1.2. The Tools

Adobe has made it possible to create and distribute AIR applications with absolutely no cost at all. It again (as it did with Flex 2) offers a free SDK that can be used to package AIR applications using a command window with the ADT library. The SDK also allows the compilation of the application to a temporary file for testing purposes. The temporary file is created using the ADL library and runs the application without the need of installing it to the operating system.

Flex Builder has also been updated to version 3 and now includes the AIR tools. Flex Builder 3 makes it easy to create, test, debug, and package AIR applications, and although this is not a free tool, in my experience it is worth every penny. This book focuses on building applications with the use of Flex Builder 3.