Sure, you can use Flash MX 2004 without being a master programmer, but as any Flash developer worth his or her salt will tell you, you're not tapping all of its power unless you're taking advantage of its scripting language "ActionScript 2.0" which offers a more robust programming model and better object-oriented programming support than ever before. Here to take the fear factor out of learning it are Flash veterans and best-selling authors Derek Franklin and Jobe Makar, who demonstrate that scripting is an instinctual process you already know by translating real-life activities into ActionScript scripts. In these pages, you'll find methodologies and techniques for building over 40 real-life Flash ActionScript projects, including sample games, --- applications, Web sites, and more. New in this edition are coverage of ActionScript 2.0, Web services, Components, Printing, Video, and more. On the companion CD, you'll find all the project files and images you need to complete each project.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 35 Ratings

A Great Way for Beginners to Learn - 2006-01-05
Reviewer Rating:
I've been working through the Franklin and Makar book for several weeks now. For someone like myself who has little programming experience and no previous knowledge of ActionScript, it is an excellent learning aid. The authors take the reader step-by-step, starting with simple projects and progressing to more advanced ones.

The authors say up front that this book assumes a basic knowledge of how Flash works. They focus on ActionScript, not how to set up objects on the stage, for example. So, if you're completely new to Flash, you might want to work through one of the excellent tutorials that are available for learning Flash MX 2004.

Having an English-instructor and professional-writer background, I'm sensitive to language usage. The authors' style is very conversational, a plus in this case. I did not notice the writing errors that one reviewer mentions. Nor did I detect the skipping around that another reviewer alluded to.

If you purchase a used copy, be sure that the CD is included. It contains two .fla versions of each Flash project: one without the ActionScripts, which you are asked to add the scripts to; and a completed version with all the ActionScripts intact.

I dropped one star from my rating for a few reasons. First, I wish they had included a .pdf version of the book, which would be much easier to read than the somewhat small print in the book. (I used the sample .pdf version of the first lesson, available online, to begin my studying and was sorry to have to switch over to the book when that lesson ended.)

Secondly, the authors fail to suggest that the reader first open the completed version of a Flash project to see what it does before analyzing the scripting.

Thirdly, the authors seem to think that typing in the ActionScript is a good learning exercise and make a point of directing the user to do that throughout the book. This approach may work for some learners, but for me it would just be a tedious exercise. Instead, I want to focus on the logic behind the scripting. So, instead of typing a script into its project, I copied and pasted each script from the completed Flash file into a Word file where I built my own set of notes.

My final reason for dropping one star is that in some cases I had to go to the internet to get further explanations on a topic the authors were discussing. This is a relatively minor issue because no book can cover everything, and the essense of learning is to seek out what you want to know.

Overall, this book has met my expectations and is doing exactly what I wanted it to do--taking me by baby steps through the mysteries of ActionScript 2.

hrmmmm - 2006-01-19
Reviewer Rating:
Iam taking a class right now thats using this book. Iam almost done with chapter 2 and i have to say that iam completely lost. This book is by no means good for a beginer. I will probably just finish the book for the class then have to find another book that breaks it down better. I find that it throws concepts at you way to fast and you get to the point that your just typing the code thats in the book. I took a couse in flash using the book Flash MX 2004 Hands on Training by Rosanna Yeung. That book was easy to follow and understand and provides a great foundation for learning the layout of flash and design. Touches just alittle on action script toward the end of the book, and now i got this book to help me learn action script but i don't think thats going to happen using this book.

Absolutely surperb! - 2005-12-13
Reviewer Rating:
I was initially put off buying this book after reading the negative comments below. But, after borrowing a library copy along with other books on AS2, I decided to buy this one. It is for beginners but it actually does a better job than more advanced books in explaining some of the intermediate level topics too. It delivers everything it promises in its blurb. The accompanying CD ROM has all the files and graphics needed to complete the tutorials whch cover the full scope of AS2. The scripts work which is great for debugging errors you might have made when completing the exercises. I don't understand why it has been given some negative reviews. As an absolute beginner, I'm delighted with this book and my progress because of it. Highly recommended!

Waste of time, effort and money - 2005-07-23
Reviewer Rating:
I bought the book thinking it would be a great resource for actionscript, but I can not even get through the first project. The exercise is not explained well, and it has some inherent internal problems.

I tried to contact the author via his online forum, but to my surprise the author had not personally answered one question, and he wrote the book; needless to say that was a bust.

All-in-all, I do not suggest buying this book as it is a waste of time, effort and money

Don't Waste Your Money - 2008-11-08
Reviewer Rating:
I develop in C, Assembler, PHP, javascript, HTML4/5, XML, C++, etc. Have been doing hardcore development for 30 years. I bought this Flash book to learn Actionscript to gain power from the language. Quite honestly, this book is incomplete at best. No function/method reference. No class/structure reference. Much of the code is incomplete or outright wrong (fails syntacticly). In may cases they don't even cover important arguments in calls made that tell you whether or not functions succeed or fail. Topics of importance and depth are covered with so little useful information as to make this book useful only as another log on the fire.

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