ActionScript 3.0 is a huge upgrade to Flash's programming language. The enhancements to ActionScript's performance, feature set, ease of use, cleanliness, and sophistication are considerable. Essential ActionScript 3.0 focuses on the core language and object-oriented programming, along with the Flash Player API. Essential ActionScript has become the #1 resource for the Flash and ActionScript development community, and the reason is the author, Colin Moock. Many people even refer to it simply as "The Colin Moock book." And for good reason: No one is better at turning ActionScript inside out, learning its nuances and capabilities, and then explaining everything in such an accessible way. Colin Moock is not just a talented programmer and technologist; he's also a gifted teacher. Essential ActionScript 3.0 is a radically overhauled update to Essential ActionScript 2.0. True to its roots, the book once again focuses on the core language and object-oriented programming, but also adds a deep look at the centerpiece of Flash Player's new API: display programming. Enjoy hundreds of brand new pages covering exciting new language features, such as the DOM-based event architecture, E4X, and namespaces--all brimming with real-world sample code. The ActionScript 3.0 revolution is here, and Essential ActionScript 3.0's steady hand is waiting to guide you through it.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Essential ActionScript 3.0 - Colin Moock:
This book is brilliant. It's encyclopedic. It is a must-have to better understand AS 3 and to hopefully lower your frustration when coding. I am a designer fairly new to AS 3 and found this book gave clear, detailed explanations on every aspect of AS 3. Like an encyclopedia, each chapter breaks down specific core concepts, from Arrays and XML, into their basics. Information is laid out well and can be found quickly simply by looking at the book's table of contents. As a reference book, it fills in the "why"... more info
Maybe Not for a Beginer:
I learned a good bit from this book; however I came into this with over 6 years for programming experience. Part 1: I found that this moved to slow for me. Much of it I already knew. So from an experienced perspective it was it was way to much info. From a "I never programmed" it could be a good reference, but ultimately it would leave such a person with a shallow understanding of what is going on. I think he should have broke this book down into pieces. A good beginner would have been the... more info
As good as a programming book can get:
As a web developer/programmer who actually loves what he does, I often try to pick up and learn new things. I already knew AS2 when I bought this book last year, and it made the transition to AS3 a breeze. As with all programming books, it is IMPOSSIBLE to be perfect, but this is about as quality as you can get, great examples, great explanations.
A very good starting point:
This book covers the most important aspects of the ActionScript 3 language, giving a step by step and detailed explanation of programming language and graphics API; easy and clear examples help to figure out how to apply what it explains in each chapter. Good choice if you are starting from zero with ActionScript 3, but also a nice reference for who comes from previous versions of the language.
