Customer Reviews

Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been eagerly reading as much as I can to dive into AS 3.0. I know AS 2.0 sufficiently well, but never got into the OOP side of things. After reading some design patterns books, and Essential Actionscript 3.0 (must have) I definitely understood the concepts of OOP, which was great. But then I'd sit down and try to code some kind of small app, and I felt like I knew nothing.

I like this book because it has tons and tons of code samples that I can easily read through and understand as I go, plus case studies to work on. That helps me get over that conceptual hump and actually get things done.

I really like Friends of Ed books. Anytime I feel stuck with learning a topic, it seems like I can turn to one of their books and cruise through it. I read this on the train every day - for some reason, you can just read these as you would a novel (well, sort of).

If you want to get a good grasp on OOP (and you really should if you're looking to learn AS 3.0) I would definitely pick this up as well as Essential Actionscript 3.0. You'll be good to go.

Title: Object-Oriented Actionscript 3.0
Authors: Peter Elst, Sas Jacobs, and Todd Yard
Publisher: Friends of ED (July 23rd, 2007)
ISBN: 1590598458
[...]
I figured this book would be next logical step in learning actionscript. I will state this book is not for those who are just beginning actionscript as the depth will make your head spin. If you are just beginning AS I suggest you pick up the Foundation Actionscript for Flash 8 by Friend of Ed or head over LearnFlash to check out their Introduction to Actionscript 3.0 videos. The thing that I looked forward to most about this book is the OOP discussions. As a developer, I am always looking for a better explanation of a very important aspect of development.
The book is divided into five sections. The first section deals with OOP and Actionscript. It throws in a basic programming concepts and an introduction to Actionscript. Part two deals Flash OOP guidelines. It contains chapters dealing with best practices, planning, and project workflow. They decided to stick a Flex chapter in this section which seemed odd to me. Part three deals with the core OOP concepts such as encapsulation, classes, inheritance, Polymorphism, interfaces, and a section on design patterns. Part four deals with building and extending dynamic frameworks. They talk about manager classes, UI widgets, and OOP animation/effects. The final part deals with data integration. The authors provide details on exchanging data between components, communication with the browser, and various forms of server communication (XML and web Services. The book concludes with an example of a slideshow engine.
The layout is very reminiscent of other books in this series. I wish they would have found a better way to make the code examples stand out from the other text a little better. It would have broken up the monotony. I think the book could have used more color.
What I liked about the book
I thought the authors did a great job of covering OOP concepts. Part three really provides a terrific explanation of the foundation and core fundamentals. I recommend reading part three if you need a refresher on the topic. If you don't get lost in the rhetoric then the case studies are excellent. The Slideshow engine in the final part really brings together the concepts discussed throughout the whole book. I enjoyed the coverage of Flex 2 and its capabilities.
What I didn't like about the book
I did not care for the way the code examples were presented at all. In most cases, it made the book hard to follow and many times I would have to reread the paragraph before the code just to make sense of what they were trying to relay to the reader. I think some of the chapters were very confusing and fuzzy on the topic at hand. I am sure the manager classes discussed in part four are integral part of AS 3.0, but I felt like I was running up hill in quicksand. There are several topics in the book that would have been clearer if they had their own chapter. This being said it would have helped me master the codes examples a bit better if the explanation was a bit clearer. The examples would be easier to follow if they built upon each other as well. I enjoyed the Flex coverage, but it would have been great to have more material relating to Flash.
Conclusion
I don't think this is a horrible book by any means and if were organized clearly it would be a must read. I am hoping they come out with a foundation book on AS 3.0 which will benefit beginners and intermediates as well. If you are well schooled in AS than I imagine you will find this book helpful if you are not then you will be left scratching your head. Personally, I think it time back track and pick up on some things that I must have missed.

{[Jeff Smith]}

I had read the Object-Oriented ActionScript for Flash 8 which was the predecessor to Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0 and it was one of the best books I ever read. So, I cracked open this new book with high expectations and I am happy to report that I was not disappointed in the least. Both books are outstanding. If you're still working in ActionScript 2 get the first book. If you are ready to, or already have taken on ActionScript 3.0 this new book is a must have. Not that this will comes as a surprise, friendsofEd have always put out great teaching books.

The greatest values of Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0 are not only in how well explained the principles of OOP are, but also in learning some great code techniques as well. Take your time with this book and really come to understand each line of code. You will find that you will learn many different code tricks that will serve to make you a far more efficient and effective coder. One of the other great things about this book is that because it focuses on ActionScript 3.0 and not specifically Flash, it also covers developing in Flex and other IDEs making the book even more versatile.

Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0 also does a wonderful job of walking you through real world examples that will have actual use in future development. Many of the examples build on each other to give you a greater understanding of how each of the techniques and/or principles of OOP can work together to form a successful application.

It should be said that this is not a book for the faint of heart so if you are new to Flash, I would suggest you start with something geared toward beginners. However, at the same time, don't think you need to be an expert either. Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0 does a great job of explaining things from a pretty basic level and then working you up to some pretty advanced stuff. By the time you finish this book you just may find yourself amongst the ranks of expert ActionScript developers.

Review by Jeremy Heckathorn

As someone new to AS 3.0, coming from a designer background and previously using AS 2, I was looking for an explanation of ActionScript 3.0 and an introduction to OOP. I was hoping for simple to understand explanations using "big picture" generalities that then moved down into specifics and offered code to illustrate each point. This book is partially that, but unfortunately it is technically over my head at this point in my development. I will definitely revisit this book after I get more coding experience. That being said, it does an excellent job explaining differences between AS 1 through AS 3, as well as many other concepts. In general, the book's "readability" would be improved if some chapters were in a different order and short, simple projects were added along the way to better illustrate each new concept. I'm thinking specifically of the chapters on Planning, Patterns and Workflow. It isn't until the middle of the book that this begins to happen. I think the book bogs down in detail early on, for example, the chapter on Flex is written with the assumption readers are not only familiar with Flex, but prefer using it over coding directly in the Flash application. Simply stating Flex's advantages immediately and briefly would improve the rest of the chapter. Also, highlighting new blocks of code as they appear would make them stand out immediately. I found myself searching blocks of code to understand the point being made.

This book would be great except the sample programs in the book don't actully work in Flash CS4. I even went to their website and downloaded them and they still don't work.

As a beginner I was hoping this book would tell me how to program in AS3, instead I am spending all my time trying to figure out their errors.

I have been jumping around this book for the last month or so and have found this book extremely useful. It does an excellent job at breaking up the OOP pieces into chunks that as a semi experienced programmer are very beneficial. If you have little to know OOP experience the first few sections of the book do a good job at bringing you quickly up to speed on the basics of OOP such as Encapsulation, Classes, and Abstraction. From there the book moves onto the pieces that allow you to build an OOP project. These pieces look at how best to develop and design the most commons pieces used when creating and building applications with AS3, such as how best to handle animations and effects. This was extremely helpful for me. I mostly use Adobe Flex to develop and design my applications and I was looking for a book that would help me to get a better understanding of the work flow and design patterns required to start building solid OOP applications in Flex. The section on animation and effects was extremely useful as I find myself wanting to reuse these bits of code most often.

I would highly recommend this book for any programmer who wants to get into AS3 with Flex or for a Flash developer who is looking to take their skill set to the next level with OOP programmer.

good starter book for as3 projects, although a bit flex weighted for my taste. I just want to use flash authoring tool.

Found this book to be a great resource. Provides practical implementations not only for Actionscript but Object-Oriented concepts in general. Enjoyed the Case Studies where concepts are used to construct working examples.

I haven't made it all the way through it yet but it's good so far. Mainly shows the differences between AS 1.0 and 3.0 but does point out some changes to 2.0. Over all well written and thorough. Delivered in less than a week! Thanks!

Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0 takes readers through the best OOP practices and techniques. Next to great code tips an tricks it teaches you how to organize your planning and workflow. Covering the principles of OOP that you need to know, and then given a guide to designing and implementing applications in ActionScript 3.0. Next, we step up a gear, showing you the Flex builder development environment and teaching about creating reusable, extensible component frameworks--manager classes, animation and effects classes, UI widgets, and more. lastly, we look at some more advanced topics such as communication between Flash and the browser and Web services. case studies are included that apply the knowledge presented, giving you real-world projects to learn from and adapt for use in your own work. It is also a useful guide that helps you with the transition from AS 2.0 to AS 3.0
I recommend this book for any programmer who wants to get into AS3 with Flex or for a Flash developer who is looking to take their skill set to the next level