Monday, March 21, 2011

Top 10 AIR 2.6 for iOS Questions

1. It takes forever to compile, am I doing something wrong?

Probably not. The compiler/packager/converter (whatever you want to call it) has to package up the entire Flash Player VM into your .ipa. So even if you're only compiling a single class, it’s still going to take a minute or two.

2. Why is my screen white?

That means you had a runtime error. Double check you’re not using RSLs or including an unsupported class (like ServerSocket).

3. Why can’t I install my .ipa on my device?

You’ve probably made a mistake with provisioning and setting up your cert to support your device. Follow the steps on the apple developer center carefully and make sure you’re using the correct target type (there are different builds for debugging, group testing, and app store).

(If your iDevice is jailbroken, you can get around most of the certification issues and transfer your .ipa wirelessly instead of using iTunes, but that's a discussion for another day)

4. Can I use p2p?

Yes!

5. Can I use ServerSocket?

No, but you can use Sockets.

6. What happened to “pfi” (packer for iPhone)?

It’s now built in to adt. So you now use adt to compile for everything: desktop, TV, Android, Apple devices, etc.

7. Can I use ANT to launch ADT?

Yes, make sure to build out your .swf first and then your packaging task will look something like this:

8. Is 2.6 really that much faster than 2.5?

Yes, it’s noticeably faster. You’ll still want to avoid complex filters and other intensive graphics though. Make sure to build a proof of concept before committing to anything.

9. What about the Amazon Market problems?

Read this: http://blogs.adobe.com/cantrell/archives/2011/03/air-2-6-applications-and-the-amazon-appstore-for-android.html

10. Anything else you want to tell me?

Yes, I recommend getting VERY familiar with “app-descriptors”. They’ll define everything from screen rotation to keyboards and from icons to app permissions. It’s all that “other” stuff you’re probably not used to worrying about.

19 comments:

  1. Kuraujio5:35 PM

    Any tips on how to install 2.6 for use with Flash CS5? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah I'd love to also know how to setup either Flash IDE or FlashBuilder (4 or 4.5) to use 2.6. It's all a bit confusing and I can't find clear steps to publish something. Help?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah I'd love to also know how to setup either Flash IDE or FlashBuilder (4 or 4.5) to use 2.6. It's all a bit confusing and I can't find clear steps to publish something. Help?

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is great - just running into one small error on the ant build - any suggestions?

    [exec] /Users/nick/Workspaces/Flex/FlashIOS/bin-debug/FlashIOS-app.xml: error 302: Root content FlashIOS.swf is missing from package

    it's in the bin-debug folder so no idea what is missing?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous7:58 PM

    Check your app descriptor in the node and make sure it's pointing to the right dir.

    ReplyDelete
  6. you're right... just found out that it runs off the root of the project - so needs to be "bin-debug/FlashIOS.swf"

    just compiled - thanks for getting back to me!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous8:14 PM

    I don't think FlashBuilder is currently set up to use air 2.6 (to iPhone at least) because the iPhone packager used to be in its own pfi (rather than adt with the Android stuff). As for Flash CS5, I don't think you can point the compiler to anything other than Flash Pro's built-in stuff.

    I could throw together something about setting up ANT/command line/shell/whatever to use the packager, but, If I had to guess, I would imagine that Adobe will be releasing some update really soon to support 2.6 (it only makes sense).

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks John, I really struggle with cmd line stuff, never used ANT. It'd be nice if Adobe would launch this type of stuff with even simple step by step instructions on how to get it working. It's hard enough making games let alone having to learn this extra stuff ... especially when the product comes from a company that specializes in making user interfaces. Even a simple AIR app to make using the cmd line easier. Anyway ... rant over. Thanks for the reply ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous8:34 PM

    If I throw together a build tool with a simple GUI tonight, could you help me test it? Email me if interested: johnlindquist at gmail

    ReplyDelete
  10. As per Terry I'd like to see a GUI for this update as well, there's no point launching such a massive update when only a small minority can figure out how to use it. They should've released an update for flash builder/flash pro so that developers could utilize this new tech and build apps with ease.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mark Mun11:21 PM

    Here is the official docs on how to use air 2.6 for iOS:

    http://help.adobe.com/en_US/air/build/WSfffb011ac560372f-5d0f4f25128cc9cd0cb-8000.html

    The commands you are looking for is here:

    http://help.adobe.com/en_US/air/build/WSfffb011ac560372f-5d0f4f25128cc9cd0cb-7ffb.html

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi John and all, I wrote a small Ant script to help you compile desktop AIR files and IPAs in one pass: http://vaclav.vancura.org/ant-build-script-to-help-you-compile-to-ios-air-2-6

    ReplyDelete
  13. [...] Top 10 AIR 2.6 for iOS Questions Flixel on the iPad *FlixelはGame開発用ライブラリらしい。 [...]

    ReplyDelete
  14. Fortunately the volume after mic recording on the Iphone is waay too low. I even could hear it on the intro video.
    http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adc-presents/developing-for-ios-with-air-for-mobile-26/
    How can we boost this?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Really nice questions and solutions is useful for me. thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  16. installing 2.6 on CS4 worked the same as this:
    http://swfhead.com/blog/?p=16

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi John, do you know if Air 2.6 allows to run an app on background on iOS? Does it allows to push an alert message (while running in background)?

    ReplyDelete