Flash iOS Apps Cookbook

556 Pages·2012·3.68 MB·English

by  Christopher Caleb

Flash iOS Apps Cookbook
Flash iOS Apps Cookbook
Copyright © 2012 Packt Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of
the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in
critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure
the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information
contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or
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about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by
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guarantee the accuracy of this information.
First published: January 2012
Production Reference: 1130112
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd. Livery Place 35 Livery Street
Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-84969-138-3
www.packtpub.com
Cover Image by Charwak A (<[email protected]> )
Credits
Author
Christopher Caleb
Reviewers
Daniel Albu
JP Berrie
Simon Buckley
Mark Doherty
Richard England
Stuart McLeman
Brian Rinaldi
David Wagner
Acquisition Editor
Douglas Paterson
Lead Technical Editor
Dayan Hyames
Technical Editor
Kedar Bhat
Copy Editor
Neha Shetty
Neha Shetty
Project Coordinator
Alka Nayak
Proofreader
Mario Cecere
Indexer
Rekha Nair
Graphics
Valentina D'Silva
Manu Joseph
Production Coordinator
Arvindkumar Gupta
Cover Work
Arvindkumar Gupta
About the Author
Christopher Caleb has been developing rich interactive
experiences with the Flash platform for almost a decade. He
remembers a time when browsers didn't support images, and has
witnessed technologies such as Flash help drive the web to where it
is today. During that period he has been fortunate enough to have
worked with a wide range of clients including the BBC, Activision,
Samsung, and Aardman Animations on projects encompassing film,
games, education, and children's entertainment.
He has a love for all things mobile and has been a proponent of
Flash in this space since its emergence. He is also an active
member of the Flash community, both through his personal blog and
the various articles he contributes elsewhere. Whenever he finds a
spare minute, Christopher likes to chip away at the many apps and
experiments he has inspired to undertake.
Christopher is currently a lead Flash developer at WeeWorld—an
avatar-based social network and virtual world for teens. He blogs at
www.yeahbutisitflash.com and tweets as @chriscaleb.
Acknowledgement
This book would not have been possible without the help and
support of so many individuals.
First and foremost, I'd like to thank the people at Packt Publishing; in
particular, Steven Wilding for providing me with this wonderful and
unexpected opportunity; Maitreya Bhakal for his guidance and
encouragement; and Kedar Bhat for his assistance and endless
patience.
I'm extremely lucky to have had such talented technical reviewers
(Daniel Albu, JP Berrie, Simon Buckley, Mark Doherty, Richard
England, Stuart McLeman, Brian Rinaldi, and David Wagner) who,
despite their workloads, managed to find the time to provide
invaluable feedback. Dave and JP: I really owe you both for your
perseverance over the last few weeks.
Various individuals at Adobe have also helped me along the way.
Particularly, I'd like to thank Mark Doherty and Brian Rinaldi for their
immense contribution and enthusiasm towards the project. I'd also
like to extend thanks to Robert Christensen for always taking the
time to answer my questions over the past twelve months.
A huge debt of gratitude is also owed to my brother Alan
(alancaleb.com), Steve Koren (popjunk.co.uk), and Selina Wagner
(blobina.com) whose creative talents grace the many code examples
found within these pages. Also, a mention must go out to Matt
McKenna (maketh.com) and Andrew Nicolson (drewnotweird.co.uk)
for the part they both played.
I would also like to thank Graham MacDonald for affording me the
time to write and, at the same time, earn a living; Helen and my little
nephew Freddy (I love him even more than Flash) for making me
smile; Gregory for providing the arm wrestling training that helped
develop my typing stamina; and Amanda who makes every day
better than the last. Special thanks must also be extended to Bobby
better than the last. Special thanks must also be extended to Bobby
Farmer who has always made time for me over the years and has
been a constant source of encouragement.
Finally, to my father, mother, brother, and sister, I cannot thank you
enough for your love and support, without which I am nothing.
About the Reviewers
Daniel Albu is a freelance Flash platform developer with more than
ten years of experience in the production and deployment of rich
media websites, games, and applications.
Daniel has unique expertise in production and integration of Flash
and Flash platform-based technologies. Most recently, Daniel
entered the mobile development field by using Adobe AIR to develop
for the Android and iOS platforms.
Daniel also provides worldwide remote training and consultancy
around Flash platform technologies for companies and individuals
alike.
JP Berrie first encountered Macromedia Director 4 in 1995 while at
university studying Multimedia Technology, and subsequently
embarked upon a career as a Multimedia Developer, specializing in
Director Lingo and latterly Flash ActionScript 3.0 programming.
He was appointed lead programmer for several BBC games titles,
including Walking with Beasts, Bill & Ben the Flowerpot Men, and
Rotten Ralph. Other titles include the Chicken Run game for
Activision / Aardman Animations, and a title for interactive publishing
giants Dorling Kindersley.
Since 2002, JP has freelanced for many clients including global
brands such as AstraZeneca, BP, Diageo, Guinness, Kellogg's,
Pepsi, Pfizer, and the Post Office.
Website: www.jpberrie.com.
Simon Buckley received his M.Sc in Physics from the University of
Birmingham, England, in 2007 before moving into Computer Science
to gain a M.Sc in Intelligent Systems Engineering at the same
university in 2008.
After graduating, Simon spent some time as an enterprise Java
developer before opting to go freelance. He is now a Flex Adobe
Certified expert and his company, Techjump, specializes in
developing workflow tools and Rich Internet Applications for desktop
and mobile platforms. He loves working with new technologies,
developing rich user experiences, and solving tough programming
problems.
Mark Doherty is the Platform Evangelist for Mobile and Devices at
Adobe, working to create a vibrant ecosystem around Flash Player
and Adobe AIR for devices. He has spent ten years in the mobile
and devices industry, including seven at Adobe, holding Engineering,
Consulting, Business Development, and Marketing roles. Prior to
this, Mark has worked with leading OEMs at Mobile Innovation,
Nokia, Samsung, and Panasonic.
Richard England is an award winning freelance developer, who has
worked with Flash technology for over 10 years, including building
BAFTA-nominated educational games, interactive learning
resources, and truly Rich Internet Applications.
An eternal student of all things digital, Richard is enthused by the
ever-evolving mobile development landscape, creating applications
for iOS both natively in Objective-C and with Adobe AIR.
Richard can be contacted through Twitter—@englandrp.
Stuart McLeman has been involved with web and mobile software
development for ten years since his previous life in electronic
engineering. From working on educational Flash content for the BBC
through to his current role as lead iOS developer at WeeWorld, he
has always been passionate about aesthetics and usability as well
as good code. Although Objective-C is his new love, he still has fond
memories of AS3. He can't wait to see how the mobile landscape will
evolve so he can decide what to learn next!
Stuart can be contacted through his website:
www.stuartmcleman.com where he promises to someday start a