Component SDK

You may already have Flash code that can be turned into a Flypaper component!

Any moderately skilled Flash ActionScript 3 programmer can create components using the Flypaper Component SDK.

The Flypaper Component SDK is a set a tools and specifications designed to facilitate the creation of Components for Flypaper Creator.

Designed specifically for ActionScript developers, the SDK includes a thin-layer API that wraps around existing ActionScript 3.0 code. ActionScript developers can implement the SDK's API into their existing ActionScript 3.0 code, or design code from scratch specifically for use in Flypaper.

Once the ActionScript code has been wrapped in the API, the resultant SWF is imported into a proprietary application called "Building Blocks".

Building Blocks is an application that is part of the SDK and prepares the SWF for use in Flypaper as a Component. In Building Blocks, the ActionScript developer uses a combination of GUI tools and XML to integrate his SWF into a Flypaper Component. Building Blocks allows the ActionScript developer to specify common manifest attributes like author, logo and version.

The "magic" of Building Blocks lies in its XML specification that tightly integrates the developer's SWF into Flypaper, allowing an end user to modify key attributes of the SWF. That is, in Building Blocks, the ActionScript developer can designate key attributes of his SWF as "modifiable" and even assign common Windows Controls as the GUI. For example, a SWF may have a Background Color attribute that the ActionScript developer designates as modifiable and assigns a Windows Color Palate as the control. When the component is used as an element in Flypaper, the end user interacts with the familiar Windows Color Palate to modify the element's Background Color.

The SDK includes two verbose help guides to get started and an on going reference. ActionScript developers will find the SDK very intuitive and easy to use. Most SWF's can be converted to Flypaper Components with minimal effort while allowing maximum flexibility for the end user.