Programming Flex 3

Debugging Remote Data

Although you can use the debugger to inspect data after Flex has received it and before Flex sends it, you may want to find out more details regarding what data is being sent and received. You can achieve this by using the logging framework or a data inspector.

Debugging with the Flex Logging Framework

The WebService, HTTPService, and RemoteObject components use the Flex logging framework, which can greatly assist debugging applications. Messages are automatically logged to the Flex logging framework, so you won’t need to enable the components to explicitly begin logging. Messages that are logged are within the mx.messaging.* filter. Example 18-4 is an HTTPService call with a TraceTarget that will show only log messages related to the server calls.

Example 18-4. HTTPService call with a TraceTarget that shows log messages related to server calls

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
initialize="initializeHandler()">
        <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.logging.Log;
            import mx.logging.targets.TraceTarget;

            private var _target:TraceTarget;

            private function initializeHandler():void
            {
                _target = new TraceTarget();
                _target.includeTime = true;
                _target.includeLevel = true;
                _target.includeCategory = true;
                _target.filters = ["mx.messaging.*"]; Log.addTarget(_target); } private function sendToLog():void { Log.getLogger("com.oreilly.programmingflex.Logging"). info("Log Message"); } ]]> </mx:Script> <mx:Button click="sendToLog()" ...