Building Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver UltraDev 4 Extensions [Paperback]

Tom Muck (Conductor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2001 | Series: Application Development

Written by award winning extension developers, Tom Muck and Ray West, this is a comprehensive introduction to building, testing, and deploying extensions for Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver UltraDev 4.
-- A comprehensive introduction to building, testing, and deploying Dreamweaver and Dreamweaver UltraDev extensions
-- Provides an in-depth look at Dreamweaver and Dreamweaver UltraDev's internals, including: Objects & Behaviors, Commands, Property Inspectors and Floaters

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An Insider's Guide to Building Extensions for Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver UltraDev 4

Develop custom extensions to add functionality to Dreamweaver and Dreamweaver UltraDev. Written by award-winning extension developers, this invaluable resource is loaded with expert advice on building, testing, and deploying your own Dreamweaver extensions. Learn to build and utilize Objects, Behaviors, Commands, Property Inspectors, Floaters, and Server Behaviors to execute all kinds of helpful tasks, including creating a custom form Property Inspector, an extension mini-editor Floater, new Server Behavior Builder controls, and more. When you are ready to take Dreamweaver and UltraDev to the next level, Building Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver UltraDev Extensions will teach you the skills required to get there.

Learn to build all of the common Dreamweaver and UltraDev extensions Make use of an extensive library of Macromedia functions Learn the Dreamweaver Document Object Model Write commands and call them from other extensions Use Dreamweaver and UltraDev's built-in Javascript layer to add new functionality Supplement and alter Dreamweaver menus Test, debug, and deploy extension packages Implement award-winning extensions from the authors and technical editor

About the Author

Thomas Muck (Dale City, VA) is the Web Application Developer for Integram, a privately held corporation in Northern Virginia. He is responsible for the development of front- and back-end e-commerce capabilities Ray West (Orlando, FL) is the Vice President and CIO of WorkAble Solutions, Inc; an Orlando, FL based company specialising in the web-based administration of health care alliances. He is an experienced developer that has used Drumbeat to build enterprise-level web applications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (June 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072191562
• ISBN-13: 978-0072191561
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,451,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have companion, July 19, 2001

By 

A. I. Mclellan (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver UltraDev 4 Extensions (Paperback)

Having been building extensions myself for a good few years, I wish this book had been written sooner. Whereas the Macromedia extensibility docs offer a good reference to the Dreamweaver API, there is no teaching aspect to them. This is where Building Dreamweaver 4 & UltraDev 4 Extensions steps in and actually shows the reader how it's done.

Muck and West are excellent authors, making this an easy book to read. The pages are jam-packed with practical examples and code that can be used as a basis for your own work - again something the Macromedia documentation lacks. This is the perfect companion for existing extension writers, or those who want to learn. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great from start to finish!, July 22, 2001

By 

Rene Cabrera (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver UltraDev 4 Extensions (Paperback)

This book is a must have for all Dreamweaver users wanting to learn how to build extensions. I have learned alot in the last 5 days using this book then the last month reading Dreamweavers documentation on building extensions. This book is a giveaway at $....

Have fun... Rene'

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Useful Book For Hardcore Dreamweaver Users, March 9, 2002

By 

M. Moffatt (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver UltraDev 4 Extensions (Paperback)

This is a very useful book for those that are interested in extending Dreamweaver and UltraDev with their own objects, behaviors, commands, etc. You could find all the included information buried in the official Macromedia documentation, and amoungst the many excellent websites that deal with extensions, but for those of us that prefer an old fashioned book then this is the one for you!

So you might be wondering why I rated this book a 4 instead of a 5. While it is true that the content of the book is great, unfortunately I have a few minor niggles:

* There are typo's throughout the book (ie the word "it" when "is" was ment, "you" instead of "your", etc). While most books have typo's it is annoying.

* I wasn't overly impressed with the code samples. Don't get me wrong, I haven't found any actual bugs, but I don't like the way the code is layed out (ie indenting). For example, on page 44 there is an example that contains several JavaScript functions. Each function declaration starts in column one except for one (applyBehavior) which is indented underneath the code of the previous function. Sure, it doesn't affect the code, but it looks untidy. Maybe the authors should have run all their examples through a code beautifier.

I know that some people will think that my comments are needless and that I'm being overly picky; and to some extent I agree with that assesment. But it's these small things that have reduced what would have been a "great" book to just "good".