There's a couple of projects I've been working on lately, one of which is the BugQuash QuashBoard, that require a search input.  I decided to quit duplicating some of the work I'm doing and create a SearchInput control that extends the TextInput control and wraps the search logic into a reusable component.

The thought process went like this: I wanted a search field that when I typed, the datagrid (or whatever the data was displaying in) would filter out the rows that didn't match the search terms.  FilterFunctions do just that, but they don't work on the DataGrid or List directly, they work on the dataProvider.  The dataProvider must implement ICollectionView to have a filterFunction applied to it.  You can figure this out by searching for filterFunction and finding that it is defined in ListCollectionView.  ListCollectionView defines the function because it's in ICollectionView, which ListCollectionView implements.  I programmed to an interface, not an implementation.

The first Flex SDK BugQuash is now over and we're pulling together stats and listing things we learned so that future events will be even better.

Here's some numbers to show roughly how successful the event was:

Total patches submitted: 57

see what got submitted that day
Previous to the event, there were 111 patches submitted since Flex went open source.  That means that in one day, the community submitted half of what had been submitted prior to the event.  Phenomonal!

Patches accepted: 19 (at the time of this post)

And growing... Twelve patches were able to be reviewed and accepted by the Flex team that day.  This was a Saturday and there wasn't the entire Flex SDK team available, but that is still amazing.  Consider that a patch must be reviewed and considered for it's impact to the SDK by the team.  They were working hard to get through as many as they could.

I've subscribed to the forums that show when patches are committed to the trunk.  There's been a number of patches accepted since the BugQuash by members of the SDK team.

The Flex team is under a lot of pressure right now since there is the fx name change they are working on, the additional features for Flex 4 and everything else.  The fact that they are still working at getting the submitted patches reviewed shows an incredible dedication to the community.  They understand that the community worked hard and they are doing all they can to show that it is appreciated.

Participants in person: 60

This is amazing considering we had around 64 register to be there in person.  This kind of turnout is unheard of.  There were people attending from Vancouver BC, Utah, Dallas, Atlanta, Portland, Tacoma and Spokane.

Participants online: 122

That's huge.  The connect room had over 50 people in it all day.  Many people broke off into ConnectNow rooms to collaborate with other online participants so it's hard to track exactly how many.  The fact that we had 244 registered to participate online means that 50% of those registered actually participated.  This number might be a little off since we know that some registered to participate but participated in groups, sharing the connect room so the actual number is probably slightly higher.  I am also impressed that even when the event was winding down, the connect session was still going strong.

Here's a video of Nate and I discussing the event with Ryan Stewart.

Marty and Nate Talk About BugQuash from Ryan Stewart on Vimeo.

I'd like to personally thank my wife and Nate's wife for supporting us while we were preparing for the event.

I recently ran into a problem that held me up for a little while, although it seemed like it would be a simple problem.  After searching around and finding the solution, I found that it is actually pretty simple, just not obvious.  Since it took me a while to find the answer, I thought it would be good to share my new found knowledge with the world.

I now offer tutoring to those who want to learn more about Flex and ActionScript.  I know that learning a new technology can seem intimidating for some so I teach with a style that will give you what you need to know to be a professional developer without all the fluff.  There are two ways you can learn:

One on one tutoring

($40/hr) Just you and me.  If you learn best by structured learning (with "lessons, and homework") I can do that OR we can find a real world project to take on and work through the problems together.  If you learn best by some other means, just say so.  I can adapt to anyone's learning style. 

Group lessons

($30/hr per person) Two to five of you and your friends or co-workers get together and learn as a small group.  The same options apply when it comes to ways you can learn.  By getting a group together the rate is reduced for each person. I've found that small groups allow each person to get the most out of the time there.  If the group gets too big, some individuals end up sitting around while others are getting extra help.  I want each person to get as much as they can out of it.