Synopses & Reviews
Automating repetitive programming tasks is easier than many Flash/AS3 developers think. With the Ant build tool, the Eclipse IDE, and this concise guide, you can set up your own "ultimate development machine" to code, compile, debug, and deploy projects faster. Youll also get started with versioning systems, such as Subversion and Git.
Create a consistent workflow for multiple machines, or even complete departments, with the help of extensive Ant code samples. If you want to work smarter and take your skills to a new level, this book will get you on the road to automation—with Ant.
- Set up your Eclipse work environment with Eclipse plugins, including the FDT code editor and the Mylyn task manager
- Enable several developers to work on the same project simultaneously with a versioning system
- Walk through the basics of Ant, and use sample code to create your first script
- Compile and debug your Ant build with FDT or the Flex SDK
- Apply Ant to mobile development for both the Android Platform and iOS, using the Android SDK and Adobe Air
Synopsis
This book guides ActionScript developers through the process of using Ant and setting up the ultimate developer workflow. Whether you are using FDT or FlashBuilder to develop, both are based on the Eclipse IDE. The power of this IDE lies in its extendability and plugins. You will learn how to install and set up a versioning repository in Git or SVN and use it straight from Eclipse, how to use Mylyn to connect to your favorite bug/issue tracker (Google Code, JIRA, Mantis), and how to manage your open issues. This book shows you how to leverage the power of Apache's Ant to save you time and automatically compile, debug, and deploy your work to an FTP server, networkshare, or webserver. But also use Ant to do everyday tasks like automatically generating HTML and Class files, zipping files and emailing your clients to notify them for a new release. Other topics this book covers are compiling to the standalone desktop application format Adobe AIR, and to the mobile platforms Android and iOS using Adobe AIR, all by using Ant.
About the Author
Sidney de Koning is a full time geek. When he was 8, he got hooked on BASIC on his grandfathers Amiga 500. Now he still gets excited developing mobile applications and websites. His passion is to play with technologies like Adobes AIR and the Android platform, and he loves to translate complex abstract ideas into concrete usable applications.
He started programming in Turbo Pascal and Delphi, and tried PHP, but later found his true love—Flash. Now Sidney is a Flash Platform developer with more than 10 years of experience in ActionScript (1, 2, and 3), AIR, and lately also Android. And a little iOS.
After setting up the online department at the Dutch MTV in 2005, he freelanced and worked for smaller companies until 2009. He has worked for and with a multitude of companies including MTV, TMF, Nickelodeon, Media Catalyst, and Code dAzur. His current employment is at LBi Lost Boys in Amsterdam, where he develops in AS3, solves technical problems, and acts as technical lead. His specialties are streamlining development processes, AIR, and AIR for Android. In his spare time, he has written content for the Dutch Adobe User Group and taught programming classes at the international SAE College.
From writing articles on blogs to writing magazines and a book, and from teaching students programming to coding and talking about code, it all has to do with transferring knowledge and inspiring people who share the same passion: creation.
He likes to keep sane by meditating, reading, writing, and running. He also maintains a weblog about AIR, mobile, and Flash development at http://www.funky-monkey.nl.
Table of Contents
Preface; Introduction; Build Systems; Audience; Contents of This Book; Conventions Used in This Book; Using Code Examples; We'd Like to Hear from You; Safari® Books Online; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1: Tools; 1.1 Eclipse; 1.2 FDT; 1.3 Downloading the Android SDK; 1.4 Mylyn; Chapter 2: Source Code Management; 2.1 SVN and Git; 2.2 SVN in Eclipse; 2.3 Git in Eclipse; Chapter 3: Automation; 3.1 Ant; 3.2 The Basics; 3.3 Setup; 3.4 Our First "Real" Ant Script; 3.5 Directly Calling the Compiler; 3.6 Using FDT's Ant Tasks; 3.7 Deploying Your SWF Files to a Different Source; 3.8 Setting Up Web Deployment; 3.9 Setting Up the HTML File; 3.10 Deploying to a Network Share; 3.11 Creating a Zip File; 3.12 Making a Backup of the Complete Project; 3.13 Emailing the Client/Support Desk; 3.14 Adobe AIR and Mobile Compiling;