This document summarizes a presentation about developing desktop applications using Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) with Aptana Studio. The presentation demonstrates building a Twitter client application called YafTc that retrieves and sends tweets using AIR features like accessing the filesystem and network. It discusses installing Aptana Studio and the AIR SDK, creating an AIR application, adding a user interface with controls, retrieving external data via AJAX, and saving data to the local filesystem. The goal is to show how developers can create rich desktop applications using the web development skills and technologies they already know like HTML, JavaScript and jQuery.

1. FRESH AIR: Developing AIR
applications with Aptana Studio
Mark Drew
4th-6th June 2008
Edinburgh, Scotland
Friday, 6 June 2008 1

2. What’s this about then?
• Getting a “breath” of AIR (Adobe’s Integrated
Runtime)
• Getting Aptana Studio up and running for AIR
development
• Writing a real application using technologies
ColdFusion developers already know: JavaScript
(JQuery) and HTML
• Mainly a coding demo (so you might want to
move closer rather than going blind)
Friday, 6 June 2008 2

3. What’s this not about?
• Using FlexBuilder or CFEclipse
• Writing ColdFusion
• Open Sourcing a CFML Engine
• A JQuery tutorial (although I shall
show you some of what it can do)
• A slide rich environment. (sorry if
you like looking at pretty slides)
Friday, 6 June 2008 3

4. Who is Mark Drew?
• CFEclipse’s Lead Developer
• Product Manager at Design UK
http://www.designuk.com
• LavaSuite Content Management System
• UK ColdFusion User Group’s Co-Manager
• A ColdFusion Developer since ‘97 and Web
developer since ‘94
• An occasional presenter on topics such as
CFEclipse, ColdFusion, Ajax, ColdSpring and
ModelGlue
• A guy with very little ‘air
Friday, 6 June 2008 4

5. Top Secret
• Don’t tell anyone but....
• This is only my second AIR
application.
• So don’t laugh.
• Be kind.
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6. What is AIR?
• Bringing Rich Internet Applications
(RIAs) to the desktop
• Flex/Flash and HTML/JavaScript on
the Desktop
• Mac/PC and soon Linux
• Provides access to the filesystem,
SQL light database, network
functions, custom chrome, drag and
drop and more...
• How can we build these applications?
Friday, 6 June 2008 6

7. Flex, Flash or HTML?
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8. Use what you know
• As a web developer you can leverage your
current knowledge
• HTML, JavaScript, JavaScript libraries
• Use your weapons of choice
Friday, 6 June 2008 8

9. Enter: Aptana Studio
• HTML, JavaScript, SQL, CSS,
XML, etc IDE
• AutoMagically handles *most*
JavaScript libraries
• Develop iPhone, PHP and
RoR Applications
• ... and of course, HTML AIR
applications
Friday, 6 June 2008 9

10. Before we go, JQuery!
• JavaScript framework with a difference
• Its a fast, concise way to access the DOM and
perform manipulations, transformations,
animations and Ajax
• Uses the CSS selector syntax to get objects
• E.g.
$(“.someclass #withID”).text();
$("p.surprise").addClass("ohmy").show("slow");
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11. JQuery Demo
Paperclip and chewing gum not required
Friday, 6 June 2008 11

12. Back on topic with AIR
• Will be building an
application from
scratch...
• Well no, there will be
one I prepared earlier
Friday, 6 June 2008 12

13. What are we going to
build?
• YafTc
• (Yet another funky Twitter
client)
• Uses Twitter’s JSON API to
get and send messages
• Uses features of AIR as a
client
• Stores and Sends offline
messages
Friday, 6 June 2008 13

14. Installation
• Install Aptana Studio
(http://www.aptana.com/studio)
• Install AIR and AIR SDK
(http://www.adobe.com/
products/air/)
• Install Aptana’s AIR Plugin using
the IDE’s Homepage
Friday, 6 June 2008 14

15. Building our Application
• Create a new AIR Application
• Choose the window options
• Add application icons
• Choose the JavaScript library
Friday, 6 June 2008 15

16. Getting the UI ready
• Copy over all the images/
styles
• Changing the Chrome in
Application.xml
• Custom
• Sizes
• Changing the Transparency
Friday, 6 June 2008 16

17. Adding Window
Controls
• Move: nativeWindow.startMove();
• Minimize: window.nativeWindow.minimize();
• Close:var closing = new air.Event(air.Event.CLOSING, true, true);
window.nativeWindow.dispatchEvent(closing);
if(!closing.isDefaultPrevented()){
nativeWindow.close();
}
• Resize:
window.nativeWindow.startResize(air.NativeWindowResize.BOTTOM_RIGHT);
Friday, 6 June 2008 17

18. Checking Network
Status
• Add servicemonitor.swf
• setup our request
• add a monitor
• add a listener to
air.Event.NETWORK_CHANGE
• Respond to changes
Friday, 6 June 2008 18

19. Get external data
• JavaScript is sandboxed in browsers
• AIR has a different set of sandbox rules.
• Main change is that we can access external
websites via AJAX
• Lets do that!
Friday, 6 June 2008 19

20. Send External Data
• Send messages to twitter, update them of
our status!
• Posting AJAX(AJAJ really) to a remote
server
Friday, 6 June 2008 20

21. Saving to the file
system
• Messages need to be stored when you are
not online
• When you go back online, we need to send
the messages
• Lets add some File IO Functionality
Friday, 6 June 2008 21

22. And its that easy!
Friday, 6 June 2008 22

23. Finally...
• You know how to get the tools to develop
AIR Applications
• You can leverage your existing knowledge
to build desktop apps
• You saw how to create a fairly complex AIR
application
Friday, 6 June 2008 23

24. Q&A
• mark.drew@gmail.com
• Mark Drew http://www.markdrew.co.uk
• Aptana http://www.aptana.com
• Adobe AIR http://www.adobe.com/air/
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