Customer Reviews

Advanced Flash 5, ActionScript in Action

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Actually the title says it already. This is by far the best book on Flash Action Scripting I have read. In fact, it is the best computer related book I have read. Detailed and advanced, yet comprehensive. Though the author obviously knows Flash Scripting inside out, he's able to look at things from the student's point of view, to anticipate questions and to offer answers and explanations immediately. I am really happy I bought this book and you will be too.

I'll be honest - I bought this book because I flipped through it in the bookstore and it had the best illustrations. However, I've been totally impressed with the author's explanations of ActionScript - it's so well-written that I felt like the author was in the room with me, just chatting. I'm new to programming, but it was so easy to learn that within a few days I was combining Flash and XML without any problems! Incredible. I even emailed the author with a question and he emailed me back within a day! Damn, I hope this Livingston guy writes more.

This book cannot be compared with any other actionscript book simply because it is written by a writer who has an understanding of instructional design.
Amazing, isn't it?
I came to actionscript via basic javascript and this is the only book - of three I have bought - that is able to provide a clear link between javascript and actionscript.
While other books will have you copying slabs of code (only for you to test movie and find nothing happens)this has you build blocks of code bit by bit and observe the results as they are coded so you can be shown exactly what the effect is of a coded statement.
This book is actually a lot cheaper than books that offer more 'flashier' examples. Those books seek to impress. Dan's book impresses supremely because it seeks only to teach.
What an admirable objective that is.

This is the third actionscript book I've bought and the last. It has everything I needed - great examples, rock-solid code, seriously professional yet friendly explanations, complete reference, cool web site. It covers games, ecommerce front ends, funky effects, XML, and it's just darn easy to read and understand - that's really why I like it. It's one of the top 3 computer books I've read - ever. Like I said, Dan's the Flash Man.

I've been developing and designing in Flash for over a year and a half and have built a small library of books on the subject, but Advanced Flash 5 ActionScript In Action by Dan Livingston is the only book that covers it all in a clear and straightforward manner; every block of code presented is explained in such detail and clarity the one can not help but learn. This is also one of the very few books out there that uses "real" examples, not just shapes, such as an online store and games. Even without the CD-ROM with all of the source files (invaluable in-and-of-itself) this book presents each example in such a way the one can not help but understand what is going on and how it all works. The ActionScript reference guide is the most comprehensive and useful one I have come across and will be the only one I return to again and again as it not only explains all the different bits and pieces of ActionScript, it presents clear examples and offers up "real-world" uses for them as well. Buy this book if you want to lear ActionScript, you won't be sorry.

Of the books I've read regarding Actionscript programming, there have been none who have really concise and down to earth examples (not to mention the necessary WORKING code) to make you really understand the why and how of things. This books takes you by the hand, from the most simple examples like instances and simple interactivity, to some really hair raising works of art. This is all done gradually, letting you work at your own pace, which is quite nice for most of us. Don't like to read the newbie stuff? Then just skip a few pages and get immersed into a completely different subject, all taken from examples included in the CD ROM with the book. In my opinion, this book really helped me understand a lot of things which were not really self explanatory, including the Actionscript manual included with Flash 5. So, if you want to learn ACTIONSCRIPT, then buy the book. If you want to learn how to USE FLASH, then buy another book, or use the manual included with the software. THIS IS A PROGRAMMING BOOK, not a design or user's guide to Flash 5.

I have been toying with Flash for almost 6 months now. I have a few books on it and I have read a ton of tutorials as well. This is the first book that I have read that was very easy to follow and takes the pain out of learning some of the more advanced action scripting. I am very pleased with my purchase of this book. Other books by Dan Livingston that you might want to check out as well are "Essential CSS and DHTML for Web Programmers" and "Essential JavaScript for Web Programmers". These books are just as easy to follow and learn from.

Livingston does a good job of introducing action script to those who have had little previous exposure to it. In particular, his examples tend to be interesting. I agree with him in that to get to know action script well its best to use expert mode so that all of the scripting must be typed in--though it can be a lot of typing. The one thing that keeps this from being a great book is that in the last two-thirds of the book the examples can be tricky and the example fla's on the CD are not necessarily in the state the book places them in--most of the time they have stuff that you won't learn about until later so it interferes with the current example. I was particuliarly disappointed with the 4th chapter that the author states is the hardest, yet the major example is mixed up...I finally skipped it.

I am so glad this was recommended to me. I understand ActionScript better than I ever thought possible. It was interestingly written, incredibly helpful and made learning something I could actually look forward to. I expected a dry book full of things I couldn't pronounce, let alone understand, but the author was clear, intellegent, and delivered everything I needed and hoped for.

The best thing about this book? It teaches ActionScript in a way that's easy and fun to learn, as opposed to following how the language is structured. How to describe this better ... would it be more fun to learn English by reading Stephen King or books about grammar? King, of course, and that's what this book does - it teaches in a way that's easy to absorb, but still technically deep. The other Actionscript books are just dry tomes on grammar, or written for those who are already experts.

Actionscript in Action is clear enough for non-programmers, but deep enough for Flash gurus. It's reader-centered, not language centered - the author is really trying to show us how great actionscript can be - he's more like a quirky nature show host than a boring, droning professor.

The book covers everything you need to get up and running quickly, from basic interactivity to OOP to XML, and some really bizarre effects. And, of course, the fish. The fish are cool.