Macromedia Flash MX: Creating Dynamic Applications [Paperback]

Michael Grundvig (Author), Max Oshman (Author), Eric Dolecki (Author), Jobe Makar (Author), Scott Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 2002

If you're in the business of programming or developing online applications with Macromedia Flash, you've probably had moments when you wished you could turn to the real experts for advice on integrating server-side technologies. Now you can. Macromedia Flash MX: Creating Dynamic Applications shows you how both state-of-the-art and well-established server-side technologies coupled with Macromedia Flash MX can deliver powerful dynamic applications. More than just a step-by-step tutorial, this book provides the theory behind the powerhouse code used to process, integrate, and display dynamic data, focusing on tried-and-true middleware languages such as Java and ColdFusion, as well as newcomer ASP.NET, for integrating server-side data with Macromedia Flash MX. You'll get an "under the hood" look at the full source code used to develop a number of inspirational and practical online applications, including an entire Hotmail-style email system using Macromedia Flash MX as a front-end, an online poll, a message board, a multi-user avatar chat, a multiplayer game, and an instant messenger. You get all of the source code for the applications in Java, ColdFusion, and ASP.NET, making Macromedia Flash MX: Creating Dynamic Applications the perfect resource no matter what project you're working on.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Erik Dolecki, Micheal Grundvig, and Max Oshman. are leading members of the Flash programming community

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Macromedia Press (October 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321115481
• ISBN-13: 978-0321115485
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,335,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars useless, useless, useless, February 22, 2004

By 

Nick Coyne (Cape Town, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX: Creating Dynamic Applications (Paperback)

Pity I didn't read the reviews here before buying this book. You will not learn anything from this book unless you are already at the level where you can "create dynamic applications" with flash mx. So what's the point of the book?!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice code, but you'll never see it run, September 21, 2003

By 

alex (seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX: Creating Dynamic Applications (Paperback)

Very nice actionscript coding techniques, BUT
Missing files, files named differently than the code that references them, installation files that don't work, scant information on how to setup the server-side stuff, and Actionscript that references labels that don't exist, etc...

The authors show great actionscripting techniques, but somebody in QA fell asleep on the job. If you buy this book, you might also consider buying a styrofoam brick.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars complete waste of money, February 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX: Creating Dynamic Applications (Paperback)

I couldn't agree more with the reviews that have already been posted. This book assumes WAY too much knowledge and leaves large chunks unexplained (like the #include .as files that don't even get a mention...)

The layout is sloppy and poorly thought out - eg they have 2 pages of code and THEN they describe what is happening in the previous 2 pages, requiring you to be costantly flicking back and forth. Simply repeating each line of code with its explanation would have made it so much easier to read (authors should check out "OOP with Actionscript" to see how it SHOULD be done).

The code that is included is full of stuff like

gotoAndPlay("whatever");//used to be gotoAndStop

making it obvious that the author hasn't even bothered to clean up their code before slapping it in the book. When covering a complicated topic like this, having comments that reveal the "mistakes" that the author made along the way is confusing, annoying and inexcusable (not to mention very revealing about the amount of effort [or lack thereof] that went into this book).

Save your money

cheers