Flex 3 is the next generation of a technology that revolutionized web applications. It is the next evolutionary step of Flash, which has grown from a web animation medium to a powerful enterprise web design and development platform. With nearly 98% of all web browsers, and a growing number of mobile devices, running Flash Player, a knowledge of Flex is indispensible for any serious web developer.

This book will show you how to create powerful Rich Internet Applications using Flex 3. After learning how to install and becoming familiar with the basics of the Flex Builder 3 software, you will explore in depth how the Flash scripting language, ActionScript 3.0, interacts with Flex's powerful XML-like design language: MXML.

You'll learn how to construct your applications using layout and navigation containers, and how to move between various states using transitions. There is coverage of how best to plan your applications and use the Model-View-Controller pattern to keep various aspects of development separated and ease creation of potentially complicated projects.

Rich Internet Applications rely on data, and this book shows how to bring data from various sources into your Flex application and check its integrity, and how best to display and interact with it.

Going farther, applications built for the Flash platform can now exist and function beyond the traditional confines of the web browser. Adobe AIR allows you to take your applications to the desktop, and this book shows how to reapply your Flex skills to take advantage of this new environment.

The book is aimed at novice programmers who wish to learn programming with C# and the .NET framework. The book starts with absolute programming basics. It then moves into Web and Windows programming, data access (databases and XML), and more advanced technologies such as graphics programming with GDI+ and basic networking. The book is divided into sections including:

• The C# Language: Basic language skills using console application. Content moves from the absolute basics to fairly involved OOP skills.
• Windows Vista Programming: Using basic Windows applications, reinforcing earlier OOP and debugging skills.
• Web Programming: Putting together basic Web applications, highlighting differences between Web and Windows programming.
• Data Access: Accessing all kinds of data sources from Web and Windows applications, including SQL usage, XML, file system data, and Web Services.
• Additional Techniques: "The fun stuff", including Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Workflow, Windows Communication Foundation, GDI+, networking, Windows Services, and so on.

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you will be up and running with Visual C# 2008. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds upon the previous one, allowing you to learn the essentials of Visual C# from the ground up.

Learn how to…

• Use the powerful design environment of Visual Studio 2008
• Design a feature-rich interface using components such as tree views and tabs
• Create robust applications using modern error handling
• Draw fast graphics using GDI+
• Build a database application using ADO.NET
• Distribute a Visual C# 2008 application

Whip up awesome Wii games using Flash and ActionScript. Nintendo Wii Flash Game Creator's Guide lays out each next-generation technique alongside real-world examples and cut-and-paste code samples. Learn how to design exciting Flash animations, create cool characters, simulate realistic motion, and use the Wii remote control in innovative ways. Plus, you'll get the latest tricks for supercharging your games and tips for distributing them on the Web.

• Build Flash-based objects, layers, and controls
• Work with timelines, keyframes, and .SWF files
• Develop and animate original characters, backgrounds, and landscapes
• Integrate unconventional mouse and Wii controller interactivity
• Create, modify, and control movie clips using ActionScript 2.0
• Design radical enemies, custom cursors, and invisible buttons
• Incorporate audio, game timers, and score tracking
• Publish your games to the Web and share them via the Wii's online connection service

Beginning C# is a book that offers a lot of guidance, in a format that readers find intuitive to follow. The exercise-based format of the Wrox Beginning series has a strong following by all levels of readers, and is one that works very well in the classroom or home. Written by a veteran programming instructor, this is the perfect mix of tutorial, and hands-on coding new programmers are looking for - written from their point of view.

Beginning C# is written for those readers with no prior programming experience who want a thorough, yet easy to understand, introduction to C# and Object Oriented Programming. Dr. Purdum uses his 25 years of teaching experience to teach readers:

• The C# syntax and concepts of Object Oriented Programming
• How to design and write C# programs that are functional and embody safe programming practices
• Tried and true tricks of the trade, from design concepts to debugging aids
• And all of these goals are done in an easy-to-read and enjoyable manner
  and much more. Complete source code, examples, and discussion forms available at Wrox.com

Silverlight is a lightweight browser plug–in that frees your code from the traditional confines of the browser. It is a rules–changing, groundbreaking technology that allows you to run rich client applications right inside the browser. Even more impressively, it is able to host true .NET applications in non–Microsoft browsers (like Firefox) and on non–Microsoft platforms (like Mac OS X).

Silverlight is still new and evolving fast, and you need a reliable guidebook to make sense of it.

What you’ll learn

This 176 page book is meant to give you a sense of what you, as a programmer, can expect from Silverlight in terms of what the user is going to see. The emphasis here is on understanding what Silverlight has to offer. While there is some code given, that is not the point of the book. The point is to be ably to quickly understand what functionality is available to you, what options you might have without getting bogged down in much code.

Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) revolutionizes the way Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) are deployed. AIR supports two primary technologies, Flash and HTML/Ajax, in order to make desktop development something that every web developer can do. This book shows you how to set up a practical development environment and then walks you through eleven fully implemented AIR applications with source code that you can use as they currently exist or customize.

Each project begins by providing a discussion of architecture and design, followed by code implementation. You'll get hands-on knowledge of AIR application design and development that you can then use to build dynamic RIAs.

AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) is Adobe’s open-source technology that lets Web developers and programmers create Rich Internet Applications that run outside of any Web browser. This Visual QuickPro Guide teaches everything you need to know to begin creating applications that combine the rich experience of a traditional desktop application with the power and reach of the Internet. The book uses a visual, step-by-step approach and covers all the fundamental AIR concepts, without the fluff, confusing segues, and technical jargon that bog down so many other computer books. Author Larry Ullman has a well-earned reputation for writing books that are accessible, easy-to-follow, and, above all, useful. This book focuses solely on developing AIR applications using HTML and JavaScript, although formal knowledge of JavaScript is not required.

Learn to program a Flash based Mp3 music player using Actionscript 3. The Features List (and roughly what's taught) includes…

-Dynamically load track locations from a text document (or simply write them in the Flash file). Easily update your player without republishing by simply editing file names (like "track1.mp3" ) in a text document.

-Use ID3 tags (embedded meta-data) in the MP3 file to display track name, artist, album and year. All this player requires is the location of your MP3 file, you do NOT have to specify the track info yourself.

-Change the audio balance by sliding between the left and right speakers. This is the first two types of sliders you'll learn to programm, the volume slider is the second.

-Minimize or Maximize the player (using that triangle in the bottom right). Switch the player to a more compact mode while not choosing tracks. You can decide how much you want to mask out.

- Spectrum bars animate based on highs and lows of the left and right speakers. Yes finally a player with working spectrum bars. You can adjust the visuals for this to look however you want.

-You always have the option to change the visual appearance of the player. Tint it, stretch it, brand it, do whatever you want to the player art.

-Drag it! The entire player can be repositioned by dragging the shell.

This guide was written for readers interested in learning the C++ programming language from scratch, and for both novice and advanced C++ programmers wishing to enhance their knowledge of C++. The text is organized to guide the reader from elementary language concepts to professional software development, with in depth coverage of all the C++ language elements en route.