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1. AS3 vs Java
Christoph Pickl
Thursday, March 5, 2009 1

2. Getting used to Flex/ActionScript
from a Java developer's perspective
www.jsug.at www.alpenflash.at
Thursday, March 5, 2009 2

3. Agenda
1. Languages
2. Development
3. Design Patterns
4. Miscellaneous
Thursday, March 5, 2009 3

4. About Myself
TU Wien Student
Former Java Developer
Flash since Version 5
Co-Founder of jsug.at
DJ/Turntablist
http://web.student.tuwien.ac.at/~e0525580
Thursday, March 5, 2009 4

5. Discussions during
presentation are welcome
Thursday, March 5, 2009 5

6. Languages
ActionScript 3 compared to Java
Thursday, March 5, 2009 6

7. The limits of my language are the limits of my world.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Thursday, March 5, 2009 7

8. Advantages of AS3
Common Syntax
+
Function Type
Metaprogramming
Type Hinting (~static)
Built-in Language (e4x)
Mandatory override
Thursday, March 5, 2009 8

9. Disadvantages of AS3
Lack of OOP Features
No abstract classes
−
No private constructors
Dynamic Classloading
Strings instead Enums
Runtime Errors
Many things are coming soon...
Thursday, March 5, 2009 9

10. Development
Flex Builder vs Java perspectives
Thursday, March 5, 2009 10

11. Advantages
Fully integrated in
+
Eclipse environment
Low Barrier of Entry
Use yet existing Power
Common Perspectives
(Sync, Debug, ...)
Switching Languages
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12. Disadvantages
Reorganize Imports
Slow Auto Completion
−
Code Templates
Incremental Compilation
Maven Plugin(s)
Not open source
Submitting patches?
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13. Design Patterns
Reuse solutions for common problems
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14. Patterns are great for forming a design vocabulary.
Bill Scott
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15. Singleton in Java
package at.jsug.as3vsjava;
public class Single {
private static final Single INSTANCE = new Single();
private Single() {}
public static Single getInstance() {
return INSTANCE;
}
}
// final Single single = Single.getInstance();
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16. Singleton in AS3
package at.jsug.as3vsjava {
public class Single {
private static var INSTANCE: Single;
public function Single(enforcer: SingletonEnforcer) { }
public static function get instance(): Single {
if(INSTANCE == null) {
INSTANCE = new Single(new SingletonEnforcer());
}
return INSTANCE;
}
}
}
class SingletonEnforcer { }
// const single: Single = Single.instance;
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17. Design Patterns Book
Features of AS 3.0
OOP Concepts
12 Sample Patterns
Creational
Structural
Behavioral
www.as3dp.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009 17

18. RIA Patterns
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/03/conference-review-uie-web-app-summit-2007-part-ii.php
Thursday, March 5, 2009 18

19. Miscellaneous
Stuff that didn’t fit (in other chapters)
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20. Frameworks?!
Apache Stuff
Logging, Collections, ...
IoC-Container
Spring ActionScript
Maven
Unit Testing
OR-Mapper
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21. We don’t like proprietary stuff!
If it’s not opensource,
please keep it away from us!
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22. Conclusio
Sun guys are engineers
Adobe guys are designers
Bring’em together
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23. Any Questions?
christoph.pickl@student.tuwien.ac.at
Thursday, March 5, 2009 23