Foundation Actionscript 3

This is the first definitive and authoritative book available on ActionScript 3 animation techniques. ActionScript animation is a very popular discipline for Flash developers to learn. The essential skill set has been learned by many Flash developers through the first edition of this book. This has now been updated to ActionScript 3, Adobe's new and improved scripting language. All of the code has been updated, and some new techniques have been added to take advantage of ActionScript 3's new features, including the display list and new event architecture. The code can be used with the Flash 9 IDE, Flex Builder 2, or the free Flex 2 SDK.

ActionScript 3 is a full-fledged programming language, with complete object-oriented capabilities, event handling, sound and video support, drawing capabilities, support for regular expressions, and much more. Whether you are just starting out on the road to computer programming and animation or an experienced developer who wants to learn a new language, you’ll find all you need to know in Foundation ActionScript 3. Starting with the fundamentals, you’ll learn how to add interactivity to your Flash movies by using ActionScript objects, manipulating sound and video, and harnessing the power of regular expressions and XML. The book concludes with two case studies to consolidate what you’ve learned and introduce some additional advanced techniques. You’ll gain a solid understanding of the exciting world of ActionScript 3 and see how everything fits together, so you’ll be able to build your own professional applications. The sensible layout of the book makes it easy to find information about specific techniques. It focuses on the essential skills that will enable you to get up and running quickly. With this book as your guide, you’ll be creating killer Flash applications before you know it.

In response to the success of the first edition of Foundation Game Design with Flash, Rex van der Spuy has revised and updated all the code to meet current programming best practices, and the focus is now on accurate ActionScript 3.0, regardless of the IDE that you use. We’ve all sneaked the odd five minutes here or there playing the latest Flash game that someone sent around the office, but creating those games is trickier than it looks. The aim of Foundation Game Design with ActionScript 3.0 is to take you, even if you’ve minimal multimedia or programming experience, through a series of step-by-step examples and detailed case studies—to the point where you'll have the skills to independently design any conceivable 2D game using Flash and ActionScript. Foundation Game Design with ActionScript 3.0 is a non-technical one-stop shop for all the most important skills and techniques a beginning game designer needs to build games with Flash from scratch. Whether you're creating quick blasts of viral amusement, or more in-depth action or adventure titles, this is the book for you. Focused and friendly introduction to designing games with Flash and ActionScript Detailed case studies of Flash games Essential techniques for building games, with each chapter gently building on the skills of preceding chapters Modern best practices and new content on ActionScript 3.0 Also covers asset creation in Photoshop and Illustrator

This book teaches ActionScript to both aspiring ActionScript developers and experienced ones who want to upgrade their knowledge to the new version. It details how to use ActionScript through both Flash CS2 and Flex 2 (open source ActionScript developers should also be able to make use of the book). Coverage focuses on essential real world techniques and assumes no previous ActionScript knowledge. In addition, the book features a host of practical examples; reference sections are also included at the back of the book allowing the reader to easily look up syntax.

This book is a compilation of advanced ActionScript 3.0 animation techniques for any user creating games, user interaction, or motion control with ActionScript. It's an anthology of topics that follow from the author's earlier book, Foundation ActionScript 3.0 Animation: Making Things Move, and things that became possible in version 10 of Flash Player. This book covers a diverse selection of topics that don't necessarily lead one into the other. You don't need to start with Chapter 1 and read it cover to cover. Just start with any chapter that looks interesting and jump around as you see fit. In this book, you'll find chapters on advanced collision detection, artificial intelligence and steering behaviors, isometric projection, using the camera and microphone for input, 3D, and much, much more. AdvancED ActionScript 3.0 Animation is also more experimental in nature. The techniques shown here might not be the best way to do things, but they should work well and get you started in your own efforts to achieve a perfect implementation. In fact, many of the chapters can be seen as introductions to very complex topics that could fill a whole book by themselves. Many of these subjects have been extensively covered elsewhere, but not necessarily targeted for Flash or ActionScript 3.0. So it took a fair amount of work to pull the data together and get it all working and explain it all clearly in ActionScript. This book will inspire you to find out about subjects that you might not have considered before, acting as a springboard into your own research into the possibilities of ActionScript 3.0.

If you're new to ActionScript 3.0, or want to enhance your skill set, this bestselling book is the ideal guide. Designers, developers, and programmers alike will find Learning ActionScript 3.0 invaluable for navigating ActionScript 3.0's learning curve. You'll learn the language by getting a clear look at essential topics such as logic, event handling, displaying content, classes, and much more. Updated for Flash Professional CS5, this revised and expanded edition delivers hands-on exercises and full-color code samples to help you increase your abilities as you progress through the book. Topics are introduced with basic syntax and class-based examples, so you can set your own pace for learning object-oriented programming. Harness the power and performance of ActionScript 3.0 Control sound and video, including new access to microphone data Create art with code by drawing vectors and pixels at runtime Manipulate text with unprecedented typographic control Animate graphics, create particle systems, and apply simple physics Avoid common coding mistakes and reuse code for improved productivity Load SWF, image, text, HTML, CSS, and XML file formats, and more Authors Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser draw on their experience as Flash developers and instructors to give you a solid ActionScript foundation, revealing ways you can use code for practical, everyday projects.

Experienced Flash developers and programmers coming from other languages will enjoy the sheer depth of Moocks's coverage. Novice programmers will appreciate the frequent, low-jargon explanations that are often glossed over by advanced programming books.

Supports Flash 8, due later this year; will be a huge market Provides professional best practices—strong emphasis on planning, documentation, and adhering to strict and clean coding from the outset Teaches you to create dynamic, reusable rich-client web applications and services