Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2009/02/12/getting-information-about-a-class-using-the-objectutil-class-in-flex/ -->
<mx:Application name="ObjectUtil_getClassInfo_test"
        xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white">

    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.utils.ObjectUtil;
            import mx.controls.HRule;

            private function init():void {
                var obj:Object = ObjectUtil.getClassInfo(HRule);
                textArea.text = ObjectUtil.toString(obj);
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>

    <mx:TextArea id="textArea"
            editable="false"
            fontSize="12"
            width="100%"
            height="100%"
            creationComplete="init();" />

</mx:Application>

 

Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2008/03/07/performing-case-insensitive-sorts-using-the-datagrid-control-in-flex/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white">

    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.utils.ObjectUtil;

            private function index_sortCompareFunc(itemA:Object, itemB:Object):int {
                // Make sure itemA has an "index" property.
                if (!itemA.hasOwnProperty("index")) {
                    itemA.index = null;
                }
                // Make sure itemB has an "index" property.
                if (!itemB.hasOwnProperty("index")) {
                    itemB.index = null;
                }
                // Perform a numeric sort.
                return ObjectUtil.numericCompare(itemA.index, itemB.index);
            }

            private function value_sortCompareFunc(itemA:Object, itemB:Object):int {
                // Make sure itemA has a "value" property.
                if (!itemA.hasOwnProperty("value")) {
                    itemA.value = null;
                }
                // Make sure itemB has a "value" property.
                if (!itemB.hasOwnProperty("value")) {
                    itemB.value = null;
                }
                /**
                 * Perform a string sort. If the checkbox is selected
                 * do a case insensitive sort, otherwise, dont.
                 */
                return ObjectUtil.stringCompare(itemA.value, itemB.value, checkBox.selected);
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>

    <mx:ArrayCollection id="arrColl">
        <mx:source>
            <mx:Array>
                <mx:Object index="1" value="apple" />
                <mx:Object index="200" value="Bear" />
                <mx:Object index="3" value="corn" />
                <mx:Object index="40" value="Dragon" />
                <mx:Object value="eggplant" />
                <mx:Object index="5" />
            </mx:Array>
        </mx:source>
    </mx:ArrayCollection>

    <mx:ApplicationControlBar dock="true">
        <mx:CheckBox id="checkBox"
                label="case insensitive search:"
                labelPlacement="left"
                selected="true" />
    </mx:ApplicationControlBar>

    <mx:DataGrid id="dataGrid" dataProvider="{arrColl}">
        <mx:columns>
            <mx:DataGridColumn dataField="index"
                    sortCompareFunction="index_sortCompareFunc" />
            <mx:DataGridColumn dataField="value"
                    sortCompareFunction="value_sortCompareFunc" />
        </mx:columns>
    </mx:DataGrid>

</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

 

Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2007/12/09/debugging-flex-applications-using-the-describetype-method-and-the-objectutil-class/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white"
        creationComplete="traceObj(progressBar);">

    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.utils.ObjectUtil;

            private function traceObj(target:Object):void {
                textArea1.text = ObjectUtil.toString(target);
                textArea2.text = describeType(target).toXMLString();
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>

    <mx:Form width="100%" height="100%">
        <mx:FormItem label="target:">
            <mx:ProgressBar id="progressBar"
                    labelPlacement="center"
                    indeterminate="true" />
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="ObjectUtil.toString(...):"
                width="100%"
                height="50%">
            <mx:TextArea id="textArea1"
                    editable="false"
                    width="100%"
                    height="100%" />
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="describeType.toXMLString(...):"
                width="100%"
                height="50%">
            <mx:TextArea id="textArea2"
                    editable="false"
                    width="100%"
                    height="100%" />
        </mx:FormItem>
    </mx:Form>

</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

There was an enhancement to the ObjectUtil class in Flex 3 (SDK build 187815 or later), where you can now use the ObjectUtil.toString() method on all display objects without getting a run time error.

 

Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2007/11/01/creating-unique-identifiers-for-objects-using-the-getuid-method/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white">

    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.controls.Alert;
            import mx.utils.ObjectUtil;
            import mx.utils.UIDUtil;

            private function displayUID():void {
                var text:String = ObjectUtil.toString(myObj);
                var title:String = UIDUtil.getUID(myObj);
                Alert.show(text, title);
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>

    <mx:Object id="myObj" name="peter" site="flexexamples.com" />

    <mx:ApplicationControlBar dock="true">
        <mx:Button label="Display UID"
                click="displayUID();" />
    </mx:ApplicationControlBar>

</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

 

I also created a little tooltip on the date column which shows the dates in a somewhat more readable form (“April 14 1980″) using the DataGridColumn object’s showDataTips and dataTipFunction properties.

Full code after the jump.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2007/08/12/sorting-date-columns-in-a-datagrid/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white">
 
    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.utils.ObjectUtil;
 
            private function date_sortCompareFunc(itemA:Object, itemB:Object):int {
                /* Date.parse() returns an int, but
                   ObjectUtil.dateCompare() expects two
                   Date objects, so convert String to
                   int to Date. */
                var dateA:Date = new Date(Date.parse(itemA.dob));
                var dateB:Date = new Date(Date.parse(itemB.dob));
                return ObjectUtil.dateCompare(dateA, dateB);
            }
 
            private function date_dataTipFunc(item:Object):String {
                return dateFormatter.format(item.dob);
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>
 
    <mx:ArrayCollection id="arrColl">
        <mx:source>
            <mx:Array>
                <mx:Object name="User A" dob="04/14/1980" />
                <mx:Object name="User B" dob="01/02/1975" />
                <mx:Object name="User C" dob="12/30/1977" />
                <mx:Object name="User D" dob="10/27/1968" />
            </mx:Array>
        </mx:source>
    </mx:ArrayCollection>
 
    <mx:DateFormatter id="dateFormatter" formatString="MMMM D, YYYY" />
 
    <mx:DataGrid id="dataGrid" dataProvider="{arrColl}">
        <mx:columns>
            <mx:DataGridColumn dataField="name"
                    headerText="Name:" />
 
            <mx:DataGridColumn dataField="dob"
                    headerText="Date of birth:"
                    sortCompareFunction="date_sortCompareFunc"
                    showDataTips="true"
                    dataTipFunction="date_dataTipFunc" />
        </mx:columns>
    </mx:DataGrid>
 
</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.