Professional haXe and Neko

haXe is a new programming language whose features are mainly coming from object-oriented languages such as Java. Other features are taken from more dynamic Scripting languages as well as from Functional languages. It is a language, a complier, and a framework of classes designed to help developers write clean code. It opens up the world of application development and reduces the learning curve while minimizing potential roadblocks.

It is difficult to write a book on haXe because there are so many possibilities that the language can provide. It is able to target three platforms: JavaScript, Flash, and Neko. It opens a lot of doors for web developers. The combination of these different technologies makes it possible to create things today that were hard to imagine yesterday. haXe makes it possible to develop applications targeting multiple platforms very quickly.

Neko is a cross-platform virtual machine and it acts as one of the targets of the haXe complier. It is lightweight, fast, and flexible. It can be embedded and requires a small footprint that makes it practically invisible. When combined with haXe, it can open a lot of doors to pure web development (e.g., real-time servers and console and desktop applications).

This book is for web developers who would like to work with a unified environment while at the same time reducing the number of languages required to produce a single software solution. Although you don’t have to be a veteran programmer to utilize the information in this book, it helps if you have already programmed in ActionScript, Java, or another ECMA standard language.

The material in this book is split into three parts based on the content that each part is discussing. The first part of the book focuses mainly on the basics of the haXe programming language. Details are given about the language structure, standard libraries, and programming practices. If you are an experienced haXe programmer you can probably skip this section. Those who are familiar with programming but are new to haXe can go through the first section easily and look mainly at the code examples and tables that detail the classes and commands required to develop in haXe.

The second part of the book covers the practical uses of haXe, including the production of Flash movies and dynamic content for websites. This part is useful to programmers of any skill level. This section also contains references to platform-specific classes defined in the standard library (the core framework that comes with the haXe base installation).

The third part of the book is dedicated to the advanced developer who wants to use haXe for all it has to offer. It also discusses how to extend haXe with existing libraries or how to use haXe outside of the conventional web environment.

In order to use this book you need to have a computer that operates on Windows, Linux, or either type of Apple Macintosh. All of the tools described in the book are open source and are available for download on the internet (for free!).

Franco Ponticelli graduated with a degree in architecture with a specialization in industrial design. Within the Information Technology area, he was involved in many different activities ranging from 3D Computer Graphics to software development. He discovered haXe through his research to find the perfect development environment.

Lee-McColl Sylvester is an expert in ActionScript developing and is knowledge about in systems integrations. He studied visual communications and supplemented his career by specializing in advanced graphical interface development and information management systems.

Keywords: Programming & Software Development