Teoti Graphix, LLC

Hi,

After months of development and research, Teoti Graphix, LLC has released the MobileUI Toolkit 1. Our first toolkit in a series of time saving AIR mobile Flex component toolkits.

The MobileUI Toolkit 1 focuses on;

• A PopUp that is an inversion of control type manager decorating SkinnablePopUpCtontainer subclasses such as the Dialog and TextDialog.
• An Alert API that uses static methods but is not at all tied to static methods for open and close, the PopUp class can even be extended.
• An enhanced MobileButton that adds a longClick event and longClickDelay style.
• A vertical and horizontal Picker component that is not based off of the List. This is important for memory and performance needs.
• A simple ProgressBar component that allows for primary, secondary and indeterminate progress levels plus left and right layout directions.
• A very powerful and skinnable/styleable RatingBar component that subclasses the ProgressBar.
• A WebView component that wraps the StageWebView and adds UIComponent layout logic.
• A SkinnableStageWebview that can be used to create composite WebView components with controls.
• A WebViewBrowser that has actually implemented the SkinnableStageWebview with skinparts to make a simple OS browser.

This is a very highlevel description of what this toolkit offers. Teoti Graphix, LLC has been creating Flex components for a while now and knows how to create extensible component frameworks. You not only receive these finished polished components but have a place to jump off and create even more complicated components based off of the core framework.

The toolkit was designed in a way to promote extension by abstracting core classes in the PopUp framework and other various classes into a common library project in our development. This means as new toolkits are released they all will include the core components. For more information on this you can check out the Reference Book on our site and see what is contained in the UICommon kit.

Images

I thought about posting them here, I had in a previous post but I’m sure if you are interested you can take a second and just check out the product page that has all this information condensed and outlined.

Product Page: Mobile UI Toolkit 1

Support

Our support is one on one answers and even helpful information. Just look at the wealth of information and dedication on this blog and you will get an idea of the commitment we put into our products. There is a technical forum that is available for all customer users.

Our reference book has a very good image and screenshot layout for fast and concise understanding.

• Reference Book

Documentation

Our documentation is second to none. A lot of the documentation and asdocs are written well before the actual component is finished. Good documentation is clear communication and shows the true intent of the component and it’s capabilities. We do not want to sell products to people that don’t need what the product offers. Instead of spending time and money on fancy advertising and flashy adds, we invest time where it counts, documentation, examples and asdoc code comments.

Our ASDoc documentation;

See – MobileUI Toolkit 1 ASDocs

The ASDoc documentation is created by our own hand written Java ActionScript Paser and Documentor JASDoc, using the one and only as3-commons-jasblocks framework! Yes that is right, that documentation in the above link is ALL created with our opensource as3-commons-jasblocks parsing framework with a custom Java application written for the documentor. Now here is a developer that really loves his ActionScript!

You may notice some interesting additions like implemented by, Host component links and more.

You will also notice that all the example packages that hold the product examples contain the source code and image! So you can quickly look at the image, scroll down to the source and see how it was implemented in MXML.

Conclusion

What you get by purchasing components by Teoti Graphix, LLC is supporting an experienced ActionScript Flex programmer and helping to push the community forward through this support. The components we offer are supported and feature requests are available, so when you purchase you have the option of asking for new things. The odds are, if your request is possible, it will probably get implemented, no red tape here.

Currently we are working with Android and have a proto application for viewing these components in an apk. If you are interested in this for viewing purposes please contact me (Contact Mike).

Also if there are a couple iOS users out there that like this component toolkit say with an iPad and iPhone, we are willing to give away a couple free licenses for testing the components in the iOS mobile devices. We mainly program Android and do not even have iOS developer licenses.

Thanks,

Mike

Hi,

Reading some blog posts and other information about the Future of Flex, I am getting a clear image of the future. If Adobe hangs onto all run-times such as Flash Player, AIR and maintains their position that Flex is a money loser, Flex is dead.

Teoti Graphix, LLC has made decent money on 3rd party Flash and Flex components since 2004 and with Flash back to 2002. I just read the following in a great article;

The Fading of the Flex Framework

“If the 3rd party Flex component market never took off, why does Adobe think there is a large community willing to spend time (which equals money) doing what Adobe is no longer willing to do — fix and further the hot mess that is the Flex SDK?”

I belong to the 3rd party component market, no one ever talks to me. I have had quite large businesses contract flex components for their applications. See the thing is here, Adobe never cared about the 3rd party component developers. So to say that the market never took off is not accurate, the market never existed because Adobe didn’t see money in it for them.

I talked to Matt Chotin Adobe(when he still existed) many times about creating an ecosystem that extended the Flex framework through a component ecosystem and there by establishing good coding standards for components. The best Adobe came up with was the pitiful Flex Exchange which was and is a joke. It’s like a ghost town of outdated crap.

I have spent the last 3 months creating a mobile toolkit that offers some very useful mobile components for AIR applications. Does it make me sick to my stomach sometimes that companies(individuals) are willing to laugh at spending 149.99$ for 10 professional, documented and supported components? Not to mention have the ability to ask for new features from me. Get one on one support from a real person.

YES, see the joke is on those that didn’t pass their Math statistics class and can’t see the tree from the forest. Before developing software I was a Land Surveyor in the construction industry. You know the most valuable thing to a builder/contractor is their tools. They know spending more money on a good tool will save them twice as much money in the end. This is not BS spewed from my mouth, this is reality in industries that have been around for 1000′s of years, how long has the software industry been around? … Not even close to being a mature market place.

You see, Flex never got passed diapers in my eyes with the way developers approached it’s code. It was wam bam out the door who cares if it’s still dripping with crap. And hey, copy and paste that crap right into the next batch of crap, because in the end you have nothing but crap. The Flex SDK has a lot of crap supporting it and even inside it.

No, real component developers(I am talking software in general) care about their code and if anything is wrong will fix it. A component developer or as I like to put it, a tool developer cares about “his/her” niche in the grand ecosystem. This is why proprietary systems do work still because they “own” what they release and take pride in it (not like the freaking wasteland of dead flex code out there, yeah hey GO GREEN! The worlds dead open-source servers waste a HUGE amount of energy). With my components, I still give you the option to spend a little more and get all the source code.

For Flex to thrive in the next 5 years, the Spoon project MUST transform it’s image from the diaper wearing, over bloated non standard code dripping SDK that it is into something that is a respectable piece of software that solves a purpose and is not trying to be something it’s not (ehhem Flash dirty Catalyst).

Spoon NEEDs to create a 3rd party component ecosystem because those developers COULD give back to the SDK on a low level and being paid by there components on the other hand. (Like moi) But if they want to continue to devalue my skills as a tool dev, I’ll be on the next train as the city is nuked.

To answer one more statement;

“why does Adobe think there is a large community willing to spend time (which equals money) doing what Adobe is no longer willing to do”

There are real tool developers that could make a good living selling components. If this was the case I, like others can fill the shoes of many Adobe employes. With less red tape, 10 times more bug fixes and feature enhancements could be possible.

In closing

As I stand here with over 8 years of Flash and Flex experience, not one person from Adobe or Spoon has contacted me (yeah I volunteered and am on the mailing list). This is why Flex is dead because babies can’t communicate and are dependent on mama which is Adobe. In a way it actually makes me feel sad, as the outsider from Meredith New Hampshire that doesn’t get invited to the “party” this time. On the other hand it actually may be a sign from the Universe that Java Android UI components are respected/valued with ROI and that is my destiny.

We will see.

Mike

PS These opinions are mine and Teoti Graphix, LLC shares these opinions happily. I am what I am.

Hi,

Well things in the last month have been pretty fun, from the depths of the abyss back to a release of the Flex SDK that Adobe wants you to believe in. Hello Flex SDK and Flash Builder 4.6.

I’m not going to go into my opinion of what has gone on with the Flash is Dead popcorn that has been floating around the internet because it really doesn’t matter to me. What do I mean; Well having been with the Flash Player since it’s itty bitty version 5 (2002), I can’t abandon ship yet. There are those that stay and can repair the damage done by the drunk captain (In this case Adobe).

I really don’t think AIR for mobile is going away in the near future and that is what I have put my time into. I’m no stranger to Java and Android, which I love. I have re-consolidated my eggs based on the damage done by Adobe but I am still here ready to help those that see the true power in AIR for mobile cross platform applications.

Teoti Graphix, LLC is here to offer a new mobile component toolkit. I’m ironing out the creases and finishing up the documentation but, next week I will release our first mobile toolkit MobileUIToolkit1.

The Components

• PopUp – A self contained class that acts much like Android’s Toast with duration layout placement and more.
• Dialog – The base for all dialogs used with the PopUp.
• AlertDialog – A modal or non modal dialog that uses events and implements a button provider for it’s control buttons.
• TextDialog – A dialog that uses a custom text content renderer (this is the default PopUp dialog).
• ProgressBar – A progress bar that implements primary, secondary and indeterminate values with optional direction switching. As well as many styles to adjust the look through CSS.
• MobileButton – A simple implementation of a spark Button that includes a longClick event and longClickDelay style.
• Picker – A simple increment – decrement picker with dataProvider and data cycling.
• RatingBar – The cliche mobile component that everybody needs. The component is based off of the ProgressBar which gives it even more power and usability. The RatingBar is touch-drag enabled.
• WebView – A simple UIComponent implementation of the StageWebView. Note this is an "extra" and may not work in some mobile application designs due to the native nature of the StageWebView.

The component kit offers time saving unit tested code with over 8 years of Flash Player component development. All of our components are tested and documented at the professional level a mobile application developer can feel confident in using.

Check out the documentation of the PopUp class;

PopUp class Reference

All of our component kits come with support response time within 24 hours excluding weekends and holidays. You can google our company and see we have been on the front lines helping the Flex/AIR community since Flex version 2.

All of our mobile component skins are optimized in ActionScript and some have secondary MXML skins for those that want them. Skins are also DPI aware and will adjust according to the Application’s DPI.

The above being said, I had the pleasure of participating in the 4.6 pre-release program and have put together a large Hello World style blog article series for all of the Flex 4.6 mobile components. Stay tuned, I will start posting these next week.

Why buy from Teoti Graphix, LLC: We have been doing this longer than anybody creating custom flash/flex components and we are not going anywhere, just look us up. Unit tests? Who needs them, you do and have the ability to purchase them as well with all the source code.

Again; If you want to see pretty images and professional documentation visit;

PopUp class Reference

Some images of our new toolkit; (Every component can be skinned and styled)

AlertDialog

Picker

Text PopUp

Icon Text PopUp

ProgressBar

ProgressBar

RatingBar

More to come;

Mike

Hi,

This is in regard to my previous post that gained some interest, the Spark navigator framework.

I said around 2 weeks for an alpha release, this open source stuff doesn’t pay the bills and that framework is complicated. I have other projects that take priority over this and I have not had time to get the code to a point where I feel comfortable releasing it (focus issues, etc). Yes their are developers that feel their code is a representation of themselves.

For those that have been waiting for this, sorry but priorities come first and “just getting this out” so others can “maybe” use it for their own gain, well just doesn’t ignite my fire.

Free code is free and by no means free to the actual developer.

Update:

Tink has a navigator framework you should all check out:

http://www.tink.ws/blog/flex-4-navigator/

I haven’t looked much at it but, as he says in a comment “This leaves the Navigator itself open to being used as a ViewStack, Accordian, TabNavigator, etc. depending on the layout applied to the navigator.“.

Mike

The VerticalMenu Widget 1.x is now released and available for purchase.

The VerticalMenu allows the developer to arrange menus in a list fashion while allowing menus to be expanded and collapsed. The menu also acts as a toggle list where only one list item in the menu may be selected at one time.

The VerticalMenu also allows for 100% custom skinning of all parts; the menu’s main skin, header renderer and list item renders.

Check it out! VerticalMenu Product Page

Mike

Hello,

Teoti Graphix, LLC offers another open source component for those who wish to dive into the new Flex 4 Spark framework.

The DockBar component could be considered cliche like, um well reflections on images but, this component shows you a lot about the inner workings of a Flex 4 Spark component.

One aspect that makes this bar a little different is it’s parented by the systemManager and allows for 4 placements, top, right, bottom and left. It also has a property that will autoHide the bar and show it when the autoHide thickness is reached around the edge of the screen.

The component uses a Rectangle mouseMove calculation so there is no display object getting in the way of mouse events underneath the hit area.

Comments & Criticism always welcome.

Tips to look for;

• IDockBar interface for polymorphism in an alternate implementation.
• ButtonBarBase subclass shows how to override some common ListBase methods.
• A default itemRendererFunction.
• systemManager child list usage.
• Application popup layout logic.
• Hit Rectangle hide/show logic.
• Use of ui.common vertical and horizontal ButtonBarLayout.

Functionality;

• Custom DockBarSkin.
• Custom DockBarButtonSkin.
• DataGroup in bar with vertical and horizontal layout.
• rollOver and rollOut skin part itemRenderer effects.
• autoHide – constantly show the bar or hide it until the mouse is within a correct show distance.

The Code

<fx:Declarations>
	<s:Fade id="showEffect" alphaFrom="0" alphaTo="1" />
	<s:Fade id="hideEffect" alphaFrom="1" alphaTo="0" />
</fx:Declarations>
 
<components:DockBar id="dockBar" 
					skinClass="org.teotigraphix.ui.skins.DockBarSkin"
					autoHideThickness="10"
					showEffect="{showEffect}"
					hideEffect="{hideEffect}"
					change="dockBar_changeHandler(event)">
 
	<components:dataProvider>
 
		<s:ArrayList>
			<fx:Object label="One" toolTip="ToolTip One" icon="{theIcon}"/>
			<fx:Object label="Two" toolTip="ToolTip Two" icon="{theIcon}"/>
			<fx:Object label="Three" toolTip="ToolTip Three" icon="{theIcon}"/>
			<fx:Object label="Four" toolTip="ToolTip Four" icon="{theIcon}"/>
		</s:ArrayList>
 
	</components:dataProvider>
 
</components:DockBar>

When the application starts up, the dock bar is removed from Application and added to the systemManager.

The library ui.common;

• teotios component library
• DockBar class

Sample MXML

• DockBar01_Sample

I have not uploaded a new zip distro yet with this component available.

Bugs

There are still some issues with effects and the zoom effect glitching once and awhile.

I’m also working on a build file that will add all of the examples into the ui.common.zip distribution file. So when you download the zip library, there will be a Flash Builder project ready to test out like a turnkey.

Mike

The Expander Toolkit 1.x is now released and available for purchase.

The Expander Toolkit allows the developer to maximize user interface space by expanding and collapsing containers with visual elements. The toolkit also allows for docking functionality of containers using their icons and labels (as tooltips) while transforming them into a menu bar placed at a targeted positions in the user interface.

Check it out! Expander Product Page

Mike

Hi,

Teoti Graphix, LLC offers open source Adobe Flex Spark components that are used within our own products such as the ui.commons library in the FieldSet Widget and Form Toolkit products.

The ui.navigator library will be added as another project and will be completely open source as well. That library was talked about last month and has screen shots on the Spark Navigators blog post.

Our open source projects are hosted with Google Code and use the SVN source control system.

Main Google Code repository

Current manifest components

• Button - Icon and labelPlacement enhancements
• ComponentBorder
• DataControl
• StatusBar
• TitleBar
• TitleContainer

Current manifest layouts

• ButtonBarLayout
• ButtonBarHorizontalLayout
• ButtonBarVerticalLayout

Much more to come…

Project

http://code.google.com/p/teotios

Zip downloads

http://code.google.com/p/teotios/downloads/list

Source checkout

http://code.google.com/p/teotios/source/checkout

Main Google Code Example repository

http://code.google.com/p/teotios-samples

Note: We divided the samples from the actual frameworks so the revisions and commits between core classes and samples would be separated.

Support forums

http://www.teotigraphix.com/forum/12

We have decided to release this code to the public to help promote a learning environment for the Flex 4 Spark framework and it’s component design patterns.

Note: Although this code is open source, it is actively developed and supported in conjunction with our commercial products.

Suggestions are welcome for new components added to the library!

Just post comments or get a hold of me through our company site.

www.teotigraphix.com/contact

Thanks,

Mike

After much patience and waiting for the official Flex 4 / Spark release, we have compiled our components against the final 4.0.0 build and are ready to start releasing products.

The FieldSet Widget 1.x is the first to be released.

Check it out! FieldSet Product Page

Mike