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Data Binding in Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004

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Aral Balkan

Aral Balkan

BitsAndPixels

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Example: Data Binding Between Two UI Components
  3. What's Changed Since Firefly?
  4. Data Binding with the DataHolder
  5. Using a Custom Formatter
  6. Using a Custom Validator
  7. Conclusion

If you have developed data-rich applications in Delphi or .NET, chances are you have already seen (or at least heard of) data binding. Flash developers got their first introduction to data binding with the release of Macromedia Data Connection Kit and Macromedia Firefly components. If you are a Firefly user and are comfortable with the concepts behind data binding, you can skip ahead to the What's Changed Since Firefly section, where I cover the differences between Firefly and Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004 data-aware components. Everyone else, read on…

Data binding, quite simply, lets you bind a property of one component to a property of another component, so that when one changes, the other changes as well. Although it seems like a very simple concept (and in reality, it is), it automates a great many of the tasks that you, as a developer, have to take care of when building an application. I could go on and on about the origins of data binding but the simplest way to understand it is to see it in action. So let's jump right in and bind two components together using data binding.

Requirements

Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004


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About the author

Aral Balkan is a user interface and usability consultant who has been using Macromedia Flash for as long as he can remember. Alongside managing his London-based new media consultancy business, Bits And Pixels, Aral is also active in the Macromedia Flash community. He is the Director of Education Content on the Macromedia Flash resource site Ultrashock.com and co-director of the London Macromedia User Group. Aral also has taught graduate and undergraduate-level multimedia and web design classes in the United States and looks forward to one day finding enough time to do some further teaching in the United Kingdom. He is a published author, having contributed to Flash MX Most Wanted Components (Friends of Ed), along with tutorials for his community blog, onRelease.org, Ultrashock.com, and Macromedia Developer Center. His latest passions include Agile development methodologies, patterns, user-centric product development, and usability engineering. One day, he hopes to get his head around Java!