In this book, authors Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser share the knowledge they've gained from their years as multimedia developers/designers and teachers. Learning ActionScript 3.0 gives you a solid foundation in the language of Flash and demonstrates how you can use it for practical, everyday projects. The authors do more than just give you a collection of sample scripts. Written for those of you new to ActionScript 3.0, the book describes how ActionScript and Flash work, giving you a clear look into essential topics such as logic, event handling, displaying content, migrating legacy projects to ActionScript 3.0, classes, and much more. You will learn important techniques through hands-on exercises, and then build on those skills as chapters progress. ActionScript 3.0 represents a significant change for many Flash users, and a steeper learning curve for the uninitiated. This book will help guide you through a variety of scripting scenarios. Rather than relying heavily on prior knowledge of object-oriented programming (OOP), topics are explained in focused examples that originate in the timeline, with optional companion classes for those already comfortable with their use. As chapters progress, the book introduces more and more OOP techniques, allowing you to choose which scripting approach you prefer. Learning ActionScript 3.0 reveals:

• New ways to harness the power and performance of AS3

• Common mistakes that people make with the language

• Essential coverage of text, sound, video, XML, drawing with code, and more

• Migration issues from AS1 and AS2 to AS3

• Simultaneous development of procedural and object-oriented techniques

• Tips that go beyond simple script collections, including how to approach a project and which resources can help you along the way

The companion web site contains material for all the exercises in the book, as well as short quizzes to make sure you're up to speed with key concepts. ActionScript 3.0 is a different animal from previous versions, and Learning ActionScript 3.0 teaches everything that web designers, GUI-based Flash developers, and those new to ActionScript need to start using the language.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 64 Ratings

Not a beginner book, Geeky writing style - 2010-01-07
Reviewer Rating:
THIS BOOK IS BY NO MEANS AN INTRODUCTION TO ACTIONSCRIPT 3. The book is also outdated, as it is referring to actionscript 3 for Adobe CS3 products. This book is a great companion for the avid Javascript programmer trying to get their feet wet in AS3. It is not, however, very accomodating to anyone else. The writing style of the book is very stiff and sterile, and seems to have been written by a computer. I have actually used the book 1 or 2 times, but many of the exercises do not apply to the needs of an average web developer. The book talks about various topics regarding math based animation, but never actually goes in depth enough to be useful in this area... i had a friend of mine (a college physics major in calculus 2) look over these sections to try and make some sense out of them, and even he had a rather difficult time following the exercises.

Honestly, i hardly ever give poor reviews about products unless they REALLLLLY need them... i would not recommend this book to anyone. I'm hoping someone will write an AS3 book that is useful one of these days!!!

Extremely thorough book. Maybe not a "Beginner's Guide" - 2009-12-18
Reviewer Rating:
I had done some basic ActionScript 2.0 code, but never really understood the language. When ActionScript 3.0 came along, I decided that I should understand it from the ground-up and build my future projects with it. I AM a beginner at ActionScript 3.0 and bought this book to help climb the steep "learning curve."

Even with this book, however, the ActionScript 3.0 learning curve was still very steep. I think the book does a decent job explaining concepts when it introduces them.

If you have never worked in ActionScript 2.0 before, or don't understand 2.0, the first three chapters will be the most agonizing part to read. The first section gives a background and abstract on ActionScript and 3.0 concepts and I suggest new readers go over and over the first section until they understand it before moving on. The authors must teach classroom lectures on this subject, and the tangents of explanations and analogies in the book seem like they would work better in a classroom setting.

The book does pick up pace and gets easier to read after the first section. The descriptions can become lengthy, so the book is a little clumsy to navigate as a reference book. If you need a quick reference guide, I'd suggest getting a book that is written as a reference guide (like The ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide: For Developers and Designers Using Flash CS4 Professional (Adobe Developer Library)).

This is a difficult topic to write (and read) about. I can't imagine a better way to thoroughly cover this difficult topic than the way this book does.

Positive review from a beginner in AS3 - 2009-10-15
Reviewer Rating:
I'm about 1/4 through this book. It's my first exposure to ActionScript. The book seems well thought out and covers basics that I never knew.

Excellent book -- get it! - 2009-10-08
Reviewer Rating:
I've done tons of AS2, but I've been struggling with AS3 for a long time. This book is great and is helping me finally figure out how AS3 works. Highly recommended!

The best beginning/intermediate AS3 book out there, hands down! - 2010-01-07
Reviewer Rating:
I consider myself a designer and front end programmer, who wanted to get more into programming, with flash AS3 as the vehicle. This is the best resource I have found hands down for learning AS3! I would suggest this book for anyone who is finding it difficult to make the timeline work for more complex sites, and is interested in getting into code/xml driven sites.

I work with a top notch Flash developer, and the best Flash advice I have recieved is to completely abandon the timeline, and my build my sites purely with AS3. While very challenging in the beginning, doors will open with your site design. Not to mention that you will be 100% more marketable if you plan to do flash professionally.

I have read through this book numerous times and a year later its all starting to click. The final xml driven, dropdown navigation system project in the end of the book really puts it all together and is invaluable. **I highly recomend checking the companion site to the book, as there are several addition tutorials.

For anyone who finds this book too challenging, I would say get "Learning Flash CS4 Professional" by Rich Shupe. Once you get a handle on timeline based design, you will find limitations, and understand the need to learn AS3.

Next step after this book is "Essential ActionScript 3.0" by Colin Moock, which is considered the prime reference manual for AS3. I thank the authors for their work...

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