(Including Source Code)

Rich Internet applications (RIAs) are a new breed of web applications that are capable of doing things such as loading and handling heavy data ten times faster than HTTP, designing great-looking and sophisticated user interfaces that resemble desktop-based applications, and having the possibility of utilizing existing server technology such as Java, that would have never been possible with typical web technologies, such as HTML. Flex 3 is a leading technology for developing RIAs for the Web, as well as for the desktop. This paper gives an insight into, and provides a hands-on experience in, programming in Flex 3 by utilizing the existing knowledge of Java programming.