Foundation ActionScript for Flash MX 2004

By Sham Bhangal

Flash guru Sham Bhangal brings us the third edition of everybody’s favorite beginner level Flash scripting book: Foundation ActionScript. With the release of Flash MX 2004, scripting in Flash has moved from being a desirable asset to an essential skill in the world of web design and development. ActionScript is, quite simply, the key to real power in Flash. Flash is now both a design tool and a development tool, and ActionScript can easily scare designers.

This book is for anyone who has ever looked in awe at a cutting-edge Flash site, then taken a look at some code, and run in the other direction. Learning ActionScript with friends of ED will not turn you into a boring programmer, it will turn you into someone who finally has the power to achieve what they want with their web design, and can liberate their creative urges.

This book will take you from knowing nothing about ActionScript to a firm knowledge that will allow you to exercise a previously unimaginable amount of power over your Flash movies. It does this with fully worked examples throughout, and a case study that will leave you with a cutting-edge Flash site by the end of the book.

The book is practically orientated, and assumes no previous knowledge of coding, making sure that the you can actually use ActionScript to build a working website via real and detailed examples and case studies.

Summary of Contents:

Chapter 01: Interactive Flash
Chapter 02: Making plans
Chapter 03: Movies that remember
Chapter 04: Movies that decide for themselves
Chapter 05: More power, less script
Chapter 06: Movies that remember how to do things
Chapter 07: Objects and classes
Chapter 08: Objects on the stage
Chapter 09: Modular ActionScript
Chapter 10: Sprites
Chapter 11: Drawing API
Chapter 12: Sound
Chapter 13: Advanced ActionScript

This book is part of friends of ED's 'Foundation' series

The Foundation series is perfect for beginners to a technology, because it doesn't assume any previous knowledge. Each book in the series takes you step by step through your chosen technology, starting with the absolute fundamentals and working through all aspects of the technology, ultimately providing you with a firm grasp of the basics that will enable you to create your own applications or web sites. You will learn by following complete examples at every stage of your journey, often by extended case studies that you will build upon throughout the book. The Foundation series will give you the broad and solid base you need in order to progress to a higher level of expertise.