Flash 8 ActionScript Bible [Paperback]

Joey Lott (Author), Robert Reinhardt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2006 | ISBN-10: 047177197X | ISBN-13: 978-0471771975 | Edition: 1

To create Flash applications that sizzle, you have to learn the code. In this comprehensive guide to the latest version of ActionScript, the object-oriented scripting language for Macromedia Flash, you'll get the detailed instruction and step-by-step tutorials you need to write robust code and create sophisticated interactive animations. Work with objects and components, interoperate with JavaScript, create games, and more - it's all here in this informative book for developers, programmers, and designers.

Inside, you'll find complete coverage of Flash 8 ActionScript Master the basics of ActionScript expressions, functions, and variables Work with numbers, arrays, and strings Transform your movie clips with colors and filters Program sound and manage video Manage data with Web Services and Flash Remoting Call ActionScript functions from JavaScript Learn scripting for the Flash stand-alone player

Bonus Companion Web site!

Find code downloads and example files at: www.wiley.com/go/actionscriptbible

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It made look everything so easy and simple, giving me all the answers that I couldn't find in other tutorial books."

From the Back Cover

To create Flash applications that sizzle, you have to learn the code. In this comprehensive guide to the latest version of ActionScript, the object-oriented scripting language for Macromedia Flash, you'll get the detailed instruction and step-by-step tutorials you need to write robust code and create sophisticated interactive animations. Work with objects and components, interoperate with JavaScript®, create games, and more — it's all here in this informative book for developers, programmers, and designers.

Inside, you'll find complete coverage of Flash 8 ActionScriptMaster the basics of ActionScript expressions, functions, and variablesWork with numbers, arrays, and stringsTransform your movie clips with colors and filtersProgram sound and manage videoManage data with Web Services and Flash RemotingCall ActionScript functions from JavaScriptLearn scripting for the Flash stand-alone player

Bonus Companion Web site!

Find code downloads and example files at: www.wiley.com/go/actionscriptbible

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047177197X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471771975
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #900,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Presentation, January 23, 2006

By 

shancarrick (Syracuse, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flash 8 ActionScript Bible (Paperback)

The title of this book is actually "Flash 8 ActionScript Bible". For some reason, Amazon has it listed as "Flash "X" ActionScript Bible".

I am new to the world of Flash and ActionScript, though I have considerable experience in other programming/scripting languages. I was especially interested in harnessing the power of ActionScript for interactive Flash applications, and this book did not disappoint.

- Writing is clear and concise.

- Code samples are well thought out, and highly relevant to the learning objectives.

- Excellent instruction on marrying ActionScript to JavaScript, and vice versa.

- Good coverage of XML(reading in from a file, writing out to a server-side page via querystring or inputstream)

This book is top notch, and I will be VERY surprised if any future reviewers assign it fewer than 4 or 5 stars.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An incredible reference, but NOT for beginners., September 4, 2006

By 

B. Roman (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flash 8 ActionScript Bible (Paperback)

If you have the basics of actionscript down, this book is great. I use it at least once a week for quick reference and code examples. They leave enough margin on the sides of the pages to include your own notes, and the INDEX is awesome.

If you are interested in learning actionscript or are a flash person who mainly creates timeline-based SWFs, DO NOT buy this book. My suggestion would be to head over to kirupa.com and learn from the tutorials. Once you've got the hang of it then pick up this book. It fills in a lot of gaps and answers a lot of questions.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, April 5, 2006

By 

Cobretti - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flash 8 ActionScript Bible (Paperback)

This book is not a learning tool. It is a reference tool for people who have 99.9% of actionscript memorized and need to know if there is a ";" or a ":" on line 912 of their script. If you're a beginner with actionscript you'll be wondering "why do I need to know this?" throughout the first chapters. Lots of script but no real world examples of why you would need it. I'm 3 chapters in and I haven't learned anything practical that I can use to enhance the animations I've already created. I have no idea why they would start the book with cryptic mathematical functions and not start with something basic like play options.

Maybe this is a good referece book (hence the 4 star rating), but for my needs; I'm afraid this book is not going to be helpful.

Thanks again Wiley.