Object-Oriented Programming with ActionScript [Paperback]

Branden Hall (Author), Samuel Wan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735711836 | ISBN-13: 978-0735711839 | Publication Date: September 13, 2002 | Edition: 1

Object-Oriented Programming with ActionScript takes you beyond the level of "neat" code tricks and teaches you how to architect and implement true Macromedia Flash MX applications. You will also learn the programming theory needed to take full advantage of the object-oriented nature of ActionScript.

Nearly a third of the book is focused on teaching you everything there is to know about one of the most powerful new features of Flash MX:components. The topics range from understanding and using components, to constructing custom components. This book also recognizes the uniqueness of ActionScript and clarifies because the best practices when it comes to developing with it. The final third of this book teaches you the best methods for working with advanced-level ActionScript-from debugging data structures to server-side interaction.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Two of the smarter young guns you'll meet in the Flash development world, Branden Hall and Samuel Wan, go back a way with New Riders, having contributed to *Flash 4 Magic* under the mentorship of J. Scott Hamlin. Sam and Branden didn't know each other at the time and followed their unique trajectories until they met at Flash Forward 2001 SF and clicked. Marathon coding sessions, creative problem-solving chains, and other such intellectual pursuits followed, culminating in a con call between Branden, Sam, and two New Riders editors.

Amazing to listen as Wan and Hall kept finishing each other's sentences, waxing poetic about this new *thing* they were doing with ActionScript, creating objects, yeah doing OOP with ActionScript they're widgets we call them widgets, components, and it's quite remarkable once you understand the principles involved what can be done here you're actually building entire applications yes it might make a pretty interesting book I think....

That was during the Flash 5 revision cycle, and these guys were ahead of their time. As Branden and Sam continued their careers, rumors began circulating about Branden and Samuel's book; frankly, it's become pretty highly anticipated among many in the Flash development community, due to two things: 1.) Applying OOP to ActionScripting is an exciting challenge to those who realize the powerful results that can come of it, and 2.) Most of these people realize no one is better qualified to write such book than Mr. Hall and Mr. Wan, who have been doing some extremely thought-provoking demonstrations of OOP ActionScripting over the last year or so.

So here we are: *Object-Oriented Programming with ActionScript* started out as a brain-dump of Branden and Samuel's presentations given at myriad conferences and seminars over 18 months, then took shape and found structure, covering the following topics:

--Applying OOP principles and design patterns to ActionScript

--Creating well-designed custom objects

--Leveraging both OOP and design patterns in architecting Flash MX applications

--Creating and OOP and design pattern-based application from scratch

--Mastering the new Flash MX components and learning to build your own

--Combining components via their events and APIs

--Customizing components' look and feel with and without code

--Adding custom UIs and live previews to your components

--Connecting Flash MX to servers in a number of ways, including Flash Remoting

To all those who have waited patiently for this book... thanks for your patience and we hope you get as much out of it as the authors put into it. Let us know how it works for you and what you want to see in the next edition. Steve Weiss, executive editor, New Riders. [e-mail].

From the Author

Sam and I worked for a very long time on this book and we honestly hope that everyone who buys it both thoroughly enjoys and learns a lot from it.

This book is the one that he and I have wanted to write for quite some time now. A book that both explains the theory behind OOP *and* teaches how to apply that theory to actually getting things done in Flash. We've both found that this kind of knowledge really empowers people since it both provides them with the knowledge they need now and shows them where to go to further their learning.

- Branden Hall

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Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press; 1 edition (September 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735711836
• ISBN-13: 978-0735711839
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,058,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Other" Must-Have Actionscript book, October 17, 2002

By 

Tony C. Hsieh (San Ramon, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Object-Oriented Programming with ActionScript (Paperback)

The best part of Flash MX is the almost absolute control you have over Flash via ActionScript. People can get by without tapping into this rich functionality and still do well with the new non-ActionScript features but most Flash developers want more.

Though I'm not a Flash historian, I believe Branden and Sam were critical in the strong hack-together OOP movement at the end of Flash 5's life and genesis of Flash MX's birth. This is the kind of insider perspective that, if you are interested in taking advantage of ActionScript MX-style, will prove very handy in your development.

Branden and Sam have written this book with a kind of geek wonder and gee-whiz discovery that speaks to my programmer heart. They do a great job so describing hard-won ActionScript-specific coding practices and techniques along side actual code samples.

I have been programming professionally for a while but the looseness of Actionscript is enough to drive me insane (i.e. AS's unwillingness to throw errors on undefined functions or variables combined with my horrible spelling skills). The author's tricks like the _resolve function on page 68 which can catch undefined function calls, as they as called, are a GODSEND!

The book covers setting up a good Flash MX development layout, having data-aware components, XML, creating Heap structures, debugging techniques and building components from scratch with an Actionscript bent. It also has two great guest chapter writers: Andreas Hiem (Server Integration) and Nigel Pegg (Components).

I'm definitely gushing here but there is no fluff or wasted space here. I think they did a great job of sharing their knowledge and I hope, when they collect enough new material, they will write another book....

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellence All Around!, September 26, 2002

By 

Eric E. Dolecki "interactive technology devel... (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Object-Oriented Programming with ActionScript (Paperback)

When I got this book delivered to me, I had already seen a few chapters previous to the book going to print. I already knew how important and how well-written this book was going to be. Being able to read through the whole thing, all I can say is this book is a MUST HAVE. This book is on par with Collin Moock's now famous book. In fact in some ways, this book is actually better!

Flash MX has brought a lot more capabilities to the table - but implementing them isn't always very easy. This book explains OOP in a way everyone can understand, then presents real-world situations where you'd benefit from this development approach.

Components are covered in depth, and even Nigel Pegg from Macromedia chimes in with some of his own chapters. The book covers OOP principles, how to conduct OOP in Flash, covers component creation, working with components that already exist, implementing live previews with components, debugging guidance, using ASFunction with text fields, passing variables to from, data structures, and they even close the book out with some useful bits of AS code you might be able to reference for your own projects.

This is an amazing resource, artfully and precisely written, by some of the most talented coders on the planet. I highly reccommend this title.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable toolbox for advanced ActionScripters, November 20, 2002

By 

Robert L. Dixon (Marin County, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Object-Oriented Programming with ActionScript (Paperback)

I've been coding hardcore ActionScript for a couple years now, and doing OOP in Java and other languages for much longer than that. I still learned a LOT from this book.

The authors spell out many things that you otherwise have to learn on your own, through exhaustive trial and error.

This book, along with Colin Moock's, is among the few that truly delve into Advanced Topics. (Some other books call themselves Advanced but often just briefly describe the Advanced features without giving real-life examples).

The authors do a great job explaining the application of OOP techniqes in ActionScript. A warning to novices though: you'll get a lot more out of this book if you already have some knowledge of OOP!

They cover many other topics in depth, with actual code samples, including:

* Design Patterns for Flash, including a Model-View-Presenter sample
* Events, Callbacks and Listeners, and how to define your own Custom Events
* Data-Aware Components using the DataProviderClass
* Anti-Distortion in FUI-style Components
* Building your own Components, including Live Preview
* "Textfield Mangling" and HTML text fields
* Remote Debugging
* Flash Remoting

There's a lot more too. It's hard to get accurate information about any of these topics anywhere else--even on the Macromedia website--so a book that collects them all in one place is a godsend.

The writing style is lively and to-the-point, and the book design is clean, readable, and attractive. I highly recommend this book for all advanced ActionScript programmers who want to refine their craft.