The ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide

For Developers and Designers Using Flash CS4 Professional

By David Stiller, Rich Shupe, Jen deHaan, Darren Richardson
October 2008
Pages: 491
Series: Adobe Developer Library
ISBN 10: 0-596-51735-1 | ISBN 13: 9780596517359
Press Release
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 Description

If you're ready to give your Flash projects a considerable performance boost, learning ActionScript 3.0 is a must. This Quick Answer Guide is designed specifically to help Flash designers and developers make the leap from ActionScript 2.0 to the new object-oriented ActionScript 3.0 quickly and painlessly. You'll learn key differences between the two language versions, allowing you to more easily leverage ActionScript 3.0 using Flash CS4 and other Adobe technologies like Flex and AIR.
Full Description

"No matter what your background, the pages that follow will provide you with some excellent knowledge, insight, and even a little bit of wisdom in the realm of Flash and ActionScript. Happy learning!" -- Branden Hall, from the Foreword

Written by Flash insiders with extensive knowledge of the technology, this guide is designed specifically to help Flash designers and developers make the leap from ActionScript 2.0 to the new object-oriented ActionScript 3.0 quickly and painlessly. Formatted so you can find any topic easily, ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide explains:
  • Object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts, such as packages and classes
  • ActionScript 3.0 features and player enhancements that improve performance
  • Workflow differences between ActionScript 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0 including tools, code editing, component sets, and image and font rendering
  • Where did it go? A guide to help you find familiar features in ActionScript 3.0, such as global functions, operators, properties, and statements
  • How do I? Step-by-step solutions for performing tasks with ActionScript 3.0, including input, sound, video, display, events, text, and more

Also included are overviews of Flash and ActionScript features and workflows. ActionScript 3.0 is a huge upgrade to Flash's programming language -- and this guide helps you upgrade your skills to match it.


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Some very good stuff here - but title is misleading,  February 19 2009
Submitted by FWIW   [Respond | View]

Before I bought this book I had read the AS3 Cookbook (nice, but very much geared towards Flex) and Moock's Essential AS3 (huge, and sometimes it's like a brick to read as well; I don't design such complex projects), and this book fits my needs as of now very nicely. I pull it up on the commute, and I have got the "finally I understand this!" (OOP, Classes...) several times while reading this book. Recommended!
Those migrating from AS2 should perhaps start near the end of the book, as it clarifies (did for me anyway) some very important things about framscripting do's and don'ts in AS3. Why near the end?
The real disappointment, and actually I feel cheated about this, is in the title "for developers using Flash CS4". The release of this book coincided with Adobe's launch of Flash CS4, but as far as I can see this book contains NOTHING about the new ActionScript features introduced in CS4, like simple 3D and audio handling. This book is for CS3, but everything applies here for CS4 as well (of course). I was looking for the freshest stuff on how to deal with the new features, but this manuscript is not new, and has not been updated to reflect new features in CS4. This is why I pull at least one star.
There are also annoying typos which makes some examples throw errors. I see none reported yet. I will get back with exact page numbers soon.


Friendly and Up-to-Date,  December 22 2008
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
Submitted by margotdarby   [Respond | View]

The first two things I looked up (unloading swfs and using HTML with XML-loaded text) were dealt with carefully and illustrated with examples, so I bought this right away.

Much of the book is in cookbook format, so one can compare this easily with the bigger, but more troublesome ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook. That book came out long before anyone was using AS3 in Flash, and seemed to have been rushed to market, with many typos still in the downloadable examples and printed code. This, conversely, was delayed in order to accommodate references to Flash CS4. Much more care and preparation is apparent. This does not replace the Cookbook, but it is a necessary companion volume.

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Media reviews
"No matter what your background, the pages that follow will provide you with some excellent knowledge, insight, and even a little bit of wisdom in the realm of Flash and ActionScript. Happy learning!"
-- Branden Hall, from the Foreword


"This fabulous account is the road to success no matter what your background is. ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide carries an invaluable content and provides with excellent knowledge on object-oriented programming concepts, ActionScript 3.0 features and player enhancements, workflow differences between ActionScript 2.0 and 3.0, and many more..."
-- Nadia Russ, Wonderpedia



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