Cant import DataProvider in flex builder3.

Question

If I try an use a DataProvider in actionscript in my flex project using FlexBuilder 3:
<mx:Script>
   <![CDATA[
     import fl.data.DataProvider;
I get a compiler error:
Severity and Description    Path    Resource    Location    Creation Time    Id
1172: Definition fl.data:DataProvider could not be found.    apitester/src    apitester.mxml    line 10    1280939279093    3500
There are hundreds of posts on this subject, none with solution.  e.g. this one http://forums.adobe.com/thread/145845 has an answer which is meaningless.
The  mxml page I am developing already has a ComboBox dragged onto it, this  does not magically put the DataProvider in a library or similar as  implied.
Other people say this is not possible using flex builder.
Why is it so hard?

Answer 1

I don't work with Flash CS / use fl.*, but if the ComboBox is a mx.controls.ComboBox (or spark) then you don't need to use the DataProvider class. Use ArrayCollection instead. You can do:
new ArrayCollection(myArray)
or (if the data source is xml)
new XMLListCollection(xml)