Learning Actinscript for kind of a newbie

Question

I've been using Flash for several years, but the only stuff
I've done with Actionscript was basic. I want to start doing some
more advanced things, so I'm wondering if anyone could recommend
some books or other resources.
Thanks

Answer 1

BruceCSI2,
> I've been using Flash for several years, but the only
stuff I've
> done with Actionscript was basic. I want to start doing
some
> more advanced things, so I'm wondering if anyone could
> recommend some books or other resources.
This is always a good question, because the answers change
over the
years. Now, in particular, we've got a situation where Flash
CS3 supports
the "old regime" (AS1/AS2) and also the "new kid on the
block" (AS3).
Granted, AS3 is already a year old, but it's new to Flash,
even if Flex
supported it much earlier.
There are plenty of good AS2-related books on the market
(lately, I've
been recommending Peter Elst's and Todd Yard's
"Object-Oriented ActionScript
for Flash 8," and I'm always happy to recommend Colin Moock's
"Essential
ActionScript 2.0"; if you're into programmatic animation, you
may want to
check out Keith Peters' "Foundation ActionScript Animation:
Making Things
Move!"). Flash CS3 lets you configure your publish settings
for
ActionScript 2.0, and you can code along happily using
"yesterday's latest."
I'm noticing that many people seem to be having a hard time
with AS3.
To be honest, that doesn't particularly come as a surprise to
me, but I
personally think the payoff (greater efficiency, if nothing
else) is worth
the higher learning curve. Partly, I suspect the learning
curve *seems*
higher than it actually is because so many developers
continued on with
AS1-style programming even during the AS2 heyday. Sure, the
leap from Flash
4- and Flash 5-era code to Flash CS3-era is staggering ...
but it's not
*so* outrageous from an AS2 standpoint, especially if a
person is already
versed in writing custom classes.
There are a handful of AS3 Flash books entering the market,
but they're
still very new. Again, AS3 itself is a year old, but
AS3-in-Flash is hot
off the press. Consider Joey Lott (I can think of two recent
books of his,
off the top of my head -- co-authorship, in this case) and
Colin Moock's
"Essential ActionScript 3.0," which should be rolling off the
shelves
shortly. Keith Peters also has an AS3 update to his
programmatic animation
book.
David Stiller
Adobe Community Expert
Dev blog,
http://www.quip.net/blog/
"Luck is the residue of good design."