HTML & Flex
* What does it cost? Free! Wait, what’s exactly free?! (we’ll cover all that)
* Differences between Flex & Flash
* What makes an RIA (Rich Internet Application)?
* Learn all three faces of Flex: the framework, the IDE, and the language (MXML).
* MXML & ActionScript 3.0 versus plain XHTML and JavaScript
* Flex’s Event model
* Tons of UI controls & awesome form validation - why Flex forms are so much better than HTML forms (with or without Ajax)
* CSS support
* Custom components
* Transitions and Effects that only the Flash Player can pull off
* Let rich media shine! Video and Audio
* Drupal modules/integration coverage: “Flex in the front, Drupal in the back.”

• If time permits, attendees get to choose a bonus topic:
  • AIR - Drupal on the desktop coupled with custom software applications!
  • Apache & ISS: Host and run MXML files like HTML pages!
  • Firefox 3 & IE8: Run ActionScript in a browser as easy as JavaScript! “What-The-Flash?!”

GOALS
Everyone will walk in with questions, and everyone will walk away with answers - and some inspiration. This session is set to show you more than the “Flex/Flash” box but show how to think outside of HTML/CSS/JS combos to concentrate on one powerful technology - Flex. This revolutionary topic is new for many who only know some Flash or only HTML/CSS/JS, but Chris Charlton, authorized Adobe Flex Champion, is known for bringing Flex technologies down to earth for people interested.

Flex does not require any additional plug-in or player since it uses the Flash Player that millions have installed already (over 97% of internet users).

RESOURCES
Adobe Labs (Flex 3, AIR): http://labs.adobe.com
Flex: http://flex.org
LA AIR: http://laair.org (Adobe User Group for Flex/AIR professionals)

Chris Charlton is one of the authors on the new book, Advanced Flex Applications: Building the Rich Media X, which covers our user group network platform that mixes Drupal and Flex front-ends.

• CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS: I am only available to speak on Monday and Tuesday *