Adobe Flash Builder 4: Data-centric Features for PHP Page 4

Using the Network Monitor

The Network Monitor is one of the
most prolific features of Flash Builder. To give it a spin,
from the Properties menu, click
Project. Then, select Flash Builder
Compiler in the left navigation pane of the project
Properties dialog. Select the
Enable Network Monitor check box, and then
click Finish. Next, run the application
debugger, and click the Network Monitor tab
so that it becomes the selected tab in the bottom pane of
the IDE. Now, move the browser window so that it is not
covering the Network Monitor window, and select an item from
the grid. A new service call should appear. Select the
service call in the Network Monitor window to view more
details. This is a very handy utility for troubleshooting
issues with remote services.

Conclusion

The new data-centric features alone make Flash Builder one of the most prolific advancements for rich Internet application (RIA) development. Interestingly, we hardly scratched the surface of the features and functionalities built into Flash Builders’ features such as support for themes, enhancements to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), integrated unit testing with FlexUnit, an enhanced component kit, seamless integration with the up-and-coming Flash Catalyst program, as well as significant enhancements to the profiler and debugger. With so much left to be experienced, I encourage you to continue learning how to develop RIAs with Flash Builder. I have included a list of resources to help guide your research below.

Resources

• Adobe Flash Builder 4 beta download page on Adobe
  Labs
• What’s new in Flash Builder 4
  beta by Time Buntel
• Differences between Flex 3 SDK
  and Flex 4 SDK beta by Joan Lafferty
• What’s new in Flex 4 SDK beta by
  Matthew Chotin
• Building a data-centric application using Flash Catalyst
  beta and Flash Builder 4 beta by Andrew Shorten
• Tutorial and Demonstration Videos on Adobe Labs
• Lee
  Brimelow’s Flash Builder 4 beta and Flash Catalyst beta
  video tutorial
• Adobe
  Flash Builder 4 beta and Flex SDK user forum
• Adobe
  Flash Builder 4 beta and Flex SDK documentation on Adobe
  LiveDocs

About the Author

Dan Orlando is a
recognized Flash Platform Architect and Consultant
specializing in the enterprise space. As an advocate for
RIA, Dan has been published in magazines and web sites such
as PHP Architect, Flash and Flex Developer
Magazine, IBM developerWorks, Amazon Web Services, and
the Adobe Developer Connection.