bumpslide.com/blog

The AS3 version of ModestMaps has finally been released. ModestMaps for AS3 allows you to create maps in Flash that load tiles from Google Maps, Yahoo, Virtual Earth or other custom tile providers. I used this library recently to build Platial’s new Frappr widget.

This release includes some changes that I contributed to the project including a new approach to marker event management. There is also a new Flash CS3 sample I created to demonstrate these changes.

Download the tarball or checkout directly from SVN.

Just a reminder. I will be presenting a session on the PureMVC framework for ActionScript this Tuesday as part of the Goto+Play speaker series.

PureMVC is a lightweight framework for creating applications in ActionScript 3 (Flash and Flex), based upon the classic Model-View-Controller design meta-pattern. This presentation will provide an overview of PureMVC as well as a look at current best practices for day-to-day development as we walk through a sample application built with Flash CS3 and ActionScript 3.

Introduction to PureMVC
presented by David Knape, http://bumpslide.com/

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
doors open at 6, meeting at 6:30
(Old Town Pizza to follow?)

Fashionbuddha Studio
123 NW 2nd Ave, Suite 206
Portland, OR 97209
T: 503-490-4787

More info at gotoandplay.net

Update: Demo, source, and slides now available here. Also, the Acrobat Connect recording can be found here.

The site JD and I made for Burst Labs made Site of the Day for May 27th, 2007 on FWA. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out.

http://burstlabs.com/

Everything you see was built from scratch. The back-end is a custom MySQL database and admin tool I built using CakePHP. Middleware is AMFPHP, and the front-end is all Flash 8 Actionscript 2.0. When I have more time, I will try to blog a bit about some of the components I built.

Nerd Highlights:
- Custom data grid built with com.bumpslide.util.GridLayout supports mousewheel and paged data-loading
- State management with com.bumpslide.data.Model
- SWFAddress for deep-linking and Back-button support tied directly to the Model

JD has more on the subject.

Just sharing a useful little JSFL script I made. This script started as a tool to output class vars for items on the timeline. It now actually creates an entire class that can be used as a starting point when coding up view components. Comments above each class var come from the timeline layer names, and the script even looks up assigned class names and adds appropriate import statements. It’s useful for simple code generation, but can also help you quickly spot clips without instance names and things of that sort. Output goes to the trace panel where you can copy and paste just the pieces you want.

To install, just download and install the MXP file, or grab the plain JSFL file and drop it in your flash commands folder. The javadoc template and everything is just inline with the JSFL. So, open it in your favorite javascript editor, and hack away to personalize it if desired. And, despite what Extension manager tells you, no flash restart is required.

Flash Extension: timeline_to_class.mxp
Source JSFL: [tkd] timeline_to_class.jsfl

I’ve created a new package of my AS2 libraries over on SourceForge.

http://bumpslide.sourceforge.net/

The latest release has been labeled 0.9.4, as I have updated things to work with the latest version of the ASAP Framework. Numerous bug fixes are here as well as general day-to-day improvements across all the utilities.

I am now sharing an office space with my friend and former Second Story colleague, JD Hooge. After a month of work, we have finally moved into the little corner office at SE 6th and Alder here in Portland. We’re one of a handful of tenants occupying spaces above the Melody Ballroom where they have a strange combination of wedding receptions, office parties, and church services a couple times a week.

Since signing the lease, we ripped up all the carpet, refinished the floors (with the help of some guys with big sanders), and put in a few days worth of patching and painting the walls. We’re still acquiring necessities, but I’m officially working from an office again instead of that spare bedroom where my desk was 2 feet from the ironing board. I can proudly turn on the webcam again when Skype-ing.

Thanks to JD, pictures are on flickr.

Hi, my name is David Knape, and I’m starting yet another blog in order to share my thoughts on Flash development and related topics. I am a programmer, not an animator or timeline tweener, so you will see more code here than anything else.
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