Customer Reviews

Flash MX Bible

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you only buy one Flash MX book -- this is definitely the one to get. There is nothing out there that offers as much information as this book does. At 1272 pages, whether you're at a beginning, intermediate or advanced level -- you will not walk away from this book without taking your skill to the next level and beyond. It is easy to understand, offers indepth, step-by-step, "how to", information on Flash MX development & design. So if you need to understand how to develop a project, are looking to integrate video/audio into flash, interested in animation, actionscripting, or communicating directly to server-side scripts -- you'll learn how to do it here.

Robert Reinhardt is a cutting edge developer & instructor in Flash community, I was fortunate enough to be able to take one of his classes and he is good. In addition to his expertise, he has included 30 guest experts -- each offering step-by-step instruction in their area of expertise. Easy to follow, backed by a live web-forum, includes secrets, cutting edge tips & tricks, as well as a CD chocked full of examples, add-ons, plug-ins, shareware, and templates. There is seriously nothing out there that will offer you this scope and level of information. You will not be disappointed!

First, this book does NOT cover EVERYTHING you will eventually want to know about Flash- notably the deeper areas of ActionScript. But there is another (excellent) Bible for that.

Why this book is great:
I read the first 720 pages like a workbook. Read a little, do a little. It is very good for that and helped me learn. I was not new to Flash and thought I could probably skip the first several chapters. As I started to *skim* them, I got more engrossed, slowed down and read carefully. I am so glad I didn't skip them. Even the most basic topics are covered so well you're bound to learn something new. If internalized, the advice this book gives on techniques and features, will make you a better Flash MX author.

Great for beginners and intermediate. When you get to advanced, get the ActionScript Bible to compliment it and you should be unstoppable!

I've been using Flash since Flash 3 or 4 (I can't remember)...and what I've learned has been all self-taught. My work has included Flash-to-SMIL presentations, Flash-to-Director CD-ROM applications, etc.

So...why buy this book? I feel that I'm an intermediate -- I know how to do a lot of things in Flash, but I'm not an "expert" or "certified" level Flash user. I think this book is great for beginners and intermediate users of Flash, as it's very detailed in its explanations of Flash tools/techniques. It also presents the subject matter in a relatively comprehensive, well-organized format.

Caveats to all of this include...

- some chapters barely touch on the samples in the CD-ROM
- some chapters are a bit extraneous

That last one is important -- there's a whole chapter on cartoon animation. While some of the principles in the chapter are essential for animators in general, I think a whole chapter devoted to cartoon animation is a bit much -- a topic for another book. Other "extraneous" chapters are OK, as they're more informative -- the project management chapter is a great example.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because of these few things, but I can still highly recommend it.

I knew some Flash already and wanted to expand this knowledge. I wanted a book that taught more advanced Flash MX techniques through conventional teaching methods but also with practical, real-life, step-by-step website examples.

This books fits that description quite well! The examples are simple, but do give the reader the vision of how to expand on this in his own creative way, which is very nice.

It also goes into the structure (planning) and philosophy behind a Flash MX website, which I found a suprising but nice addition.

Phenominal book with all the details you could ever want. Eric Jordan of 2advanced.com is one of the many sponsored guest authors. It's worth every penny of the price - you get all kinds of ActionScript codes, tips, tricks, and tweaks that you can't find anywhere else, and it's great for beginners and more advanced designers alike. I would recommend it to anyone trying to learn about Flash MX.

I've been doing eLearning application development and technical training since the mid-90's. Good reference books are a key ingredient to successful development and the learning of new skills.

Robert Reinhardt's Flash MX Bible is the reference book to have when you're working with Flash. Reinhardt writes from experience. It shows in his writing that he has the experience, knowledge, and time to get inside Flash MX to see what makes it tick. His writing style and ability to chunk information in easily digestible bites makes it a breeze to find what you're looking for quickly.

I worked with Robert at Rampt Broadband over the summer of 2000. Since then I have gone on to work on some very demanding and exciting projects. I have been able to improve my Flash development skills along the way using his various bible-series books to leverage what I know.

Flash MX is a very powerful development tool. You need a great reference book to be able to take advantage of all it has to offer. The Flash MX Bible is a great book to have nearby.

I consider myself an extreme newbie when it comes to Flash, so after reading most of the reviews for "The Flash MX Bible" I decided to shell out the cash. God what a mistake that was.
The only pro the book has, is it's size. Yes is does contain a lot of information, but the manner it presents it, is the biggest problem. It's boring, dry, unimaginative stuff. Not something you'd expect when dealing with a program that has a firm foundation in art, and creativity.
The thing reads similar to my Lightwave 6.5/7.0 college text book only with a worse format.
So if you're an intermediate, or professional flash user this is might be what you're looking for, but if you're an amatuer or total beginner don't touch this book unless you want bore yourself away from Flash MX before you even get your feet wet.

Regardless of a couple of the negative reviews, this book IS worth it's weight in gold. Remember people, it is a reference book. If you are looking for quick tutorials there are numerous books out there for that. Whenever there is something that stumps you or you need some in-depth knowledge of something within Flash MX this is the book to get.

This book has some high and low points. I got it along with a couple others, and found myself leaving this book to use the others to help create my movies.

Book is full of good information, deep analysis of problems.
But the VERY BAD INDEXING and organization of "how to get the information" is making it a chore to use it. It's ok the fact that much of the material is on the CD, but giving a clean way of reaching it would be a NECESSARY help. Too many words, too little code and examples and too basic FLA files obliged me to seek more advanced help in other books.
Still good as a reference though (if you can find what you need ...)