Foundation ActionScript for Macromedia Flash MX 2004 [Paperback]

Sham Bhangal (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1590593057 | ISBN-13: 978-1590593059 | Publication Date: April 26, 2004

Flash guru Sham Bhangal brings us the third edition of everybody’s favorite beginner level Flash scripting book: Foundation ActionScript. With the release of Flash MX 2004, scripting in Flash has moved from being a desirable asset to an essential skill in the world of web design and development. ActionScript is, quite simply, the key to real power in Flash. Flash is now both a design tool and a development tool, and ActionScript can easily scare designers. This book is for anyone who has ever looked in awe at a cutting-edge Flash site, then taken a look at some code, and run in the other direction. Learning ActionScript with friends of ED will not turn you into a boring programmer, it will turn you into someone who finally has the power to achieve what they want with their web design, and can liberate their creative urges.

This book will take you from knowing nothing about ActionScript to a firm knowledge that will allow you to exercise a previously unimaginable amount of power over your Flash movies. It does this with fully worked examples throughout, and a case study that will leave you with a cutting-edge Flash site by the end of the book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"By the end of the book, you should be comfortable with programming in ActionScript, even if you’ve never touched a line of code in your life, such is the eloquent way this tome is presented." - Practical Web Projects

"Aimed specifically at designers who may not be programming-minded but wish to create powerful online content. … the guide eases you into the language gently … . presented in an easy-to-follow manner and take you effortlessly through a range of techniques that are ideal for programming games … . By the end of the book, you should be comfortable with programming in ActionScript, even if you’ve never touched a line of code in your life, such is the eloquent way this tome is presented." (Practical Web Projects, May, 2005)

 

About the Author

Sham Bhangal has worked on books in new media for 3 years, in which time he has authored and co-authored numerous friends of ED books, including critically acclaimed, award winning, and best-selling titles like Foundation Flash, New Masters of Flash, Flash MX Upgrade Essentials, Flash MX Most Wanted, and the Flash MX Designer’s ActionScript Reference. He has considerable working experience with Macromedia and Adobe products, as well as other general web design technologies (such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc). In addition to speaking appearances at FlashForward, the biggest Macromedia Flash developer conference, Sham has also been a Beta tester for Macromedia and Discreet products for a number of years.

Achievements and appearances:

Author of best selling book friends of ED books Foundation Flash and Foundation ActionScript (‘Foundation ActionScript is perhaps one of the finest introductory programming books ever written’ industry insider review); speaking appearances at Flash Forward, the biggest Macromedia Flash developer conference; beta tester for Macromedia and Discreet product; principal author in the initial friends of ED brand release, instrumental in bringing their first three, hugely successful Flash 5 titles to market before competitors: Foundation Flash, Foundation Flash ActionScript, New Masters OF Flash (Amazon Computer Book of the Year, 2000), thus giving the publisher a quick early lead as soon as they entered the market. Repeated the first-to-market race for Flash MX with Flash MX Upgrade Essentials, which was well received by the professional Flash design community as the first advanced Flash MX book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 500 pages
• Publisher: Apress (April 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590593057
• ISBN-13: 978-1590593059
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,916,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for a start with ActionScript 2.0, May 18, 2004

By 

Cuneyt Terzi (chesapeake, va United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foundation ActionScript for Macromedia Flash MX 2004 (Paperback)

In my opinion, this book rightfully deserves the top grade.
I need to make a statement here, that, this book does not cover the Rich Application Development part of Actionscript, which deals with embedded Data components like datagrid etc.
However, for the basic ActionScript, it explains everything that you will ever need for Flash interfaces.
A plus about the book, is that it is written by only one author and it makes the book very easy to follow. the author really knows what he mentions and he makes very good points about the subjects.

The topics are supported by short, but very nice examples which really makes a smart use of the subject mentioned. I found these short examples easier to follow and get a result.
The book has a website construction project that goes in sync with the book subjects, and a Space Invaders game deconstructed, too.

There is nothing i can criticise about the book, honestly. it is a foundation book, and i think it has everything you may want for a very good working knowledge of ActionScript and Flash in general.

As a summary, i believe this was another wonderful book from Friends of Ed Flash series. Highly recommended...

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Useful and Interesting!, June 2, 2004

By 

Kirupa Chinnathambi "Computer/Design Geek" (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foundation ActionScript for Macromedia Flash MX 2004 (Paperback)

The Foundation Actionscript series of books written by Sham Bhangal have been really good in teaching users the intricacies of ActionScript. The third iteration of this series, Foundation ActionScript for Flash MX 2004, is no different.

What makes this book great is Sham Bhangal's writing style. His ability to explain complicated ActionScript topics in a simple, sometimes humorous format is great for beginners to understand. He brings in interesting anecdotes and alternate explanations to help make it easy for readers to digest the information.
The book starts you off at the basics. You are introduced to basic interactivity, but you quickly progress through the various ActionScript techniques. The information is presented in a tutorial format that engages you in the learning process. You are given the opportunity to take a more hands-on approach to learning the material by writing code and testing your examples in Flash. Theorists need not worry though! There are adequate explanations as to why various ActionScript techniques work.

Besides working on the examples, you can apply what you learn by updating a site called Futuremedia as you progress through the book. As you learn more ActionScript, you are given directions to improve and update the Futuremedia site. Besides updating the Futuremedia site, Sham provides examples and directions to create a lot of cool special effects such as moving dots, a mouse trailer, a code-only clock, and more!

If you are trying to learn ActionScript for the first time, or if you are trying to brush up on your ActionScript with the new features introduced in Flash MX 2004, this book is a great choice. After going through the book and working on the examples, you will find yourself having a better understanding of the ActionScript language.

Regards,
Kirupa

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bhangal thinks beginners are what?, July 6, 2005

By 

Infographiste "RAD" (FR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foundation ActionScript for Macromedia Flash MX 2004 (Paperback)

I am sorry , reading the reviews I thought this would be great , so I bought it.I must say editing is horrible , no online help(wrote 5 mails not even 1 answer),lot of mistake in book.The code style changes often so the beginner is bit lost.Then Bhangal suddenly introduces heavy coding without explaining much often (Math.random()*5) +3 or Math.round()...he didn't explain the parameters of random no. selection in AS.
only thing I can say you need to do this book more than once to get hang of AS if u r really a total beginner like me.
If looking a fast way don't get into it if u r a total beginner