Advanced Macromedia Flash MX: ActionScript in Action (2nd Edition) - Softcover

Livingston, Dan; Justiniano, Carlos

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130384607 ISBN 13: 9780130384607

Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr, 2002

Synopsis

An updated manual offers complete instruction for using ActionScript to maximize the interactive elements of Flash MX, combining detailed instruction and real-world examples, along with video clips and source code on the accompanying CD-ROM and covering such topcs as anaimation, advanced movie manipulation, the enhanced features of Flash MX, and more. Original. (Advanced)

About this title

About the Author

DAN LIVINGSTON, founder of Wire Man Productions, has over six years' experience as a leading-edge Web developer, serving clients such as Apple, Charles Schwab, Pacific Bell, and Landor. His sites have garnered awards from Yahoo! and USA Today, been featured on CNN, and earned kudos from the Los Angeles Times and human interface guru Donald Norman. His many Prentice Hall PTR books include Advanced JavaScript: Insights and Innovative Techniques, Essential XML for Web Professionals, and Essential CSS & DHTML for Web Professionals, Second Edition.

CARLOS JUSTINIANO is the founder of the ChessBrain Network (chessbrain), the largest distributed computing chess project ever created. He has 20 years of professional software development experience working with companies such as Activision, IBM, Mattel, and Symantec. He is chief software architect for an industrial network controls company in southern California.

From the Back Cover

• Deliver robust, high-performance applications with Macromedia Flash MX and ActionScript!
• Build complete Web apps, e-commerce front-ends, and games-step by step
• Leverage Flash MX components, digital video, and other powerful new features
• Use XML structured data in your Flash applications
• Learn hands-on, through dozens of expert examples
• All of the book's Flash movies and ActionScript code available on companion Web site

Make the most of Flash MX and ActionScript, as you build advanced Web applications, e-commerce front ends, and games—hands-on, one step at a time! Through dozens of professional-quality examples, authors Dan Livingston and Carlos Justiniano illuminate the breakthrough features of Macromedia Flash MX, from components to digital video to XML, and beyond. Every ActionScript code example, every source file, and every movie is available on the book's companion Web site, www.phptr.com/advancedweb/flashmx/ . ActionScript has never been this easy—and Flash has never been this powerful!

Do more with Flash MX than ever before!

• Create effective user forms with Flash MX Components
• Embed MPG, AVI, and QuickTime directly in your Flash movies
• Make the most of ActionScript's latest enhancements
• Deliver a richer user experience with dynamically downloadable JPGs and sounds
• Integrate Flash with XML
• Build state-of-the-art Web and e-commerce applications
• Construct a complete Flash game, start to finish
• Learn about expanded object and event handler models

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Preface

We've written a few books on some pretty fun topics (Flash 5, JavaScript, DHTML and PhotoShop), but we had a great time writing this book—Macromedia Flash MX is a hoot. Flash MX can do some pretty amazing things, and it's great to see ActionScript filling out as a serious scripting language. We hope we've been able to show you some of these things well enough to get you excited, too. The Goal of This Book

When you're through with this book, you should have a thorough grasp of what Flash MX and ActionScript can do, and know how to create a wide diversity of really engaging, fun, and useful interactive Flash movies. We're talking fantastic navigation, awesome games, and industrial-strength, robust applications.

Hopefully, given the foundation you'll get in this book, you'll be able to create new kinds of Flash movies that no one else has thought of.

The focus of this book is more technical than artistic, but we believe it provides a good springboard for programmers, animators, and artists alike. Who This Book Is For

This book is for anyone who wants to include any level of complexity and interaction in their Flash movies. This can include navigation, games, and interaction with middleware and databases. You can be a right-brained Flash designer who's making the reluctant leap into ActionScript or a seasoned, left-brained programmer who wants to create a custom interface to a backend e-commerce or communications system.

To get the most out of this book, you should already know some Flash basics:

* drawing
* tweening
* creating symbols
* creating buttons

That's it. If you know how to do these things at all, then you're ready for this book.How This Book Teaches

Both of Dan's parents were teachers, and they shared the same philosophy. "There are three ways to teach," they said, "example, example, example." We think they're right on this one, and this book uses complete, fully functional examples for every aspect of interactivity and ActionScript in this book. All examples can be found on the accompanying Web sites at phptr/advancedweb/flashmx/ and wire-man/flashmx/

We've tried to avoid using overly simple squares and circles to explain concepts (we mostly succeeded). Instead, we'll ask you to load small movies and manipulate them. You will see a number of examples using Jake the Fish, and we hope you'll forgive our small indulgence-it's the only way Dan can put his marine zoology degree to use.

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0130384607
• ISBN 13: 9780130384607
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 450