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Lingo in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))
 
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Lingo in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) [Paperback]

Bruce A. Epstein (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Book Description

In a Nutshell (O'Reilly) November 10, 1998

Macromedia Director 6 is the premiere authoring tool for delivering interactive content on both the Internet and the desktop. It is the dominant multimedia package for Windows 95/NT, Windows 3.1, and the Macintosh. A quarter million developers use Director® to incorporate animation and audio into dynamic Web pages, and to create engaging interactive corporate presentations, multimedia advertising, entertainment CD-ROMs, Enhanced music CDs, and even DVDs.

Lingo is Director's powerful scripting language. This companion book to Director in a Nutshell is an essential tool for both new and experienced Lingo programmers seeking a deeper knowledge of the language. Bruce Epstein is the author of both these books and brings years of hands-on experience with Director and Lingo. The book includes numerous useful Lingo examples. Exhaustively tested, this book corrects many errors found in Macromedia's Lingo documentation and repeated verbatim in most third-party books. Extremely comprehensive, this book details dozens of misdocumented and undocumented Lingo keywords that are omitted from Macromedia's manuals and third-party books.

Lingo in a Nutshell caters to the huge pool of Director users attempting to bridge the Lingo gap, yet provides the details for the experienced Linguist that are lacking in other Lingo books. In typical nutshell style (clear, concise, deep and narrow) this book explores the syntax, structure and commands of the Lingo language. The detailed chapters describe messages, events, scripts, handlers, variables, lists, file I/O, Behaviors, child objects, Xtras, and more. This book teaches you to troubleshoot and debug common Lingo errors. Lingo in a Nutshell is the book for which both Director users and power Lingo programmers have been yearning.

The book extensively covers topics not found in other Lingo books:

  • Cross-platform Lingo differences
  • Lingo internals for experienced programmers
  • Events, messages, and scripts
  • Timers, tempos, cue points, and synchronization
  • Data types and expressions
  • Math, numerical expressions, geometry, and trigonometry
  • Coordinates, alignment, and registration point

Lingo in a Nutshell is the most concise and compete guide available. It is a high-end handbook at a low-end price. An essential desktop reference for every Director user.


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Lingo in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) + Special Edition Using Macromedia Director MX + Director(R) 8.5 Shockwave(R) Studio: The Complete Reference
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Once again, O'Reilly scores big with a comprehensive treatment of a programming language that doesn't spend much time teaching the fundamentals. Lingo in a Nutshell sets a benchmark for Lingo documentation that no other book or online resource meets.

Lingo in a Nutshell has to do with behind-the-scenes aspects of Lingo, including file management, data structures, loops, conditionals, and event handlers. Simply put, this book treats Lingo as a programming language, rather than merely as a piece of Macromedia Director. The coverage you'll find in Lingo in a Nutshell backs up the more obviously practical material found in this book's companion volume, Director in a Nutshell. This book also features an excellent chapter called "How Lingo Thinks," which explains how the various pieces of a Lingo-controlled presentation fit together.

Like most Nutshell books, Lingo in a Nutshell includes a very good language reference in addition to its tutorial and explanatory materials. Listing Lingo's enumerated values, keywords, and commands in full--including some otherwise undocumented ones--this reference makes it easy to locate the information you need as you write programs. The only minor drawback of this book is that it doesn't cover the changes made to Lingo in the newly released Director 7. --David Wall

About the Author

Bruce Epstein first learned Director when it became apparent that no one would fund his desire to wander aimlessly unless he was doing so in front of a keyboard. Since that time, he has become a recognized Director and Lingo expert, spouting unsolicited advice in various books, magazines, and multimedia fora. Bruce has programmed and optimized dozens of cross-platform multimedia products, such as children's edutainment titles, enhanced audio CDs, and interactive advertisements, including the Chrysler/Plymouth Virtual Auto Plaza. He writes voraciously about multimedia development, software design, and project management, and refers to himself in the third person. In his copious spare time, Bruce runs Zeus Productions, which offers Lingo consulting and Xtras for Director.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 609 pages
  • Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (November 10, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1565924932
  • ISBN-13: 978-1565924932
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,890,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent insight on Object Orientated Lingo Programming, November 2, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Lingo in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)
I have tried all the other books on Director & Lingo and only this book dares and succeeds to actually cover real programming in Lingo.

For all the real programmers out there read this book and the secrets of Lingo will be opend up to you.

As for Macromedia I would pay Bruce Epstein as much money as he wants for the rights to these books and then you should ship them with Director as your manuals are a insult to the power of Director and especially Lingo. If Macromedia truly wants people to use Director to the full then only this book will show them how to do it !

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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great, but not up to date!, July 3, 2000
This review is from: Lingo in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)
This book is a valuable reference, but before you buy it, PLEASE take note of the fact that it was published two years ago and Director has undergone two upgrades since then. This book won't teach you about any of the new Lingo introduced in Director 7 and 8.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars the book of books, January 26, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Lingo in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)
As a C++ programmer, I thought "Director? Lingo? UUUHHHH! just another primitive script language." After working with Director for 2 years Bruce's book showed me that Lingo is not just another primitive dumb script language. This book ( i own about ten books about Director and Lingo + the oringinal documentation) showed me hidden features of the language, I never thought that they even existed.Full score, Bruce. By the way: this should not be the first book you ever read about director.
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