Marco Casario | RIAvolutionize the web

Flex 4 SDK and Flash Builder 4 brand-new courses published by Comtaste

Adobe has recently released Flex 4 SDK and Flash Builder 4.
Comtaste has unriched its training courses proposal with brand-new and fully updated courses on Flex 4 SDK and Flash Builder 4:

• Flex 4 Upgrade - Migrating from Flex 3 to Flex 4 and Flash Builder 4
• Flex 4 SDK e Flash Builder - Sviluppare Rich Internet Applications con le nuove Flex 4 SDK
• User interface design with Adobe Flash Catalyst (beta 2)
• Layout and User interface design with Flex 4 and Adobe AIR 2 (beta)

The first dates have been scheduled for Rome and Milan.

And here are some article to get deeper with the new features of  Flex 4 and Flash Builder 4 :

• http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/flashbuilder4_whatsnew.html
• http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/flex4sdk_whatsnew.html
• http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/flex3and4_differences.html
• Andrew Shorten’s FlexTeam http://blogs.adobe.com/flex/ blog post
• AdobeTV: Learn what developers like about Flash Builder http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adc-presents/developers-speak-out-about-flash-builder-4/
• AdobeTV: David Wadhwani, VP and GM of Adobe’s Platform BU introduces new Flash Platform productshttp://tv.adobe.com/watch/flash-platform-in-action/introducing-new-flash-platform-tools/

Best practices on using Flash Catalyst

If you're having fun (like me) using Flash Catalyst there's this useful article by Andrew Shorten about "Adobe Flash Catalyst best practices":

In this article, Andrew'll  provide some hints and tips that will make it easier for you to move design assets from Illustrator to Flash Catalyst in a structured way. He'll also highlight some best practices in Flash Catalyst that will ensure you achieve the right result and minimize re-working or re-structuring your assets once work continues inside Flash Builder.

This is the list of best practices given by Andrew:

Illustrator's Best Practices for importing artworks in Flash Catalyst:

Plan your Illustrator file structure

Design on a single art board

Give everything a name

Don't link to external image files

Mark duplicated component assets

Use "create outlines" for text with filters and effects

For data list components define a single element

Don't define all component states in Illustrator

Flash Catalyst's Best Practices:

Use "Save as copy" on a regular basis

Undertake tasks in the right order

Use optimized graphics

Consider component reuse

Define meaningful state names

Rename components in the Library

Use code view to spot optimizations

Preview state transitions in the browser regularly

Remember that changes only apply to a single state

Flex 4 and Flash Builder 4 will be moved to early 2010

Yeasterday on the Flex Team's blog, Adobe has announced that, in order to make the enhancements required and get additional feedback from the community the final release of Flex 4 SDK and Flash Builder 4 will be moved from late 2009 to early 2010.

Maybe to most of you this could not be a good news but to me it gives me a bit more breathing space