Welcome to the Adobe Flex® 4 SDK beta 2 release on Adobe Labs (previously code named Gumbo). The Flex 4 SDK marks an expanded role for the Flex framework, now supporting both developers creating Flex applications and designers using Adobe® Flash® Catalyst™ to create interaction design. Thanks to the feedback that we received from our beta 1 testers, beta 2 adds significant refinements to the many features that we introduced in the Flex 4 framework and improves the integration between the Spark and Halo components. Beta 2 also includes more new Spark components, plus adds additional support for styling in Spark, allowing individuals who typically only lightly change the look and feel of their application to more easily do so.
You can build great Flex applications using only the Flex 4 SDK and an editor of your choice, or you can use the beta version of Adobe Flash Builder™ 4 (previously named Flex Builder) which includes everything in the Flex 4 SDK within it. This beta 2 release aligns with the public beta 2 releases of both Flash Builder and Flash Catalyst.
There are 3 main themes for this release:
- Design in Mind: providing a framework for continuous collaboration between designer and developer
- Developer Productivity: improving compiler performance and adding productivity enhancements to language features
- Framework Evolution: taking advantage of new Flash Player capabilities and adding features required by common use-cases
Download and Discuss
Get the Flex 4 SDK beta 2 release
Discuss Flex 4 SDK in the Labs forumsFor an overview of the new features, plus details on what’s changed for beta 2, please read Matt Chotin’s What’s new in the Flex 4 SDK beta article.
Please use this opportunity to explore new features and communicate your feedback. While we are excited about this near feature-complete release, please remember that that this is beta software and there will be bugs, incomplete features, some performance issues and documentation issues, so we suggest that you only use it for testing and exploratory purposes.
Note: If you are planning on using the Flash Builder 4 beta, everything included in the Flex 4 SDK will also be included so you will not need to download the SDK.
Open Source Nightly Builds
The Flex framework is open source, so if you are looking for the open source nightly builds, please visit opensource.adobe.com/flex.
Flex 3 SDK
If you are looking for older versions of the Flex framework, you can get them from the open source site.
Getting Started
Follow these steps to begin exploring the Flex 4 SDK beta:
- Download the Flex 4 SDK beta 2 release
- Learn to use the Flex 4 SDK
- Read the release notes
- Install the Flex 4 SDK beta 2 release.
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Ask questions and share your feedback in the Flex 4 SDK forum
Please note that your submission of comments, ideas, feature requests and techniques on this and other Adobe maintained forums, as well as Adobe's right to use such materials, is governed by the Terms of Use.
Community
Below you'll find references and links to help you participate in the Flex community.
Online Forum
Ask questions and discuss ideas with other Flex 4 SDK beta users in the Labs forums.
Please note that your submission of comments, ideas, feature requests and techniques on this and other Adobe maintained forums, as well as Adobe's right to use such materials, is governed by the Terms of Use.
Developer Center
Learn More About Building Flex Applications in the Developer Center
- Visit the Flex Developer Center
- Read Matt Chotin’s updated What’s new in the Flex 4 SDK beta article
- Read Joan Lafferty’s Differences between Flex 3 and Flex 4 beta article
Find and Share Code Recipe Solutions in the Flex Cookbook
In support of the Adobe Labs beta release, the Flex Cookbook is now accepting Flex 4 beta recipes.
Resources
If you want to learn more about releases on Labs as well as other Adobe technologies, visiting a user group or connecting with an Adobe Community Expert is a great place to start.
Product Details
Documentation
- Using Adobe Flash Builder 4 contains usage information for Flash Builder 4, including descriptions and instructions for Flash Builder 4 features.
- Read the Adobe Flex 4 Features and Migration Guide to understand migrating applications using Flex 3 framework applications to using the Flex 4 framework.
- Flex 4 Language Reference
- Accessing Data with Flex 4
- Using Adobe Flex 4
- Flash Builder Tutorials
- Flex Developer Center
Note: The Flex 4 framework works with Adobe AIR 1.5, which has not been updated for this release. For Adobe AIR documentation, see the Adobe AIR Help Resources page.
FAQ
- What are the goals of the preview?
- The Flex 4 SDK beta 2 preview release is intended to enable you to explore the new Flex 4 framework features and provide feedback through the bugbase. This SDK beta 2 release also aligns with the public beta 2 releases of Flash Builder (formally Flex Builder) and Flash Catalyst, enabling the new design-develop workflow between them.
- What is new in beta 2?
- Thanks to the feedback that we received from our beta 1 testers, beta 2 adds significant refinements to the many features that we introduced in the Flex 4 framework and improves the integration between the Spark and Halo components. Beta 2 also includes more new Spark components, plus adds additional support for styling in Spark, allowing individuals who typically only lightly change the look and feel of their application to more easily do so.
- Where can I find out more about the features in the Flex 4 SDK?
- Please read the updated Matt Chotin’s What’s New in the Flex 4 SDK beta article or check out the Flash Builder 4 and Flex 4 SDK tutorials.
- Can I extend my existing Flex 2 or Flex 3 applications using the Flex 4 SDK?
- Yes, but you will be recompiling the entire application to the Flex 4 framework and will therefore not be able to continue to edit the application using older versions of Flex.
- Will the Flex 4 SDK work with previous versions of Flex Builder 3 or Flex Builder 2?
- No. Although Flash Builder 4 will support previous versions of the Flex SDK, the opposite is not supported.
- Is this beta release the same as the download currently on opensource.adobe.com?
- Yes. This download from Adobe Labs is here as a convenient way to learn about the Flex 4 SDK, Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst all in one common location.
- When will the final release of the Flex 4 SDK be available?
- Adobe is not yet disclosing the final release date for the Flex 4 SDK, however we expect it to be in the first half of 2010.
System Requirements
The minimum system requirements for the Flex 4 SDK are as follows:
Windows
- Windows XP Pro SP2, SP3
- Windows Vista - 32 bit
Macintosh
- 10.5.6 (Leopard) Intel only, PPC not supported
- 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Java
- Windows - Sun 1.5 and 1.6. (32 bit), IBM 1.5 and 1.6 (32 bit)
- OS X - Sun 1.5 (32 bit)
Memory
- 1GB required, 2GB recommended
Data Centric Development Services
- PHP
- PHP 5.1.0
- Zend Framework 1.8.0 (with patch, bundled with Flash Builder)
- ColdFusion
- ColdFusion 8
- ColdFusion 9
- J2EE
- BlazeDS 3.2.0
- LCDS ES2
- Web Services
- WSDL 1.1
Release Notes
The Flex 4 SDK beta is prerelease software and is designed for evaluation purposes only. The software contained within the installer is not yet complete; but, many additions to the product are fully implemented and ready for you to try and discuss.
