Compile Flex 3 SDK from the Command Line

Here is a guide to setting up a Flex 3 project so that you can compile it from the command line:

• download and set up the Flex 3 SDK, make sure the bin/ directory is on your path
• make a directory for your project
• in your projects directory make src/ and bin/ directories
• copy the flex-config.xml from the flex SDK's frameworks directory into the root of your project
• edit the flex-config.xml in your project, prepending ${flexlib}/ to all the libs/ paths and before the path references to manifest.xml and locale/
• edit the flex-config.xml in your project, uncommenting the source-path element and setting its path-element element to src
• create a compile file in the root of your project with the following content:
  
  Make this file executable.
  
• Run the compile script to compile the project. The compiled swf will go to the bin/ directory and can be opened with your browser.

Here is a link to a zipped up version of a project where all the previously described steps have already been done for you (other than setting up the Flex 3 SDK of course).

This information primarily came from Simple Blog.

UPDATE: To use the trial data visualization components you need to copy several files over from a user that has installed flex builder. The instructions on which files and where they need to be placed in your sdk directory can be found here.

UPDATE UPDATE: The good people at Adobe have now made the data visualization components available as a separate download. You can find it here. You can download this archive and unzip it into your sdk and you will be good to go with the data visualization components - you won't need to download flex builder.