Flex isn't the most immediately obvious tool for making digital content, mainly because the name is somewhat ambiguous (Microsoft Word gets it right, to give you an idea). But fear not - Flex is not only easily explained, but if you work with Flash, is probably one of the best skills you can possibly learn.

Simply, Flex allows you to make .swf (or Flash) files for use anywhere from aspects of o2.co.uk's web design to games and entire websites devoted to, say, a swish Flash designer. However, the key aspect of Flex is that it's primarily a tool for Flash developers, programmers mainly, rather than your average web ad designer or animator.

If you're already comfortable with code, from Python to C++, then Flex isn't going to be a difficult learning process for you, but even if you don't know any of these languages, it's still an accessible one to learn. The purpose of Flex was to develop a language familiar enough to programmers in other languages, that would allow them to create Flash content, and it's done a marvelous job, becoming extremely popular with developers for Flash purposes within a short space of time.

It's ideal for making a client-side applications, such as web-based word processors, photo editing tools, sales tools and other applications that will help businesses to do their work more efficiently. By using flash you can therefore allow them to access these high-quality applications via a browser, which is a vital advantage over other options available to them. Yes, Flex development can be somewhat lucrative for those reasons, and given that 95% of computers on the planet have Flash Player 9 installed, you're opening up a whole new world for you to program in. So explore, learn, and develop - Flash is no longer a step too far away for a talented developer.

by Peter DeHaan

The following example shows how you can set the fill mode on a Spark Image control in Flex Hero by setting the fillMode property to one of the static constants in the mx.graphics.BitmapFillMode class.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/09/04/setting-the-fill-mode-on-a-spark...

by Peter DeHaan

In a previous example, “Setting the fill mode on a Spark Image control in Flex Hero”, we saw how you could set the fill mode on a Spark Image control in Flex Hero by setting the fillMode property to one of the static constants in the mx.graphics.BitmapFillMode class.

The following example shows how you can set the scale mode on a Spark Image control in Flex Hero by setting the fillMode property to “scale” and setting the scaleMode property to one of the static constants in the mx.graphics.BitmapScaleMode class.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/09/04/setting-the-scale-mode-on-a-spar...

by Peter DeHaan

The following example shows how you can style the text selection format on a Spark TextArea control in Flex 4 by setting the focusedSelectionFormat property on the TextFlow’s interactionManager to a new SelectionFormat object.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/09/05/styling-the-text-selection-forma...

by Peter DeHaan

In a previous example, “Removing the selected highlight from the Spark ButtonBar control in Flex 4?, we saw how you can remove the selected highlight from the Spark ButtonBar control in Flex 4 by creating a custom ButtonBar and ButtonBarButton skin class.

The following example shows how you can remove the selected highlight from the Spark ButtonBar control in Flex 4 by extending the Spark ButtonBarButton class and creating a custom Spark ButtonBar skin.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/09/27/removing-the-selected-highlight-...

by Peter DeHaan

In a previous example, “Setting the tab width on a TabBar control in Flex”, we saw how you could set the tab width on an MX TabBar control in Flex by setting the aptly named tabWidth style.

The following example shows how you can set the tab width on a Spark TabBar control in Flex 4 by creating a horizontal layout and setting the columnWidth and variableColumnWidth properties.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/09/29/setting-the-tab-width-on-a-spark...

by Peter DeHaan

The following example shows how you can display an FXG file in a Spark BitmapImage control in Flex 4 by setting the source property using data binding or MXML.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/10/10/displaying-an-fxg-file-in-a-spar...

by Peter DeHaan

The following example shows how you can create a custom RadioButton based skin on the Spark TabBar control in Flex 4 by setting the skinClass style.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/10/10/creating-a-custom-skin-on-the-sp...

by Peter deHaan

The following example shows how you can create a complex MX DataGrid data provider with nested objects in MXML using the tag.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/10/20/creating-complex-data-provider-o...

by Peter deHaan

The following example shows how you can set a rich, multi-format text label on a Spark Button control by subclassing the Spark Button control and creating a custom Button skin which uses a RichText label display skin part.

http://blog.flexexamples.com/2010/10/22/setting-a-rich-text-label-on-a-s...