Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Demystified

By Craig Swann and Shawn Pucknell

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0735713979
• ISBN13: 9780735713970
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Macromedia Press
• Length: 864 Pages
• Weight: 2.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 7.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great shot from Macromedia Press!!!

[**this review was made by Roberto Cunha from AIR User Group**]It's not correct to say that it'is a book for beginners. There are, on the first pages, the traditionals lessons about the menus, the stage, how to work with panels. Basic concepts are boarded with the right details levels for the inexperienced. However, with more than eight hundred pages, this book reaches the most advanced levels, as manipulate applications with audio and video, 3D animation, object-oriented programming and communication with external sources. The promise of the heading is fulfilled, once that it is possible to find practically all the subjects into the flash MX 2004,since the small ball put into motion (the "hello world" of the flash), even applications for pocket-pcs and options of accessibility.We also find chapters entirely dedicated to the publication techniques (CDs, web sites, relation with search engines), debugging, best programming practices and characteristics of the flash player. Summarizing: almost nothing was forgotten. Therefore it is an appropriated book as source of information for novices and also for the experienced ones. Moreover, it is a book published in association with Macromedia Press, with the signature of a three authors first class group, five contributors and three technical reviewers.

Flash goodness is directly proportional to it's heaviness!

All readers will appreciate this clearly written, very detailed book on the latest version of flash. Great for those wanting to learn more about Flash's programming and backend capabilities. Especially handy were the sections on external data, skinning components and 3D. Definitely a resource worth having!

Well rounded guide to MX 2004

If you are new to Flash or you are an intermediate Flash user then this is a great book for you. Rarely do you see a book that manages to touch upon all the aspects of Flash MX 2004 as this book does. The chapters on using the authoring the environment are clear and concise. The chapters on Actionscript give you a good start with practical examples. The specialized chapters on Accessibility, 3D, Math, PocketPC development, etc. don't focus on squeezing in one sample app that may or may not be relevant to you but rather deal with the concepts involved around these topics. All that and the language is easy to read and concepts are quite made quite clear.This book is an excellent resource for anyone but an advanced Flash developer, giving the reader just enough breadth to see where a concept may be relevant to their needs. Don't expect this to be in depth in any particular topic but rather use this as a starting point to launch into other books with greater depth in the areas you are interested in. You may be surprised what new things you discover about Flash that you hadn't thought of doing before!

Demystified... What a great CONCEPT

Being a student in Spain, I found this book a great guide for anyone starting out with Flash. It was easy for me follow and understand (unlike some other flash books out there). Great tutorials, helpful tips and a quick point form reviews of each chapter. A book that answered all my question. Plus a web companion which was a big bonus!.... Over all, an awsome book written in an English lanuage that anyone can understand. Looking forward to a future second edition.

Will get you up to speed with MX 2004 quickly

I took a quick flip through and it looks good! Nice thick book, over 800 pages and it certainly covers a lot. I like the "Points to Remember" after each chapter. This is good for people like me who like to scan through information quickly. There's a whole chapter on video which is helpful. Part 4 - Extending Flash is of particular interest. It introduces Accessing External Data (XML, etc) and Advanced Communication (Flash Remoting, Flash Com Server). Part 5 gets into more advanced concepts like OOP, math, and manipulating 3D effects. This book even covers Developing for Pocket Devices. The writing style is clear and easy to understand. Included are icons along the side which point out tips, cautions, what's new in 2004, etc.The companion site ...contains source files.My first impression, this is a good book if you want to get up to speed with MX 2004 quickly. Congrats, nice job guys!