Re: [flexcoders] Having hard time understanding what features are available to whom when and how

[JesterXL]

Dude, that is so easy.  You just: - import each graphic into Flash - give it an instance name - modify the code I posted to do:   var c:Color = new Color(targetState); c.setRGB(0xFF0000);   That'll set it red, and ONLY it.  If you have the graphic as a PNG or GIF (transparency intact), it'll color just the shape with nice edges.   You could do the same in Flex as well, just embed the images:   [Embed(source="maine.png")] var main_png:String;   <mx:Image id="main_png_img" source="{main_png}" />   And set the color the same way:   var c:Color = new Color(main_png_img); c.setRGB(0xFF0000);   Flash, Flex... either one.  Additionally, Bline Express created a pretty phat USA Map component with all 50 states.  Methods already exist in it to set colors, know which state you clicked on, etc.  It's written for Flash 6, but you could easily load that into a Flex Loader, and use proxy functions to call the Flash 6 methods in the externally loaded SWF.   Bring it.   ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Cichowlas To: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 12:13 AM Subject: Re: [flexcoders] Having hard time understanding what features are available to whom when and how Thanks for the prompt reply. I can see how your suggestion would work, but in my case I don't think I can use the background color.  Imagine if the shapes were the six states of New England on a map.  I want to be able to control the color of each state to be one of eight colors. I can see a few approaches.  One would be to treat the whole map of New England as a graphic and then somehow repaint the individual state, perhaps on a pixel by pixel basis.  I suppose that could work, but it would be tedious. Another way would be to have a graphic object of each state with a transparent background and then overlay them appropriately in their appropriate positions.  However, the color I would have to then change would be the foreground object color and I don't know that there is a simple way to do that.  I could, perhaps, supply eight graphics for each state and then switch between them using _javascript_ to alter the DHTML.  That might be feasible for six states, but if the map included all fifty states, I would need at least 50 * 8 graphic objects to use that approach. A third way might be to somehow use areamaps and regions, but I don't know if that would result in DHTML where I could easily recolor a region. What do you think would work? Bruce On 12/28/05, JesterXL <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Can help with #3.   Here's a sample:   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <mx:Application  xmlns:mx="http://www.macromedia.com/2003/mxml "  initialize="initApp()">    <mx:Script>  <![CDATA[    import mx.controls.ComboBox;    private function initApp():Void  {   var color_str:String = color_cb.selectedItem.toString();   colorMe_box.setStyle("backgroundColor", color_str);  }    private function setColor(event:Object):Void  {   var cb:ComboBox = ComboBox(event.target);   var color_str:String = cb.selectedItem.toString();   colorMe_box.setStyle("backgroundColor", color_str);  }    ]]>  </mx:Script>    <mx:FormItem label="Colors:">   <mx:ComboBox    id="color_cb"    change="setColor(event)">    <mx:dataProvider>     <mx:Array>      <mx:String>0x000000</mx:String>      <mx:String>0x660000</mx:String>      <mx:String>0x000066</mx:String>     </mx:Array>    </mx:dataProvider>   </mx:ComboBox>  </mx:FormItem>    <mx:Box   id="colorMe_box"   borderStyle="solid"   width="100" height="100"/>   </mx:Application>   ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Cichowlas To: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 8:01 PM Subject: Re: [flexcoders] Having hard time understanding what features are available to whom when and how I've used Axis on other projects, but I'm not sure how this interaction as a RemoteObject would look in the context of Flex 2.0 .  Do you know of a working example of this somewhere?  I'm not sure what I would code on the Flex side and I'm not sure what I'd need to do on the server side to make it compatible and synchronize. I'm also wondering whether everything is available to support developing this demo for as long as it takes or if I will at some point have to buy a license for one thing or another to continue development.  I also need to know how to explain the production operational costs to a potential investor.  Potentially this is an application run by large companies on their own servers for many subscribers. And from a technical viewpoint, I'm still wondering how to implement these arbitrary small shapes (such as states on a map) that need to change to one of a number of colors.  I'd probably be able to answer that by myself if I were a Flash developer, but my Flash experience is limited to having run through the examples of a much earlier version of Flash. I know that's a lot of questions. Thanks, Bruce On 12/27/05, Matt Chotin <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: I think you'll find 1.5 a more stable development experience in the next month though of course 2.0 offers a lot of stuff.  For RemoteObject in 2.0 for now you do need the 2.0 CF adapter, but as many folks will be happy to point out you could also just expose your Java objects via a WebService using Apache Axis instead (this should be done in the 2.0 samples maybe but is definitely in 1.5 for reference).  The Flex 2 alpha will hint at functionality (like RemoteObject) that may not actually be functional in your configuration. Matt -----Original Message----- From: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com [mailto: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of JesterXL Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 4:39 PM To: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [flexcoders] Having hard time understanding what features are available to whom when and how I cannot answer all of your questions, but here are my suggestions. - assuming on Windows, download Apache Tomcat - download Flex 1.5 demo - install Flex 1.5 demo with just FlexBuilder 1.5 - copy and paste the flex.war & samples.war files into Tomcat's webapps directory Hit the samples page to ensure all is well.  On mine, it's: http://localhost:8080/samples/ I've yet to get Flex 2 to work with Remoting + AMFPHP.  Considering AMF (the binary format used to send serialized class bits across the wire) is undergoing big changes, OpenAMF (Java) and AMFPHP (PHP) don't really work yet. I've heard of some people getting Remoting to work with the CFAdapter, but I don't use CF ( I do at work, but I don't code it).  Some have reported success with the WebService/HTTPService. Me?  I use Flex 1.5 every day and it works great.  At night, I moonlight in Flex 2, but she's still alpha, so we have a ways to go. The bad news is, for those client developers (like me) who only care about the client, Flex 1.5 has the server requirement.  However, you can still snag SWF's off of the server once compiled as well as to show clients of what's possible.  Good news, she works great, HTTPService (GET/POST) works, WebService works, and RemoteObject works with AMFPHP, OpenAMF, and ColdFusion. Hope that helps some.  Feel free to post more questions. ----- Original Message ----- From: "BCichowlas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: < flexcoders@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 4:22 PM Subject: [flexcoders] Having hard time understanding what features are available to whom when and how Hi! I'm an independent developer trying to put together an RIA demo for potential investors in a proposed enterprise.  This proposed enterprise is not a software company but would make heavy use of an RIA application. My most reasonable choices seem to be Flex, Laszlo or Ajax (in its many variations).  I spent the last week with the Iteration Two Flex book, downloading what is available freely to developers from the Macromedia/Adobe site. As part of my demo, I need to be able to change the color of irregular small shapes.  The shapes themselves are known in advance and don't change.  For the sake of discussion, it is as if I had an outline of New England, divided into the six New England states and I wanted to be able to choose one of eight colors for each of the states based on user interaction. After looking at the complexities of Ajax, Flex seemed like an ideal choice.  Since I develop under Eclipse and since the 2.0 alpha seemed like a generally usable version, it was my first choice.  However, the examples in the Iteration Two book seem to be written for 1.0 or 1.5, and I spent quite a while trying to run them under 2.0 with varying degrees of success. My database needs for this demo application are modest, but I did want to be able to use RemoteObject.  I was never able to get anything using RemoteObject to operate successfully.  I was developing under Eclipse and using the "Run Flex application" to try to run my application.  I'm not sure exactly what runtime environment this results in, but I had been successful at getting some small forms running successfully and trading string messages with the server. Is RemoteObject supposed to be possible using only the 2.0 alpha materials?  If not, what do I need?  The Cold Fusion server extensions?  The Enterprise version?  Is what I need available now? Does it cost money just to use for a demo?  Are there some examples of using a RemoteObject under 2.0 that I could try under Eclipse?  Should I be using 1.5 instead? I am wondering if my expectations of the 2.0 alpha are inappropriate for programming a demo now and in January 2006.  I'm not a Cold Fusion user and have only a rudimentary understanding of its operation.  I'm now thinking that I should use Ajax or possibly Laszlo, but would listen carefully to any argument that Flex is the right choice. Thanks, Bruce -- Flexcoders Mailing List FAQ: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flexcoders/files/flexcodersFAQ.txt Search Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexcoders%40yahoogroups.com Yahoo! Groups Links -- Flexcoders Mailing List FAQ: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flexcoders/files/flexcodersFAQ.txt Search Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexcoders%40yahoogroups.com Yahoo! Groups Links -- Flexcoders Mailing List FAQ: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flexcoders/files/flexcodersFAQ.txt Search Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexcoders%40yahoogroups.com YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "flexcoders" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . -- Bruce Cichowlas Affirm Tech Software Development and Consulting http://www.affirmtech.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] (508)-904-6122 -- Flexcoders Mailing List FAQ: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flexcoders/files/flexcodersFAQ.txt Search Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexcoders%40yahoogroups.com YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "flexcoders" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . -- Bruce Cichowlas Affirm Tech Software Development and Consulting http://www.affirmtech.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] (508)-904-6122 -- Flexcoders Mailing List FAQ: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flexcoders/files/flexcodersFAQ.txt Search Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexcoders%40yahoogroups.com YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "flexcoders" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.