Customer Reviews

Flash XML Applications: Use AS2 and AS3 to Create Photo Galleries, Menus, and Databases

5 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The first review must have been written by a friend of the author. On the contrary the book is NOT well written and is FAR from easy to follow. I do not want to be overly criticle because it is clear that much time and effort went into this book. It has a lot of good information that is very useful. I am not sure, however, whether i feel good or bad about the purchase. It has definately left me with a number of headaches.

Right off the bat it is confusing. I am an advanced Flash user and although i understand most of what is documented the instruction itself is terrible. I am confident that the author has absolutely no teaching background. He almost NEVER indicates when to save a file or what to name it for that matter. Which is odd considering the entire book relies on the external, custom classes that you create when trying to follow along. You need to know WHAT to name them and WHEN to name them! Like i said, i am an advanced user and the lessons have me completely lost. You never quite know where to stop or begin with the next script. I am half way through the book and it just gets more frustrating to try and follow along. Because i am an advanced user, i am able to continue for the most part. The bottom line is that it is a difficult learning experience.

Aside from the poor instructions i was able to pull some very valuable information from it, but it has been an excruciating experience. Not a bad resource to have available, but be prepared to take some Advil. It will rack your brain trying to follow along!

-Shae

I would have to agree with the review from Shae Waters. While this book contains some very good and useful information it is definitely NOT for beginners. If you do not have a very strong understanding of XML and ActionScript you will be completely lost. I am not an "expert" in either, but I do have a pretty strong foundation in both and this book is still very difficult to work through. Many, many things are not explained adequately and the lessons are not anywhere detailed enough. It's very frustrating. A top notch editor should have been able to help shape this book into a resource that more people would be able to take advantage of. I fear most will abandon it before they get very far. I'm determined to make my way through it, but it is a struggle, not due to the material that is being covered, but how it is being presented.

This book is well written and offers easy to follow steps that clearly explain how to create interactive xml based applications.

It covers actionscript 2 & 3 as well as some related Flash components. The accompanying CD offers well constructed lessons that are easy to understand and work through.

Thanks for a fantastic flash resource!

Pierre