Flash XML StudioLab - Softcover

Tindale, Ian; Rowley, James; McDonald, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 190345039X ISBN 13: 9781903450390

Publisher: Friends of Ed, 2001

Synopsis

XML is everywhere at the moment. It provides a versatile, cross-platform way of describing data. It is the way in which the information of the future will be stored. However, by itself, XML looks dull. It needs dressing up in diamonds and pearls to bring it to life. And how?

Flash is a visual feast, providing a fantastic way of interacting with web sites. It's the optimum format for presentation over the web. XML is the best way of storing the data that drives the Internet, for delivering a main feature and not just a sideshow. Mix them together and they create dynamite results.

About this title

Review

An intriguing part of the Flash scripting language is the XML object, and Flash XML StudioLab shows how to use it to build powerful dynamic Web applications. To enjoy this book you need to know Flash, but the XML aspect is explained from scratch. In fact, the first four chapters offer a general introduction to XML, which is useful or irritating depending on how well you know the subject already. Chapter 5 gets into the real story, introducing ActionScript's XML object. The following chapter gives an example, using XML to manage a set of tarot cards. The same example is continued in the subsequent chapters, showing how to search and examine the XML data, and how to upload and download XML content. Next comes an event-handling example. The scene changes for a look at a Flash chat client using XML along with Perl on the server, and then comes a chapter on integrating an online database using PHP, MySQL, Flash, and XML. The final chapter shows how to draw on XML news feeds in Flash. Two appendices offer a general look at advanced XML, including DTDs, Schemas, and XSL, and a short Perl primer to help with Web server programming.

A book on Flash and XML is a great idea, and this title will undoubtedly get you started and inspire some creative thinking. It is spoiled by an uneven style and the space given to general XML background that can easily be found elsewhere. Even so, it's a good read for Flash developers who want to use dynamic XML content in their Web designs. --Tim Anderson, Amazon.co.uk

From the Publisher

This book assumes no prior knowledge of XML, though it is aimed at someone who is familiar with Flash and ActionScript, and covers all the information you'll need to perform the marriage of XML with Flash, such as:
XML from scratch - the info you need
How to incorporate XML content into your Flash applications
Taking it further - XML as a living, breathing data source

Build up your knowledge via the comprehensive case study that runs through the book as it gains complexity and power.

Edition details

• Publisher: Friends of Ed
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 190345039X
• ISBN 13: 9781903450390
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 500