Can Adobe Flash Builder be used to debug and profile OpenLaszlo SWF10/SWF11 applications?

Question

I've read that Adobe's Flash Builder 4.0+ supports profiling of ActionScript 3 applications. Is it then possible to use Flash Builder to profile OpenLaszlo SWFx runtime applications accordingly?

The conversion of OpenLaszlo's LZX source code into an SWF file happens in multiple steps, and the compiler generates ActionScript source code during this process. How could that source code be used to debug an application inside Flash Builder?

Based on what I know about Flash Builder, ActionScript 3 applications, and OpenLaszlo it should not be difficult to compile and profile an application once the source code exists. And it should even be possible to debug Adobe AIR for Android applications remotely, shouldn't it?

Answer 1

I have created a project on Github containing an Ant build script and the required files to profile and debug an OpenLaszlo application with Flash Builder 4.6 on either Windows or Mac.

Here is a screenshot of an OpenLaszlo application running in the profiler:

I have a created a PDF with a complete tutorial showing how to debug and profile OpenLaszlo SWF11 runtime applications, including the SWF11 LFC classes. The document titled "Profiling OpenLaszlo Applications with Flash Builder" can be downloaded from GitHub.

Answer 2

The OpenLaszlo Wiki has a page with some information on how to compile an SWF to be able to profile the application. You have to compile the LZX file using the command line compiler, e.g.

lzc --flex-options=debug --runtime=swf10 your-app.lzx

If you use the flex4.6 branch of OpenLaszlo (only nightly builds available at the moment), you can compile your app for Flash Player 11, using the swf11 runtime switch:

lzc --flex-options=debug --runtime=swf11 my-app.lzx

Flash Builder 4.6 is still available for free for a 60 days trial period, but there is only a Windows and OS X version available now (Linux version has been discontinued).