Rating: 
Summary: Great book but not for the beginners
Review: Yes, it's a great book but not for the beginners, it's explain all the scripts in details,, excellent explanations for each actionscript individually, but the problem I faced it personally was how to use these actionscripts together and where to put them in the timeline... I suggest to get another book such as "Foundation Actionscript" from "Friendsofed" for the beginners and to buy this book for the advanced actionscript.. and the title is clear "ActionScript : The Definitive Guide" it will be your reference for the future...
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Summary: Its true, is the definitive guide!!!
Review: this book is great, i just can't believe that it toke so long to me to find it, but now i have it... its a true 100% guide to everything in actionscript in flash 5, this guy teachs sooooo well that im allways motivated to keep reading, everything is clear, and with no hard complicated writing, im undestanding all, even when i never liked to program and stuff like that...
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Summary: The BEST book! INCREDIBLY WELL WRITTEN! 6 stars!
Review: This has to be the absolute BEST book on programming ANYthing i have ever written- It is INCREDIBLY accessible, both to people with a standard programming background, and others, who have nary a clue what a variable is. Colin Moock's writing is incredible- Very fluid, and very engaging. He knows exactly how to present the wonderful world of ActionScript to those wanting to learn it- From real world examples, to hard core code, he explains and breaks down every line to show you how EVERYthing works- You're never left wondering 'how's that happen?' after a two page script. Also great about this book is it's intended audience- This book is geared for people with experience in the design/production end of Flash, desiring to better their knowledge (nay, learn EVERY aspect) of ActionScript. The book assumes you already know how to create layers, buttons, movie clip symbols, and the like- A great help considering that most people ready to jump into ActionScript already have a firm knowledge of that end of Flash. This book is also wonderful in the level at which Moock speaks to you. He is never condescending, and always complete in his explanations. By page 30, you've already developed a simple multiple choice test that scores the test taker. By page 323, you've evolved that test into a dynamically generated quiz that creates its questions from an external question array, and remains infinitely scalable and still scoreable. And that's only half way through the book. The book is truly a godsend- A have-all for those looking to learn any ActionScripting. It starts off assuming you pretty much don't know any code. However, it moves swiftly, quickly applying the methodologies of AS as you learn them... All in all, this book is absolutely terrific- Colin Moock is something of a tech book visionary, with a style of writing unseen in the tech world... I would buy any book he writes, simply based on his writing talent expressed in ASDG... Thanks, Colin, for teaching me the ropes to AS, and proving that great writers in this field do exist... Also, check this book's website ... You'll find it's about 90% applicable to the new Flash MX, although I'm having very little trouble using the examples in ASDG with MX... Enjoy this amazing book!
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Summary: The BEST companion to any Flash book you already have
Review: This is not the book to teach you Flash. There's a lot of other great books out there that can do that for you. But when you come to ANY term in ANY book that you don't quite grasp, you'll find yourself picking up this book. Definitive is the perfect word here. It's like having your dictionary by your side for any literature on Flash you'll read. My copy is lovingly worn through countless lookups for syntax, explanation or just plain curiosity about anything Flash can do. Buy this book before or along with any other you purchase on the subject, whether you're a beginner or expert. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Colin Moock expertly leads "pretty picture making" Flash non-programmers and programmers toward the magic symbiosis of Flash MX and Cold Fusion. Moock explains the fundamentals of programming along with detailed ActionScript syntax definition and simple examples. So what is the relevance of Flash MX and Cold Fusion in a review of a book on Flash 5 ActionScript? Currently few books are published on Flash MX ActionScript and/or reviewed. Macromedia's marketing strategy seems aimed at combining Flash MX, with Cold Fusion and "back end" database connectivity. Developer who masters ActionScript and Cold Fusion will have the edge. Don't bother waiting for an MX ActionScript book. MX ActionScript may deprecate some code (big deal) and only enhance what you will learn from this book. This book is THE book for ActionScript.
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Summary: Definitive Reference
Review: This is the definitive Action Script (AS) reference book. Whether you are new to ActionScripting or have been integrating Flash into html pages, database web interfaces, or using it for C++ integrated UIs. This book has what you will need. The opening chapters give you a guided tour of ActionScripting with increasing complexity. The final chapters are the reference, including some bits of information not included or clearly explained in the products documentation. O'Reilly has a reputation for publishing exceptional references for software products. Colin Moock meets the challenge and raises the bar. If you need a little more help wit the fundamentals of scripting, coding and objects - Phillip Kerman's ActionScripting in FLASH is the prefect companion for people who are intimidated by scripting but are ready to take the plunge. This pair of will comprise the kernel of your Flash AS library.
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Summary: typical o'reilly quality
Review: You won't find information on "how to use Flash" inside this one. But if you already know Flash and want to learn Actionscript, this book is probably the best of its kind. As other O'reilly books, it is especially good if you already are a programmer and want to learn a new platform in an efficient manner; however it is also targeted to beginners. Note that this book alone (or any Flash book that I know of) won't solve all of the Flash problems that you are going to encounter, since Flash has many little quirks, near-bugs, and strange undocumented behaviors. For these, trial and error and the occasional Usenet search are a necessity. But having this book will save you a lot of precious time nonetheless. Well worth the price (and the O'reilly brand).
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Summary: Great for beginners
Review: I am a complete beginner when it comes to actionscript. I have worked with the basics of actionscript and that has been my only experience. I found that this book gave me exactly what I needed to understand actionscript as well as general programming.
It is very precise in it`s explanations and very easy to understand. Chapters two and three had me dozing off a bit, but hey this is a technical guide....Need I say more?? But, after reading it a second time after waking up( ha ha) They were packed with tons of useful information. I just completed the book and I would recommend this book for beginners as well as advanced programmers. They teach everything that you would ever want to know
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Summary: Expert Mode
Review: I've been working and experimenting with Flash ActionScript for as far back as the early days of version 4. Although I am (and will forever remain) a Flash designer in essence, I've always been keen on developing my programming skills and pushing the envelope of what Flash can do as far as possible. Flash 5 ActionScript was a joy to behold, but with sub-standard documentation from Macromedia and a series of unsatisfactory and mostly egocentric books from many independent writers, I, like all ActionScripters, had to rely on scattered online resources, trial and error, and long hours of .FLA dissecting as the best available source of knowledge and training. I'm not saying that it was a waste of time, but certainly not a pretty situation at all. Enter Colin Moock's ASDG. Although I was already a long-time frequenter of Moock's site and held much respect for the man's knowledge and approach, I still had doubts about whether that would necessarily warrant a good book author. When ASDG came out, I read all the possible reviews I could find, reviewed my disappointing experience with ActionScript books I've already read, and kept wondering if anyone could attempt the seemingly impossible and succeed. ASDG arrived at my desk early in the morning four days ago. About 6 hours later, I was seriously wondering if it was worth kicking myself for waiting THIS long before getting it. For once, I'm gonna ask you to blindly believe the hype you see here and everywhere else -- Yes, if you want to save yourself the hassle and become an expert Flash Developer tomorrow instead of "in a year's time", then do honestly get this book now. Get it today - no, this minute. Not only is ASDG the most comprehensive, complete and unbelievably detailed ActionScript reference on the planet. Its style, tone, approach and structure is so wonderfully thought out, it could well be the first ever technical reference book that could be dubbed "a page turner". Moock attacks the material with huge aplomb and an unwavering sense of seriousness, yet still manages to keep a great sense of humor and throw in those one-liners at just the right time. Where he really triumphs is in his ability to mold a subject of such complicated nature into a clear and simple down-to-earth format, allowing both total beginners and veteran wizards to benefit from it completely and equally. This is truly no easy feat, and Moock pulls it off magnificently. The scope of this book honestly leaves no ActionScript stone unturned. However, it is not just a better version of Macromedia's ActionScript manuals. ASDG is, above all, a complete course in object oriented programming philosophy and technique. Before giving you a complete language reference in the third part of the book, Moock takes his time in the first two parts and offers readers invaluable advice and recommendations that simply do not exist anywhere else in ActionScript literature. His goal is not just to expose the language in its entirety, but to also help you develop a highly professional and truly effective programming style. His concepts about code centralization, modularity, optimization and function organization are priceless, and seldom does one come across such information, let alone the fact that it exists within the cover of a single book. All this is presented with a generous amount of example code, which itself is so extensively commented, you'd rarely (if ever) get stuck figuring out what is going on. In fact, the code comments are so clear, you get the feeling that Moock's goal was to make your mind process the code as fast as the ActionScript interpreter itself. All in all, this is a book that redefines perfection. Moock's passion for the subject is astronomical, yet equally astronomical is his modesty, and his will to hold nothing back and hand over the entirety of his ActionScript experience to the reader. The wealth of his knowledge is amazing, but that is beautifully complemented by his incredible skill as a teacher. This makes this book not just a successful technical reference, but also a role model for technical writers everywhere. The end result is that his passion traverses over to you with consummate ease, and no matter what your skill level in ActionScript is, you will find information in this book that will propel you forward faster than you ever thought possible. Get ASDG, fire up Flash, open up the Actions window, and prepare to bid a final farewell to Normal Mode.
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Summary: The Search is Over
Review: I have read 4 or 5 other books about Flash, in the search for knowledge of how to use Actionscript, the programming language that ships with Macromedia's Flash. Colin Moock is the first writer I have found to take Actionscripting seriously. And I mean SERIOUSLY; he doesn't treat it as some kind of mysterious and superfluous aspect of Flash that Web Designers will never have the wherewithall to cope with, as the other writers have done. He not only suggests good and well thought out general programming techniques, applicable to most programming languages, but he also picks apart every single aspect of Actionscripting. This is an awesome task; not even the documentation that ships WITH Flash is useful for a real Actionscript programmer. Indeed, it is as though Macromedia somehow didn't WANT us to use Actionscript effectively, or wanted to make money by selling some aftermarket handbook to Actionscript that they never ended up producing, their documentation is so bad. Anyone who has delved deeply enough in any other Actionscript book has almost certainly lost hope for programming Flash. The other books I've read have been fine for the casual programmer; they touch upon the possibilities of Flash, but never have the guts to go on in and get dirty in it. Do they talk about how to organize your code to make it legible, reusable and object oriented? Do they tell you the execution order of actions when the .swf is actually RUNNING? Do they talk about creating Objects and using those objects effectively (and I don't mean graphical objects). Colin Moock's book does. This book could singlehandedly create a wave of sharp Actionscript programmers, so that the world at large takes it seriously as a programming language that's capable of great things; not just lukewarm lead-the-mouse-to-the-cheese type computer games. And stupid Anime wanna-be intro movies that anger website customers. One thing I wanted from the book was a delving into which aspects of Flash movies tax the processing power of the computer most, and what techniques exist to avoid them. We all know alpha-ed out graphics and moving large, intricate pictures slow things down, but I wanted to know the real nittly-gritty on which things do it and how. Admittedly, though, this would be looking a gift horse in the mouth. This book has changed me as a Flash programmer forever.
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