ActionScript Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for Flash MX Developers: Amazon.ca: Joey Lott: Books

Product Description

Book Description

When you need to get the job done fast, you'll reach for this practical, nuts-n-bolts toolkit. Rather than focusing on ActionScript in the abstract, this Cookbook puts theory into practice with ready-made answers to common ActionScript problems. Flash MX developers can solve issues quickly, while learning practical techniques for resolving similar dilemmas in the future.

ActionScript has blossomed into a large and important language whose sheer volume of capabilities can be daunting. The ActionScript Cookbook breaks it all down into tasks that are relevant, practical, and insightful. Appealing to the budding coder as well as the experienced ActionScript jockeys, this book offers new perspectives and approaches to ActionScript development that will empower all developers.

This O'Reilly Cookbook complements ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition by providing quick solutions to common ActionScript problems. This book trades on our respected "Cookbook" approach, which provides a worked-out script for every problem addressed. You can use these "recipes" to solve an immediate problem, and then explore the issue further in The Definitive Guide when time permits.

The ActionScript Cookbook contains over 300 recipes on a myriad of topics. Here's a sampling of what you'll find:

Drawing shapes at runtime
Controlling movie clips programmatically
Accepting user input and manipulating text strings
Accessing audio and video via Flash Communications Server
Working with Flash Remoting to connect to back end databases
Using record sets with data grids
And, much, much more in over 20 recipe-laden chapters...

This Cookbook's logical progression from short recipes for small problems to longer, more complex scripts for thornier riddles allows developers to link modular ActionScript pieces together to create rock-solid solutions for Flash applications. If you prefer to see larger applications instead of atomic recipes, this Cookbook has a kicker -- seven full chapters of sample applications including:

Building a Flash Paint Application
Creating a Video/Chat Message Server Application
Creating an MP3 Jukebox
Creating a personalizable MyPage Application

The ActionScript Cookbook is for people who say, "I understand everything in theory, but I don't know where to start in practice." This book is all about practice.

About the Author

Joey Lott is the author of Complete Flash Remoting MX as well as the co-author of the ActionScript Bible. Joey has been teaching Flash and ActionScript since 1999 when he first began training throughout Southern California. Joey has professional experience in the Internet industry beginning in 1996 including co-founding RightSpring, Inc. and consulting for YourMobile/Premium Wireless Services (J2EE B2C application) and Ads.com (leading the development of a J2EE B2B application).

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.8 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars excellent companion, Feb 11 2004

By

De Paoli Andrea (Rome Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: ActionScript Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for Flash MX Developers (Paperback)

I said "excellent companion" in the title since I think it goes hand in hand with Moock's excellent "definitive guide".

I am a C, Perl programmer, and have started developing programs in ActionScript and since it has its own peculiarities (and not all that well documented) it is useful to see them included in specific examples.

I found the parts on Flash Remoting quite helpful in giving me ideas and practical solutions. I could not in all honesty give it 5 stars since I was not as happy with his extensive reliance on components. I do not find them very convenient if I am developing with ActionScript (in fact even when using Flash I have sometimes found it easier to write a short script for movie clips rather than configuring and adapting ready made components).

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5.0 out of 5 stars GET IT!!!, April 8 2004

By

slim chrisp (mililani, hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ActionScript Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for Flash MX Developers (Paperback)

Get this book. That's really all that needs to be said. I'm a java guy learning flash, and what works best for me is a collection of practical (and useable in the real world) applications. That's exactly what this book is. And it's not the same thing you read in almost every programming book: 'this is a loop, this is a variable, this is a method...'. Useless stuff you have to wade thru to get to the meat. (...). I'm on MX 2004, and the book is for MX. (...) I can't wait for the next addition!!!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Receipies, Feb 18 2004

By

William Schlake - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: ActionScript Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for Flash MX Developers (Paperback)

This is how more how-to books should be written. Action Script is the real power behind putting zoom and power into Flash projects, but with its full feature set it can be intimidating to learn how to use properly and many books fail in really explaining the why and how or fail to give any practical real world examples and quickly go off the deep end on wordy explinations of the syntax leaving you hanging, wanting some practical how do I USE what I just read.

This book is different! Its loaded with PRACTICAL, useful well commented examples of USING the code explained with hundreds of code snipets that you can use immidiately as-is or with little modification.

Starts with simpler things like lucid explainations of common pitfalls of checking equality and comparing values to if else expressions, while loops, more complex conditional testing then moves into areas most newbies want to learn how to do, but don't really have any practical examples like how to change a movie's transparency, drawing tricks, masking, etc.. Then it moves into examples of arrays, targeting, making objects dragable, swapping levels, interaction with buttons, validating forms and so on.

The book is well written and while there is plenty of technical information it never gets bogged down under the weight of excessive theory, minutia on details you'll rarely use and quickly forget anyway. Its much more of a friendly 'how do I do this' kind of approach that probably will make you reach for it again and again as a quick reference to solve common problems.

The last 200 pages or so give details of several more meaty projects. Unlike several books that 'explain' Action Script but all too often leave you hanging on how to actual use it, here you see how to use it in real world conditions which will save you hours of frustrating trial and error.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This cookbook has sweet Action Script recipies
This is how more how-to books should be written. Action Script is the real power behind putting zoom and power into Flash projects, but with its full feature set it can be... Read more

Published on Feb 17 2004 by William Schlake

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect companion
This book travels almost everywhere with me, along with Colin Moock's ASDG2. Where ASDG2 stops Joey Lott picks up the pieces and assembles them into practical and useful examples... Read more

Published on Jan 26 2004 by Rick

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than OK
As the editor of the book, I have to take issue with the anonymous, 3-star review of December 23, 2003 entitled "An OK book for programmers"

A single book can't be... Read more

Published on Dec 26 2003 by Bruce A., Epstein

3.0 out of 5 stars An OK book for programmers
I have been a professional programmer for about ten years now, and recently started working on ActionScript-heavy Flash applications. Read more

Published on Dec 23 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Cured me of Flash5
This is from a designer-type.

Going from print to the web, Flash5 was easy for me to pick up. After a break of doing no Flash and coming back to it with Flash6 out for a few... Read more

Published on Nov 22 2003 by Jolayne Heinen

5.0 out of 5 stars clear concept, useful examples, right on the target
I've been playing around with actionscript for one and half year by now, read a lot of books, understood all the concept, but once I want to jump in and actually start write... Read more

Published on Oct 15 2003 by uncle_3than

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Companion for ASDG2
This book is clearly excellent, once you'll use the files from this book, you will never want to code a project in MX without them, so many usefull actionscript in one place, I... Read more

Published on Oct 3 2003 by J. KIEHL

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Flash book
I've bought a number of Flash books over the years, but this book is hands-down my favorite. It works beautifully as an Actionscript reference or a compendium of tutorials. Read more

Published on Sep 8 2003 by Justin C. Cone

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Joey Lott
I have the book and it fits a nice niche in my AS library. I also have MX books: ASDG2, the Friends of ED "ActionScript Reference", and Joey Lott's "Complete Flash... Read more

Published on Sep 8 2003 by James Preston

5.0 out of 5 stars The best!
For a technical cookbook, this book is a pleasure to read and easily qualifies as best in its genre. Read more

Published on Sep 2 2003