Tutorial – AIR Beta SDK with Flex Builder on Linux

Update: An updated tutorial, for AIR 1.5.1 SDK, has been posted at http://blogs.adobe.com/ashutosh/2009/03/flex_builder_linux_with_air_15.html

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Some changes are required to get Flex Builder to use the new AIR Beta SDK for Linux. This is a step-by-step guide to get things up and running.
1. Ensure that you have Sun JRE >= 1.5 in your PATH (This can be verified with “java -version”)
2. Install Eclipse (cpp or java) >= 3.3 to $HOME/eclipse
    – Download Eclipse 3.4 from http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/ (if you do not already have Eclipse >= 3.3)
    – cd ~
    – tar zxvf ./eclipse-cpp-ganymede-linux-gtk.tar.gz
    – This extracts eclipse under ~/eclipse
3. Install Flex Builder alpha 4 Eclipse plugin
    – Download the Flex Builder installer from http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flexbuilder_linux.html and launch it
    – chmod +x ~/flexbuilder_linux_install_a4_081408.bin
    – ~/flexbuilder_linux_install_a4_081408.bin
    – Choose $HOME/eclipse as the “Existing Eclipse Folder”:

    – Choose “Proceed with caution” if prompted

4. Install Flex SDK 3.1
    – Download Flex SDK 3.1 from http://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Download+Flex+3
       – Choose Build 3.1.0.2710, Adobe Flex SDK dated Aug 15, 2008
    – Unzip it to a new folder (“3.1″) under ~/Adobe_Flex_Builder_Linux/sdks:
    – cd ~/Adobe_Flex_Builder_Linux/sdks
    – mkdir 3.1
    – cd 3.1
    – unzip ~/flex_sdk_3.1.0.2710.zip
5. Install AIR Beta SDK under Flex SDK 3.1
    – Download Adobe AIR SDK from http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/air_linux.html to $HOME
    – Untar it to the folder created above
       – cd ~/Adobe_Flex_Builder_Linux/sdks/3.1
       – tar jxvf ~/adobeair_linux_sdk_b1_091508.tbz2
    – Rename bin/adl to bin/adl_lin and bin/adt to bin/adt_lin (These are what Flex Builder expects)
       – cd bin
       – mv adl adl_lin
       – mv adt adt_lin
6. Set the newly installed SDK as default
    – Launch eclipse
       – ~/eclipse/eclipse
    – Window -> Preferences -> Flex -> Installed Flex SDKs
    – Click on Add
    – Select ~/Adobe_Flex_Builder_Linux/sdks/3.1 as the “Flex SDK location”. Click OK.

       – Choose “Flex 3.1″ as the active SDK by selecting its checkbox. Click OK.

We’re done!
To verify that the setup is correct:
1. Create a new AIR application
    – Create a new Flex Builder project (through File -> New)
    – Choose a project name, choose “Desktop application (runs in Adobe AIR)” as the application type. Click Finish.
2. Edit the new application’s .mxml file
    – Change the line:
       <mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx=”http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml” layout=”absolute”>
       to
       <mx:WindowedApplication xmlns:mx=”http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml” layout=”absolute” title=”{NativeApplication.nativeApplication.runtimeVersion} – {NativeApplication.nativeApplication.runtimePatchLevel}”>
3. Run the application (Ctrl-F11)
4. The application’s window will show up. Check the title of the window. It should be “1 – 6590″ (new AIR SDK) and not “1.0 – 20080320″ (old AIR SDK) if everything was set up correctly.
The application can be packaged as a .air file through File -> Export -> Flex Builder -> Release Build.

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Update: An updated tutorial, for AIR 1.5.1 SDK, has been posted at http://blogs.adobe.com/ashutosh/2009/03/flex_builder_linux_with_air_15.html