Flash MX ActionScript: The Designer's Edge [Paperback]

J. Scott Hamlin (Author), Jennifer S. Hall (Author), Jennifer S. Hall (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0782141218 | ISBN-13: 978-0782141214 | Publication Date: September 23, 2002 | Edition: 1

Get the Edge on Flash ActionScript from the Designer's Perspective
As a professional web designer you want to use ActionScript to add interactivity to your Flash creations. But previous books on ActionScript have assumed you have a programming background, leaving out key details in order to cover a lot of ground. In the process many designers and other professionals new to programming have been left behind.
Flash MX ActionScript: The Designer's Edge fills these gaps, using a consistently visual approach that emphasizes conceptual illustrations and color charts. These are complemented by interactive tutorials on the book's companion website. Best-selling author J. Scott Hamlin and multimedia instructor Jennifer S. Hall make everything from fundamentals to high-end techniques accessible by truly teaching you how ActionScript works, not just presenting code.
Key topics you'll learn about include:
* The Flash MX interface to ActionScript
* Programming mouse interactivity
* Writing and reusing ActionScript
* Coding core animation techniques
* Working with text fields
* Doing the math: Creating curving paths with trig functions
* Handling object collisions and other gaming techniques
* ActionScript drawing techniques
* Encapsulating reusable code with ActionScript components
* Debugging and troubleshooting your ActionScript

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The examples of using ActionScript to design from this book are nothing short of spectacular." -- Adam Bell, DigitalMediaNet.com

"What a fantastic book!" -- Mike Truese, Within Reach Concepts

From the Back Cover

Get the Edge on Flash ActionScript from the Designer’s Perspective
As a professional web designer you want to use ActionScript to add interactivity to your Flash creations. But previous books on ActionScript have assumed you have a programming background, leaving out key details in order to cover a lot of ground. In the process many designers and other professionals new to programming have been left behind.

Flash MX ActionScript: The Designer’s Edge fills these gaps, using a consistently visual approach that emphasizes conceptual illustrations and color charts. These are complemented by interactive tutorials on the book’s companion website. Best-selling author J. Scott Hamlin and multimedia instructor Jennifer S. Hall make everything from fundamentals to high-end techniques accessible by truly teaching you how ActionScript works, not just presenting code.

Key topics you’ll learn about include:

• The Flash MX interface to ActionScript
• Programming mouse interactivity
• Writing and reusing ActionScript
• Coding core animation techniques
• Working with text fields
• Doing the math: Creating curving paths with trig functions
• Handling object collisions and other gaming techniques
• ActionScript drawing techniques
• Encapsulating reusable code with ActionScript components
• Debugging and troubleshooting your ActionScript
  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Sybex; 1 edition (September 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782141218
• ISBN-13: 978-0782141214
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,492,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent!, January 28, 2005

By 

Will I Am "Will I Am" (Tucson Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flash MX ActionScript: The Designer's Edge (Paperback)

I've been using Flash for awhile now and have purchased quite a few books on the subject. When I learned enough of the basics to move into actionscript, I was lost. Most of the books I had assume you are a programmer or else just dump code in your lap expecting you to just plug it in and not really know how it works. This is the first book I have found that gives you the code and explains HOW and WHY it works - and all in simple, easy to understand English. I am an artist, not a programmer, but with a book like this, I too can enter the realm of coding and truly unleash my creativity...and isn't that what it really all about?
My highest rating.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good book, November 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Flash MX ActionScript: The Designer's Edge (Paperback)

The first thing that caught my attention as I thumbed through the book was the plentiful screen shots showing detailed example movies. These full-color images helped me follow the text and the examples.

The examples that can be downloaded from the publisher's web site are very well done and allow the user to concentrate on the lesson at hand without having to worry about the framework required to support the lesson. They also show the lesson in context of a functional Flash movie. The designer author's touch compliments the programming author by adding great movies that keep the coding from getting boring. The text fully explained the ActionScript code being introduced. The section on trigonometry was written so that the mathematically impaired, such as me, could understand the concepts being presented.

I enjoyed the light and easy writing style that included humor yet was able to thoroughly convey the necessary information. Many technical books are dry but this one is not.

No one book does it all and that is true of this book. It is assumed that the reader understands the basic elements of creating a Flash MX movie and wish to learn ActionScript to enhance their Flash movies and add user interactions. Also, the book does not give a detailed description of all of the Flash ActionScript functions. To complement this book you can use the Flash Help functions or an ActionScript reference manual. While reference manuals are full of details they do not do a good job of putting them together into the context of a real Flash movie. This book and it's examples do that very well! The examples cover a range of applications.

All books can be improved and this book isn't perfect. Looking at the images, I had difficulty locating the buttons and menus referenced in the text. Including a small graphic of the button in the text or highlighting the area in the screen capture would have helped at first. Then, I got the hang of it and it didn't bother me anymore.

Overall, I would recommend this book and rate it as excellent.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have for ALL Designers who need help w/ ActionScript, January 4, 2003

By 

Tracye Gano (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flash MX ActionScript: The Designer's Edge (Paperback)

This book is a must have for any designers library. I have wasted a lot of money buying books that were shere geek-speak. It is easy to understand. I am not a linier thinker and Flash tends to be a lineir program....I have stayed away from Flash because I have had a hard time grasping it. Scott Hamlin and Jennifer Hall have given me a tool, I can finally use to better understand Flash and Flash's actionscripting. Thank you both for the time and effort you put in to write this book. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good, easy to understand, user freindly Flash actionscripting book. Scott Hamlin's website is also a must join site for anyone looking for great tutorials on Flash files, Web Site layouts, and Photoshop files. ...