Professional Haxe and Neko

haXe is an exciting new programming language, as well as a compiler and a framework, that can be used to build web applications and write code aimed at multiple platforms on an array of operating systems. Neko is a fast, flexible, and reliable cross-platform virtual machine that allows for the execution of haXe applications on Windows®, Mac®, or Linux® desktops. As the first title to focus on haXe and Neko, this book walks you through unleashing the potential of these two free tools in order to use them to develop desktop and web based applications, including server-side and client side logic, using a single language. Step-by-step instructions and helpful examples uncover adventurous ways to build dynamic, database-driven web sites with Ajax-powered pages and eye-catching Flash content—all with using only the solitary language of haXe.

What you will learn from this book

• How to install and use haXe

• Tips for understanding functions and variables in haXe

• How to build desktop applications using Flash, native GUI frameworks and SDL

• How to communicate effectively between Flash®, JavaScript® and the Server

• Tips for understanding functions, variables and Object Oriented Programming in haXe

• Techniques for building reusable code

• The benefits of haXe advanced features such as templates, reflection,XML and cross-complication

Who this book is for

This book is for web developers who are looking to reduce the number of languages that are required to produce a single software solution. Experience with ActionScript, Java, or another ECMA language is helpful but not required.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

* Neko (pronounced "nee-ko") is a small, lightweight virtual machine that allows for the execution of haXe applications on the Windows, Mac, or Linux desktop

* This hands-on guide is the first to cover these popular, new-and free-tools and get readers up and running quickly

* Addresses the benefits of haXe, and then goes on to explain how to build Flash applications and target Ajax with haXe, work with XML and data with haXe, and combine haXe and ActionScript

* Also provides complete coverage of the language, including data types, variables, objects, and more

Franco is currently a self - employed developer and you can reach him on his personal website www.weblob.net.

Lee McColl-Sylvester is an expert ActionScript developer as well as a seasoned master in systems integrations. A student in Visual Communications, he evolved his career specializing in advanced graphical interface development, as well as information management systems, database architecture, and hardware communications implementation. An inventor at heart, Lee discovered haXe while tinkering in the Open Source Flash arena.

Lee is self - employed and can be reached through the haXe mailing list, or his website www.designrealm.co.uk.

Chapter 1. Introducing haXe.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: Will take 3 days and be finished by 23/09/2006 and is currently 100ompleted.

What Is haXe And Why Was It Created.

The haXe Compiler.

Compiling To Flash.

Compiling To JavaScript.

Compiling To Neko.

The haXe Language.

The haXe Libraries.

How Does HaXe Work.

So What Is Neko?

haXe And Neko Requirements.

Chapter 2. Installing And Using haXe &Neko.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: Will take 3 days and be finished by 27/09/2006 and is currently 100ompleted.

Installing haXe.

Installing haXe On Windows.

Installing haXe On Linux.

Installing Neko.

Installing Neko On Windows.

Installing Neko On Linux.

Hello World! In Triplicate.

Compiling Your First haXe Application.

How Your Program Was Compiled.

HXML Compiler Files.

Compiling To Neko.

Running The Neko Example.

Running As A Web Application.

Compiling To JavaScript.

Program Structure.

Compiler Switches.

Summary.

Chapter 3. Learning The Basics.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: Will take 10 days and Be Finished By 7/10/2006 And Is Currently 100% Completed.

The haXe Hierarchy.

Base Types.

Standard Types.

Variables.

Type Inference.

Constant Variables.

The Basic Value Types.

Floating Point Numbers.

Integers.

Which Number Type?

Booleans.

Strings.

Void.

The Dynamic Type.

Hiding A Values Type With Untyped.

Commenting Your Code.

Line Commenting.

Block Commenting.

Converting Data Through Casting.

Checking the type of a variable.

Grouping Lists Of Data.

The List Type.

The Array Type.

Hash Tables.

String Hash Tables.

IntHash Tables.

Using Dates In haXe.

Creating A Date Object.

Retrieving The Components Of A Date.

Manipulating Data.

Operators.

Binary Operators.

Operator Precedence.

The Modulo Operator.

Increment And Decrement.

Logical Comparison Operators.

Logical AND And OR.

Assignment Operators.

Bitwise Operators.

Shifting Bits.

Filtering Bits.

The Math Class.

Divide By Zero Conundrum.

Not A Number.

Float To Int Conversions.

Other Capabilities Of The Math Class.

Using String Functions.

The String Class.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 4. Controlling The Flow Of Information.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: Due 18/12/2006.

Conditional Statements.

Using The If And If..Else Statements.

The Switch Statement.

Using Switch For Long If..Else Statements.

Understanding Loops.

Using For and While.

Looping Structures With Iterators.

Using Iterators In Loops.

Using Functions.

Explanation Of Functions And Their Uses.

Understanding Pointers To Functions.

Calling Functions Recursively.

An Explanation Of Functional Programming And Its Benefits.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 5. Delving Into Object Oriented Programming.

Author - Franco Ponticelli

Status: 04/05/2007 100% Completed.

Classes And Objects.

Instance Fields.

Functions.

Null Function Parameters.

Optional Parameters.

Variables.

Identifiers Sequence.

Constructor.

Properties.

Static Fields.

Static Functions.

Static Variables.

Understanding Inheritance.

Super.

Functions Override.

Constructor Override.

toString().

Abstract Classes and Abstract Methods.

Static Fields, Instance Variables and Inheritance.

Inheritance Roles.

Using Interfaces.

Advanced Classes and Objects Features.

Implementing Classes.

Class Parameters.

Constraint Parameters.

Anonymous Objects.

Implementing Dynamic.

Dynamic Parameter.

Typedef.

Iterators and Iterables.

Extensions.

Reflect and Type.

The Reflect Class.

The Type Class.

Enum.

Constructor Parameters.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 6. Organizing Your Code.

Author - Franco Ponticelli.

Status: 15/05/2007 Completed 100%.

Building Reusable Code.

Using Packages.

Declaring a Package.

Implicit Import.

Explicit Import.

Enum and Packages.

Type Lookup Sequence.

Importing an Entire Package.

Importing Libraries.

HaXe Standard Library.

HaxeLib Libraries.

Installin haxeLib Libraries.

Using the haxeLib Tool.

Libraries from Other Projects.

External Libraries.

Extern Classes.

Flash External Libraries.

Dynamic Link.

Static Link.

Neko External Libraries.

Neko Bytecode .n.

Neko .ndll.

Javascript External Libraries.

Using Resources.

Documenting Your Code.

Offline Documentation.

Online Documentation.

Unit Testing.

The haXe.unit Package.

TestCase and TestRunner.

Wrtiting Tests.

Summary.

Chapter 7. When Things Go Wrong.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: 26/12/2006 (I Know I Said Every Monday, But It's Christmas For Crying Out Loud ;-) ).

Understanding Exceptions.

Handling Exceptions.

Throwing Your Own Exceptions.

Summary.

Exercises.

Part II. Server Side, JavaScript And Flash; Oh My!

Chapter 8: Building Websites With haXe.

Author - James Brian Jackson.

Status: 20/01/07.

Using The NekoTools Web Server.

An HTML Crash Course.

How haXe Is Different From HTML.

Describing Why Dynamic Content Is Important.

Installing Mod_Neko For Apache.

Your First Website With haXe.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 9. Separating Design Using Templates.

Author - James Brian Jackson / Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: 10/02/07.

What Are Templates?

Explaining The Benefits Of Haxe Templates.

Using Placeholders.

Using IF Statements In Templates.

Using Loops In Templates.

When To Use Code In Templates?

Explaining When Code Should Exist In Templates, And When To.

Keep Logic In The Server Side Code.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 10. Performing Server Side Trickery.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: 08/01/2007.

Introducing Neko.

The Neko Standard Libraries.

Filtering Data With Regular Expressions.

Accessing The File System.

XML In haXe.

Using Third Party Tools: The nMagick and nGui Libraries.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 11. Connecting Databases With SPOD.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: 15/01/2007.

What Is A Database Anyway?

SPOD : Simple Persistent Database Objects.

Managing Data In A Database.

Using Relations.

Extending The SPOD Manager.

What Else Can A SPOD Do?

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 12. Building Interactive Content With Flash.

Author - James Brian Jackson.

Status: 03/03/07.

Compiling Content For Flash.

The Flash Library.

haXe For ActionScript Programmers.

Importing Existing Flash Data.

Combining haXe With ActionScript.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 13. Replacing The Need For An IDE.

Author - James Brian Jackson / Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: 10/02/07.

Getting The Most Out Of Flash In haXe.

Making Graphics Programming Easier.

Building a simple XML based drawing API.

Building GUI Controls In Flash.

Creating simple button, field and label controls.

Summary

Exercises

Chapter 14. More Interactive Content With JavaScript.

Author - James Brian Jackson.

Status: 23/03/07.

Content goes here Dynamic Content In JavaScript?

How interactive content can be built with haXe for JavaScript.

The JavaScript Library.

Adding A Kick To Static HTML.

Manipulating the page with JavaScript.

Data Validation In HTML Forms.

Traversing HTML With JavaScript.

Understanding the JavaScript XML capabilities.

Building GUI Controls In JavaScript.

Creating a simple tree control.

What Is Ajax?

Describing the Simplicity and Removing the Myths Around Ajax.

Using Ajax In Your haXe Applications.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 15. Putting It All Together With haXe Remoting.

Author - James Brian Jackson.

Status: 31/03/07.

Server Side To Flash.

Flash To JavaScript.

JavaScript To Server Side.

Understanding Object Serialization.

Describing why haXe Serialization is Superior to Other Remoting.

Methods.

Exercises.

Part III. Extending The Possibilities

Chapter 16: Desktop Applications With haXe.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: 29/02/2007.

Exercises Using haXe For Desktop Applications.

How haXe fits well in the desktop environment.

Creating An Executable With NekoTools.

Building a console app.

Creating A Windows Service.

Using haXe apps in everyday Windows.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 17. Desktop Flash Using SWHX.

Author - Edwin van Rijkom.

Status: Will take 5 days and be finished by XX/XX/200X and is currently 0ompleted.

Extending Desktop Applications With Flash.

Introducing the SWHX library.

Calling Desktop Functions From Flash.

Calling Flash Functions From The Desktop.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 18. Chapter Title Unknown.

Author - Edwin van Rijkom.

Status: Will take X days and be finished by XX/XX/200X and is currently 0ompleted.

Chapter contents unknown.

Chapter 19. Extending haXe With C.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: 05/02/2007.

Exercises Setting Up Your C Compiler.

Programming For Multiple Operating Systems.

The Neko To C Data Type Conversion.

Passing Data To And From Your C DLL.

Using Abstract Types.

Persisting Abstract Types Between DLL’s.

Using The Garbage Collector.

Understanding the garbage collector and how to manipulate it to your needs.

Summary.

Exercises.

Chapter 20. Putting It All Together.

Author - Lee McColl Sylvester.

Status: 12/02/2007.

Exercises Setting Up Your C Compiler Putting It All Together.

Realising the possibilities.

The Online Shopping Site.

Planning an e-commerce scenario.

Designing Your Data Structure.

Designing the necessary structure for the site, including the User, Product and Transaction objects.

Designing Your Flash Interface.

Building a simple visualization for your products with simple purchase form.

Getting Flash To Communicate With The Server.

Sending Product Data To The Flash Layer, Handling The Logging In Process And Handling The Purchasing Process.

Deploying Your Site.

Summary.

Exercises.