Customer Reviews

ActionScripting in Flash MX

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book covers the gamut from novice to expert, but it shows real strength in getting basic Flash users into some serious programming. Phillip Kerman starts off assuming knowledge of fundamental tools and animation, and moves right into building familiarity with ActionScript programming concepts. Throughout, Kerman walks the line between general good practices and AS specifics. All of this is done in a conversational tone, with clear explanations and very applicable examples. One gets the feeling that Mr. Kerman is in the room, helping you along your journey to truly interactive, deep Flash experiences.

The first half of ActionScripting in Flash MX is devoted to getting a solid base for building projects on your own. Some highlights here are the chapters on Functions and arrays, two very misunderstood areas for new developers. Kerman's efforts in Part 1 make his book worthwhile on thier own merit. Just to make sure you are completely satisified, however, there is an entire additional workshop section that lets you roll up your sleeves and play under the hood. It is important to note that ActionScripting in Flash MX is not intended as a reference, but as a learning text. As such, Kerman's style and focus will make sure this book stays close at hand.

This book is the shiznit! Kerman steps you through the concepts you need to know to become an excellent programmer! He uses real world examples and everyday language to simplify the learning process.

He doesn't teach you everything you can do with ActionScript...but he does provide the foundation that can turn any individual into a productive ActionScripter (and maybe even a productive software engineer)!

I recommend that you read this book first before you dive into any other book on ActionScripting. Every ActionScript book will make a lot more sense after you read this book!

If you'd been confused by or just been muddling through ActionScript and would like to learn how to program properly this is definitely the book for you. Phillip lays a foundation with key concepts and methods such as prototyping, separating code from data and de-bugging procedures and more then moves on to explain in plain English how to apply scripts and syntax so you can build Flash movies that go beyond just animation or hardwired features.

It's obvious Phillip's taught Flash in the real world because he specifically addresses issues that often confuse new users, he doesn't fall back on the "remember when you took that programming course" mentality, instead takes the time to explain points that are unfamiliar to someone who hasn't had a great deal of experience scripting. You might not even know what you don't know until you dive into this very thorough book. Use it as a foundation to put to use the more technical reference books on ActionScripting or to dissect conceptual Flash books like Flash to the Core or Flash deConsruction so you use the examples to customize effects and features you find interesting on your own.

I've done a fair amount of ActionScripting in Flash 5 and use Phillip's book as a guide to the new features of MX and to break myself of some bad habits I've picked up along the way. I share space with an experienced programmer who doesn't work with Flash on a regular basis and I've caught him using this book as a quick reference for syntax or features when the need arises to use ActionScript, so it's verbose enough to be useful to more than the intermediate user. If you're a designer who needs help with programming or someone familiar with OOP and need a guide to MX this is definitely a good choice that you'll use often.

This book is really one of the greatest I have read, and I'm not talking about action script only, but generally about all books about programming/design I have ever read.
But make no mistake, this is not a book for those who want some chunks of code ready to copy and paste. (even though it has some of those) This is a book for those who want to learn every aspect of action script programming and also general basis of programming and logic, and since those are not light concepts... well of course the book isn't a piece of cake.
There's a huge part of the book that could be considered very theoretical (450 pages before you get to the real practical part) and it could bore you if you are not really up to it, so I think it could be a mistake to use it as a textbook for college classes it is better suited for the enthusiast who really wants to learn by himself and from the root, it requires patience, time and dedication to go through every aspect of a programming language and this book intends to do so, hence, if you are not a real geek don't even try.
Personally I read it as if it was a good sci fi novel, it thrilled me.
The only downside there is to it is that it's noticeable (in the examples and the guy's web site) that Mr kerman isn't really an aesthetical genius so it falls a little short when it comes to concatenate all that programming with graphical elements, but since that isn't really the focus of the book it's not such a bad thing.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the update/new release for action script 2.0

This book is a very good start for ActionScript Beginners, because it starts from simple things like defining a variable (Flash Basics) and goes on till the Advanced Workshops such as Drawing Graphs.

Only thing that I didn't like in this book was, that Workshops section is seperated from normal chapters (lessons). Author has divided the book in two parts:

Part 1 - Foundation
Part 2: Workshops

I would rather prefer the workshops be inside the chapters, maybe at the end of every chapter or where necassary. So that they would seamlessly teach you how to implement the things that you have already learned. Otherwise this way you need to either finish the whole book to reach to Workshops or jump to Workshops without finishing the book, if you jump to Workshops it might be difficult since you have not learned the required knowledge for that particular Workshop.

So it is your decision!

That Phillip Kerman talks in plain english and explains things that most actionscript books skip. For instance, one of the first screen shots in the book explains how Flash's coordinate system has point 0,0 on the top left hand side. Why is this important? Because most coordinate systems have 0,0 at the bottom left. If you use actionscript to change the position of something on the stage and didn't know about this strange thing, your object will be in a totally different position.

Okay, so that is totally minor, but it is SO important for beginners.

I could keep on going on and on about this book. His explanation on invisible buttons, the different types of frames... these all are critical for the beginning flash developer.

But this book isn't just for beginners. By the end of this book you are adapting components, using the new local shared object, and in a flashback to high school, learning the pythagorian theorem again to calculate distance.

Don't just buy Colin Moock's Actionscript book -- use that as a reference and LEARN actionscript by buying this book.

This book does not disappoint. It's amazing. If you want to learn about MX ActionScript, this is a must-have book. It starts out easy, and builds itself up to some advanced concepts and scripting. Plenty of examples to learn from. The coverage of components is perfect... plenty of information to pour through. Phillip tackles debugging, scripted masks, adapting components, creating timers, working with external data, homemade objects, programming structures, etc.

Excellent all the way through!!

I have a unique point of view when it comes to ActionScripting. I make my living doing advanced Flash scripting and I have written many courses, chapters and lessons for Flash 5 and MX. That being said, I would like to commend Phillip on another well written edition of his book. Since ActionScript has become a rather powerful scripting language, the books that discuss it must be thorough and robust. I felt like every aspect of ActionScript was at least touched on, if not thoroughly explained. I liked this book very much, but then I've been a fan of Phillip's writing for some time. I think everyone will be.

This book provided a practical example of how to use ActionScript to load and parce an XML file. The author's companion website provided working .fla and .xml files (easy to download and modify). For me this XML example code made the book worth the money.

One of the first things you will notice in Phillip Kerman's book is a good deal of solid text. You will also find diagrams, step-by-step projects, listings, and graphics, but the amount of text is what impressed me because in that text you will find solid explanations of what's going on.

Leading beginners in ActionScript through a set of steps without much substance helps very little, even for "visual learners." Within this volume you will find the first two-thirds of the book (about 455 pages)has lots of good explanations, rich with concepts and explanation of those concepts.

The book is not encylcopedic, but it is not meant to be. Kerman touches on every important aspect of Flash and adds a few non-documented items as well. Readers are led through the basics of variables to a sampling of XML and how Flash parses it. What the readers learn, they learn well because Kerman takes the time to explain things, not rushing through them.

So if you're interested in learning ActionScript, and learn it well, this book is definitely the place to start.