Data binding (Flash Professional only)

Data binding lets you map the properties of one component to another component. A binding is simply a statement that says "When property X of component A changes, copy the new value to property Y of component B."

For rich internet applications, you can map data from external data sources to Flash components. The external data source is represented in your application by a component; items in the data source's schema are represented as properties of the component. You can define component properties to meet your business needs; these properties, which contain dynamic data that you want to manipulate, are referred to as bindable properties.

The most powerful use of data binding in Flash is to define the flow of data between UI components, data management components, and connector components that access external data sources such as web services, XML documents, and relational databases.

In the Flash interface, you bind data by using the Bindings and Schema tabs of the Component inspector. Although you need to understand how bindings and schemas work in Flash, your connector component is usually the first component you need to set up, because it brings in the schema for your data source; see Data connectivity (Flash Professional only).

Data binding is supported only between components that exist in Frame 1 of the main Timeline, Frame 1 of a movie clip, or Frame 1 of a screen.

You can also create runtime bindings by writing ActionScript code. For more information, see Data binding classes (Flash Professional only) in the Components Language Reference.

For more information on data binding, see the following topics:

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