Developing Flex Applications with the Swiz Framework

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Developing Flex Applications with the Swiz
Framework

• Chris Scott

www.cfunited.com
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About Me

1. Enterprise Software Consultant
2. Author of the Swiz Framework
3. Co-Author of ColdSpring
4. Contributor to too many OSS projects
5. Developing with Flex, CF and Java for quite a
   long time

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What Well Cover

• What, Why, How
• What is Swiz?
• Why should you use it?
• How does Swiz make your life easier?
• Why do I have such a hangover?
• Advanced Swiz
• New Features

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Another framework for Flex?
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What Swiz users are saying...

• Broadchoice evaluated a few frameworks and
  settled on Swiz as the keystone behind our
  Workspace product.
• Sean Corfield, CTO Railo US

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What Swiz users are saying...

• Personally I think it is way better then
  Cairngorm!
• Kurt Wiersma, some Mach-ii dude

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What Swiz users are saying...

• Swiz is a lovely, lightweight framework that I'm
  really enjoying working with.
• Aral Balkan, a popular Flash blogger
  and CF hater

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What Swiz users are saying...

• Even bigger thanks for Swiz... Which is one of
  the most elegant and useful pieces of software
  that I've ever seen in my 24 years of
  programming!
• Afik Gal, a guy I do not know at all

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Why Swiz?

1. Because those guys told you to?
2. Not at all!! But Swiz is...
3. Simple and effective!
4. Easy to learn!
5. Designed to help you write less code!
6. Encourages loose coupling through MVC!
7. More things that end with !!!...

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What is Swiz all about?
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Swiz Overview

• Flex Applications Require
• Remote Services
• Models / Data
• Controllers / Logic
• Views

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Swiz Overview

• Components need each other
• Wire ourselves
• Use Locators
• Verbose XML

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Swiz Overview

• Components need each other
• Wire ourselves
• Use Locators
• Verbose XML
• IoC
• Annotations

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Swiz Overview

• Views communicate with components
• Flex Events
• MVC Paradigm
• DynamicMediatormakes it easy!

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Swiz Overview

• Applications need remote data
• Async Tokens
• Responders
• State around calls
• DynamicRespondermakes it easy!

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Major Swiz Features

• IoC
• autowires app
• DynamicResponder
• remote data
• DynamicMediator
• event handling
• and a whole lot more...

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What Swiz DOESNT Provide

1. Excessive JEE patterns
2. Boilerplate code
3. Verbose XML / MXML configuration
4. Overly Prescriptive workflow

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Inversion of Control, the Swiz way
How about a little audience participation...
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IoC Recap

1. Components require dependencies to function
2. Dependencies may be simple strings and values, or
   other components
3. Resolving complex dependencies is outside the
   scope of primary logic

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Inversion of Control with Swiz

1. Express dependencies through Metadata, or
   Annotations
2. Swiz takes care of configuration through
   Dependency Injection
3. Views also have dependencies such as Models, or
   PresentationModels
4. Swiz handles everything for you!

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Working with Swiz
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Defining Beans

1. Define components in BeanLoaders
2. Written in plain old MXML
3. Swiz calls objects Beans because it only cares
   about their properties
4. only sort of true

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Defining BeanLoaders

1. ltBeanLoader xmlnsorg.swizframework.util.
2. xmlnsmxhttp//www.adobe.com/2006/mxmlgt
3. ltmxRemoteObject iduserService
   destinationuserService/gt
4. ltmxRemoteObject idmapService
   destinationmapService/gt
5. ltcontrollerUserController iduserController
   /gt
6. ltcontrollerMapController idmapController/gt
7. lt/BeanLoadergt

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Swizs IoC Factory

1. When Swiz loads beans, it searches for Autowire
   metadata
2. When objects are retrieved, Swiz performs the
   magic of Autowiring
3. Swiz adds event listeners for added to stage and
   removed from stage events
4. Allows Swiz to Autowire and clean up Views too!

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Loading Swiz - Old Style...

1. Load Swiz early, in a preinitialize handler
2. Swiz constructs components for you to help manage
   your application
3. Initialization is performed as soon as you do
   anything to Swiz, like loading beansprivate
   function onInitialize() void Swiz.loadBeans(
   Beans )

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Loading Swiz - New Style!

1. Use Swizs ConfigBean in MXML
2. Requires an array of BeanLoaders
3. Access to all configuration parametersltswizframe
   workSwizConfig strict"true"
   beanLoaders"Beans" logEventLevel"LogE
   ventLevel.WARN"/gt

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Expressing Dependencies

1. Dependencies are NOT defined in MXML!
2. Use Autowire in your AS objects
3. Similar to new Spring 2.0 configuration
4. Qualify bean to inject by id.
5. Autowire(bean"userController")public var
   userController UserController

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Expressing Dependencies

1. To autowire by type, forget the bean
2. Swiz looks for bean which matches the variable
   type
3. Works with interfaces and inheritance
4. Swiz throws AmbiguousBean error if more than
   one bean could be injected

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View Autowiring

• You can use Autowire on accessors as well as
  properties
• Properties can be autowired with two way
  bindings!!
• Accessors allow views to perform logic when
  dependencies are set
• dont do this in Beans! Only in views!
• there are better ways to perform initialization!

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Working with Remote Services

• Swiz provides two simple methods for remote
  method calls
• Both dynamically create responders for
  AsyncTokens
• DynamicResponder
• DynamicCommand

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Working with Remote Services

1. DynamicResponders bind result and fault handlers
   transparently
2. DynamicCommand is similar, but can be chained
   together and delayed
3. Swiz offers simple methods for creating in
   AbstractController

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DynamicResponders

1. executeServiceCall creates dynamic responders for
   you
2. Implement iResponderexecuteServiceCall(userServic
   e.getUser,
   getUserResult)
3. First parameter an AsyncToken, returned from a
   remote call
4. Second parameter is the Function to be called in
   the responders onResult()

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DynamicResponders

1. Third parameter is a Function to be called in the
   responders onFault()
2. If you omit the fault parameter, Swiz uses a
   default fault handler
3. Swiz can also bind extra parameters to your
   result handlers

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Binding data to result handlers

• Passed as an array to executeServiceCall
• Swiz treats this as extra arguments to pass to
  your result handler
• Allows you maintain state over async calls
• ex. Pass User being saved to ResultHander

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DynamicCommands

1. Similar to DynamicResponders, but first parameter
   is a Function which returns an AsyncToken
2. The Function is called dynamically in the
   Commands execute() method
3. Created for you with createCommand()createCommand
   (userDelegate.saveUser,
   user, saveUserResult)

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DynamicCommands

1. Can be added to Swizs CommandChain
2. Chains can run in series or parallel
3. A final Function or Event is fired when the Chain
   completes
4. You can attach a Function or Event for faults as
   well

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DynamicCommands
var chain new CommandChain() chain.addCommand(
createCommand( helloDelegate.echo, "swiz
rulz!", echo_results, local_Fault))
.addCommand(createCommand( helloDelegate.showT
ime, null, time_results, local_Fault)) ch
ain.completeHandler completeHandler chain.proce
ed()
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Event Handling with Swiz

1. Swiz does not try to replace Flexs Event model,
   just adds a little simplicity
2. Most apps contain a CentralDispatcher, Swiz just
   give you one for free
3. Swiz abstracts its use through static methods

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Event Handling with Swiz

• Swiz.dispatchEvent(eventEvent)
• Dispatches any event (no Swiz event)
• Swiz.dispatch(typeString)
• Creates an event for you
• Swiz.addEventListener(typeString,
  functionFunction, ... )
• Adds an eventListener to Swizs CentralDispatcher

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DynamicMediators

1. Greatly help to promote loose coupling between
   Views and Controllers
2. Enables very simple event handling in Controllers
3. Reduces repetitive glue code in Views
4. Sort of similar to Cairngorms FrontController,
   but WAY less boilerplate code

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DynamicMediators

1. Add Mediate annotation to a Controller function
2. Mediate(eventeventType, propertiesfoo,
   bar)public function doStuff(argA String,
   argB String)
3. Swiz creates a DynamicMediator for you
4. Adds an eventListener for supplied type to Swizs
   centralDispatcher
5. Uses properties to construct method call

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Strict type checking

1. No compile time checking of event type strings
2. Swiz.setStrict(true) forces Swiz to lookup event
   types from existing classes
3. Can define base event packages with
   addEventPackage
4. Swiz can write a proper missing event class to a
   log file

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Recap

• Swizs IoC is very easy to use
• Swiz provides a simple MVC paradigm
• Very little XML! Mostly Annotations
• Swiz provides core utilities for
• DynamicResponders and Commands
• Event handling
• DynamicMediators

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Recap

1. Swiz represents best practices learned from years
   of consulting
2. Swiz is damn easy!
3. New features are coming fast and furious!

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Resources

1. Swiz Resources
2. http//code.google.com/p/swizframework
3. http//groups.google.com/group/swiz-framework
4. http//cdscott.blogspot.com
5. http//soenkerohde.com
6. http//www.returnundefined.com
7. Other Resources
8. http//code.google.com/p/dphibernate
9. http//code.google.com/p/flex-mojos
10. http//code.google.com/p/loom

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Thank You!

1. Chris ScottEnterprise Software Consultant
2. http//cdscott.blogspot.comchris.scott.one_at_googl
   e.comasstrochris_at_comcast.netgtalk
   chris.scott.one_at_gmail.comaim/skype/twitter/plurk/
   brightkite asstrochris

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