Review of Macromedia Flash MX 2004 ActionScript Bible (Paperback)

Okay, I have to confess, when I see a member of Wiley's "Bible" series on the shelf, I cringe. These books seem to be about the ugliest ones in the store, and I'm fortunate to live near Powell's Technical Bookstore in Portland, Oregon... so I see a lot of them. They seem deliberately designed to be as huge as possible, almost wastefully so. I disapprove of the inclusion of a CD; this, too, seems wasteful. The whole design of these books is so hideous that one is bound to realize that it was produced by the same publisher as the "Idiots" books, the main distinction being that the Dummy books are designed to be small, and these are designed to be big.

However, this book is great. It tells you EVERYTHING about ActionScript 2.0 programming. The examples are excellent and work. They include lots of tiny but handy class libraries that you can start using right away. They cover everything, even components, with a breadth that astounds. This book has answered pretty much every question I've had about AS2 already!

Both of the authors are first-rate. I just don't have enough good things to say about this book! I was so surprised! Usually I go straight for the O'Reilly books, for a number of reasons, but since one of this book's authors is also the author of the ActionScript Cookbook (O'Reilly and Associates), which is fabulous also, I decided to give it a look.

I recommend this book for anyone and everyone learning ActionScript 2.0 at this time. Until O'Reilly updates its catalog, this book really is the Bible on the subject. Five stars!

Product Description
* Provides in-depth information to the more than one million Flash developers who want to take their animations to the next level using sophisticated interaction and data-driven content
* Flash ActionScript is an object-oriented scripting language used with Flash that allows the designer to control a movie in non-linear fashion, create sophisticated interactivity, control elements on the stage, collect and track input from the movie viewer, and exchange and manipulate data from external sources
* The most comprehensive Flash ActionScript guide available, cowritten by Robert Reinhardt, coauthor of Flash "X" Bible (0-7645-4303-2)
* Published to coincide with the release of Flash "X," the newest version of this widely used Web development tool

From the Back Cover
If Flash MX 2004 ActionScript can do it, you can do it too...

ActionScript gives you exacting control in Flash applications. This comprehensive volume gives you a complete education in ActionScript 2.0, a new feature of Flash MX 2004. You'll explore ActionScript syntax, best practices, and beginning, intermediate, and advanced topics. And since the best way to learn ActionScript is to practice writing it, you'll find dozens of exercises that let you apply the concepts. Whether you're a beginning programmer or a veteran of previous ActionScript incarnations, you'll find a new world of possibilities within these pages.

Inside, you'll find complete coverage of Flash MX 2004 ActionScript

• Understand basic ActionScript syntax and use the built-in commands, functions, and classes
• Explore how ActionScript works with related technologies, including Flash Remoting
• Gain more control over the print function
• Apply CSS formatting to HTML displays
• Discover how to create sophisticated interactivity in Flash applications, control elements on the Stage, and manipulate data from external sources
• Collect and track input from viewers of Flash movies
• Learn to use the MovieClip and Button classes and the Drawing API
• Make the most of user interface components included with Flash, and learn to create your own components
• Optimize and manage the download and presentation of content

Value-packed CD-ROM includes

• Trial versions of Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004, Flash Remoting MX, Flash Communication Server MX, and ColdFusion® MX Enterprise
• Complete ActionScripts and databases you can customize for your own use
• Completed files demonstrating the exercises found in the book

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