Flash and Math Applets: Learn by Example (Paperback)

~ Douglas Ensley (Author), Barbara Kaskosz (Contributor)
Key Phrases: math parser, external content, file names within the text, Bridging the Gap, Component Inspector, Flash Player (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book is designed for beginners to ActionScript 3 programming and the Flash CS3/Flash CS4 programs. It is unique in its approach of emphasizing the "timeline programming techniques" that have made Flash development accessible over the years. It addresses ActionScript control of text, animation, components, graphics, masking, XML, and 3D methods, and it provides custom classes for parsing and graphing mathematical expressions. The tiered learning approach starts from scratch and builds each example upon what has come before, eventually producing dozens of classic applets. While many examples have been chosen to reflect the needs and interests of mathematics and science specialists, the book has a lot to offer general Flash developers who have found our focused examples of functionality and user interface extremely useful. This book offers a step-by-step path to learning essential ActionScript programming that is based on the popular tutorials at FlashandMath.com.

About the Author

Douglas Ensley is Professor of Mathematics at Shippensburg University, where he has been on the faculty since 1993 after receiving his Ph.D. in mathematical logic from Carnegie Mellon University. He is co-author of the textbook, Discrete Mathematics: Mathematical Reasoning and Proof with Puzzles, Patterns and Games, published by John Wiley & Sons. Most recently, he was co-Principal Investigator with Dr. Barbara Kaskosz of the University of Rhode Island for a National Science Foundation grant to develop resources and run workshops to help mathematics and science specialists learn how to use Adobe Flash for developing teaching and learning applets. As a result of this grant, Ensley and Kaskosz created the website www.flashandmath.com, which now gets millions of page requests each year.

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (December 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439222355
• ISBN-13: 978-1439222355
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #365,306 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical examples, great depth and easy to read, March 11, 2009

By	M. Wickham "Flash Developer" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just purchased this book based on the great accompanying website that saved me a lot of time during a recent project. The tutorials are well written and the examples include projects that solve real-world problems a Flash developer may run across on the job. This is more than a cookbook -- the authors take the time to explain how it all works under the hood while still getting the job done.

Whatever your level of proficiency as a Flash developer, this is a fun way to broaden your knowledge.

5.0 out of 5 stars very easy to understand, June 24, 2009

By	Hirenkumar R. Patel "H Graphics" (Gandhinagar, India) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Earlier every time, when I see flash applets on web sides then I thought it is not my business to grasp but after reading and learning this book it seems to me that thing is on my finger tips away. And really it is worth to buy for those interested in flash animation. It is necessary that you should have fundamental knowledge of mathematics and science formulas. If you are in science or engineering faculty then sky is the limit for you.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fairly disappointed..., March 18, 2009

By	Harold E. Williams (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Note that this book assumes you have a working knowledge of actionscript 3 and a certain level of mathematical knowledge, which is absolutely fine... not why I gave it two stars.

If I had the opportunity to view this book in the store I would've put it down once I found that for almost every subject, they refer you to their website for complete documentation. If I knew I could go to their website in the first place, I WOULD NOT HAVE HAT TO WASTE MY MONEY ON AN INCOMPLETE BOOK!

Now that I think about it, I'm giving it one star. Don't waste your time and money.