IMO, if you just want to build apps on top of the libraries Mike, Fred, Josh and the rest of the FlexJS crew are building, you won’t need to know about externs. You will just grab SWCs that have the right API surfaces and code like you used to.
Right now you have at least two choices of library sets: -FlexJS Libraries: -Native JS Libraries The FlexJS libraries abstract a lot of HTML and browser APIs and support MXML and AS. That’s what Peter and I have been primarily focused on. You start with a <js:Application> tag and add your widgets and HTTPService and AS code and write and test it all in FB and now IJ as a SWF and when you are happy with the SWF version, you cross-compile an HTML/JS/CSS version. We have component sets that wrap Jquery components and CreateJS components as well as the new set of widgets we are writing. There is no almost-Spark library yet so porting existing UI is a bit of work. The NativeJS Libraries are created from the ‘externs’. Here you will write AS as if you were writing JS for an app. You can write direct to Jquery APIs or browser/DOM APIs but you do it in AS instead of JS. There is no SWF or Flash involved in the workflow at all. This is essentially the same thing as TypeScript. For sure, there are lots of bugs and missing features so you won’t be able to “code like you used to” right away, but we need folks like you to try it, help fix it, and make it better. -Alex On 7/22/15, 10:07 AM, "Harbs" <harbs.li...@gmail.com> wrote: >To tell you the truth, I have not understood much of the discussion >regarding externs. I think I got the basic idea, but I’m not really sure. > >Since I’m starting from scratch, I’m totally open to suggestions on how I >should jump in. I’m just clueless as to how to start. Jumping into >something new is always the hardest part for me… ;-) > >FYI, I expect to be devoting a large percentage of my time on targeting >JS in the coming months, and I have a vested interest in the AS to JS >approach. After my initial orientation and basic project setup, I think >my first goal will be creating some classes to handle XML processing >(similar to XML and XMList, but probably a bit more limited and more >(modern) Javascript friendly. > >This is not really pressing for this week. I don’t have a hard deadline >on when I need to be setup, but this project has been working its way up >my priority list, and it’s currently pretty much at the top. > >On Jul 22, 2015, at 5:24 PM, Frédéric THOMAS <webdoubl...@hotmail.com> >wrote: > >> Hi Harbs, >> >> I won't be able to do anything regarding the wiki before next week, >>actually I as waiting for the FlexJS release but I'm fine to give some >>informations about setting up FlexJS project using IntelliJ before. >> >> It wasn't in my plan to do it for ASJS projects though especially that >>now we have 2 ways to code the JS part, either directly in GOOG JS or in >>AS3 via externs, with the first approach, I had to create 2 projects, >>with the 2nd one, 2 build configurations, I proposed to change the >>compiler that it could handle this last one in one step (which would >>mean only 1 project / 1 build configuration in IntelliJ) as soon as >>COMPILE:JS and COMPILE:AS3 were defined to AUTO which would eliminate >>the need to define the js output type as I could infer it. >> Anyway, I guess this would deserve another wiki page than the one >>mentioned before. >> >> Frédéric THOMAS >> >> >> ---------------------------------------- >>> Subject: Re: [FlexJS] IntelliJ Integration >>> From: harbs.li...@gmail.com >>> Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2015 12:50:02 +0300 >>> To: dev@flex.apache.org >>> >>> This discussion was incredibly long and I had trouble following how to >>>get going. >>> >>> I’m trying to set myself up with FlexJS for the first time. I’d like >>>to figure out how I can develop working off the repo so I can work on >>>the SDK while I go. Since I’m first starting with FlexJS, I’d like to >>>try and do so with IntelliJ rather than FB. >>> >>> I took a look at the wiki and the page on using IntelliJ is empty: >>>https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLEX/Using+FlexJS+with+Intel >>>liJ+IDEA >>> >>> So here’s what would be helpful: >>> >>> Instructions on getting going working off the source: >>> 1) Assuming flex-asjs is checked out from the repo, what steps do I >>>need to do to build from source to be able to use it. >>> 2) How do I link this to FB/IntelliJ? >>> 3) What else needs to be done? >>> >>> Additionally: >>> 1) How do you get the nightly build? >>> 2) How do you switch targets? >>> >>> >> >
