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Adobe® Flash® Builder™ is an integrated development environment
(IDE) for building cross-platform, rich Internet applications (RIAs)
for the desktop and a wide variety of mobile devices. Flash Builder
also includes testing, debugging, and profiling tools that lead
to increased levels of productivity and effectiveness.
Flash Builder is built on top of Eclipse, an open-source IDE,
and provides all the tools required to develop applications that
use the Flex framework and ActionScript 3.0. Flash Builder runs
on Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X, and is available in several
versions. Installation configuration options let you install Flash
Builder as a set of plug-ins in an existing Eclipse workbench installation
or create a stand-alone installation that includes the Eclipse workbench.
Applications you can build with Flash BuilderYou can build applications that use the Adobe Flex® framework,
MXML, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, ActionScript 3.0, and LiveCycle
Data Services, and the Adobe® Flex® Charting components:
Features that accelerate application developmentFlash Builder has the tools you need to develop applications
that use the Flex framework and ActionScript 3.0. You can: Access data services - Use Flash Builder tools and
wizards to create applications that access remote data services.
See Accessing
data services overview.
Customize the Flash Builder workbench - Customize
the workbench to suit your individual development needs. For example,
you can arrange the interface to include your favorite tools in
a specific layout.
See Customize the workbench.
Edit code - Write and edit your application source
code using the code development tools in Flash Builder. The code
development tools include code refactoring, code hinting, streamlined
code navigation, and automatic syntax error checking, and other
features.
See Code Development Tools in Flash Builder.
Build a user interface - Use the MXML editor in Design
mode to design applications using layout options, to drag components
onto the design canvas and then reposition and resize them as needed,
to simplify using view states, and so on.
See Build user interfaces.
Publish source code - Publish your application source
code so that users and other developers can view it .
See Publish source code.
Manage projects, folders, files, and other resources -
Create, modify, and delete projects and resources, link to resources
outside your project, and so on.
See Projects in Flash Builder and Project resources.
Features for running and debugging projectsFlash Builder includes building, testing, debugging, and
profiling tools that help increase your productivity: Build projects - Flash Builder automatically compiles
and builds your applications for debugging or production release.
You can also create custom build scripts using Apache Ant.
See Build projects.
Run applications and manage launch configurations -
Run your applications in a web browser, AIR, or the stand-alone
Flash Player. Create custom launch configurations to control how
your applications run.
See Run and debug applications and Manage launch configurations.
Debug applications - Debug your applications using
the integrated debugging tools.
See Debugging Tools in Flash Builder.
Run and debug mobile applications - Run and debug
your applications on the desktop or on a device.
See Run
and debug mobile applications.
Profile applications - Identify performance bottlenecks
and memory leaks by using the profiling tools in Flash Builder.
See Profiling Tools in Flash Builder.
Monitor applications that access data services - Use
the Network Monitor to generate a detailed audit trail of all data
passed between your application and the back end .
See Monitor applications that access data services.
Flash Builder versionsFlash
Builder is available in two versions: Standard and Premium.
- Flash Builder Standard
- Flash Builder Standard provides a full-featured IDE that allows
you to create applications using the Flex framework and Flash API.
Flash Builder Standard also includes MXML, ActionScript, and CSS
editors, as well as debugging tools. Flash Builder Standard provides
a library of interactive charts and graphs that enable you to create
rich data dashboards, interactive data analysis, and data visualization
components.
- Flash Builder Premium
- In addition to the Standard version features, Flash Builder
Premium includes memory and performance profiling and automated testing
tools. Use the Network Monitor to view the data that flows between
a client application and a data service. The FlexUnit test environment
allows you to generate and edit repeatable tests. The repeatable
tests can be run from scripts or directly within Flash Builder or
outside the Flash Builder environment. The Command Line Build feature
allows you to synchronize a developer’s individual build settings
with a nightly build.
- Flash Builder for PHP Standard
- Flash Builder for PHP Standard provides a full-featured PHP
IDE that includes Flash Builder Standard integrated with Zend Studio
8. You can build mobile, web, and desktop applications using PHP,
Flex, and ActionScript.
- Flash Builder for PHP Premium
- In addition to Standard version capabilities, Flash® Builder™
for PHP Premium includes professional testing tools, including profilers,
network monitoring, an automated testing framework, integration
with FlexUnit testing, and Command Line Build support.
For
more information on Flash Builder for PHP, see Introducing Flash Builder for PHP.
Flash Builder configurationsFlash Builder provides a single downloadable installer with the
following two configuration options: - Stand-alone
configuration
- Installs Flash Builder as a stand-alone integrated development
environment (IDE). The stand-alone configuration is created specifically
for developing applications that use the Flex framework and ActionScript 3.0.
This configuration is ideal for new users and users who intend to
develop applications using only the Flex framework and ActionScript
3.0.
- Plug-in configuration
- Configures Flash Builder to run as a plug-in within an existing
Eclipse™ installation. You must have Eclipse 3.6 32 bit (Windows)
or Eclipse 3.6 Cocoa 32 bit (Mac) or a higher version of Eclipse
installed on your computer to run the plug-in configuration.
The Flash Builder plug-in and stand-alone configurations provide
the same functionality. If you aren't sure which configuration to
use, follow these guidelines:
If you already have Eclipse 3.6 or a higher version installed,
use the plug-in configuration to add Flash Builder features to your
existing copy of Eclipse.
If you don't have Eclipse installed and your primary focus
is on developing Flex and ActionScript applications, use the Flash
Builder stand-alone configuration. This configuration also allows
you to install other Eclipse plug-ins to expand the scope of your
development work in the future.
For detailed information about installing Flash Builder, see
the Flash Builder 4.6 release notes.
Adobe Community Help Client (CHC)Flash Builder uses the Adobe Community Help Client (CHC)
as the search engine. The CHC is an AIR-based application that replaces
the Eclipse Help engine for Flash Builder and is the platform for
the next generation of Adobe Help delivery. CHC features include: Always online
If you have a network connection,
the CHC accesses content from the web. The CHC ensures that you
access the most up-to-date-material. It can also work in local mode
if there is no Internet connection.
Search-centric
Use Community Help search, adobe.com
search, or local search. Community Help search aggregates resources,
including resources from third-party sites. adobe.com search includes
refinements to narrow your scope.
In-context navigation
Provides a dynamically
generated set of related links for key pages.
Rating and commenting
Comment on, rate, and
contribute to Help content and Adobe online resources from within
the CHC. You need a valid Adobe ID to provide any feedback and rating.
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