Rating: 
Summary: Best Complete ActionScript Guide
Review: If your a novice and wants to learn ActionScript, then this is the book for you! The book explains everything single thing there is to know about sctionscripts! Once your finish you should understand what every single action does!
Rating:
Summary: Must have for action scripters
Review: This book is the first to bridge the gap between learning book, and reference guide. Colin Moock does a fabulous job on describing the details of Flash's programming language ActionScript. It also doubles as the comprehensive reference guide to date.
Rating:
Summary: You won't need anything else
Review: This is "THE" Actionscript book, written using the correct point of view. Actionscript is not just a "macro" language, it's a full featured object oriented language, most books tend to forget this crucial issue and limit to describe it instruction by instruction, with some (common) samples.This book is different, it examine Actionscript starting from the core concepts of classes and objects, and will let you understand how Flash "thinks". This is the key for developing real Flash content, not just preloaders or flying logos. It is not easy. It is for designers with a programming background, and it is for Flash advanced users, however you won't really need anything else after you read this. And, as a Flash/Actionscript courses teacher, I would also recommend this to anyone into teaching: this is the most coherent, bug-less, reliable book on the market.
Rating:
Summary: The last Flash 5 ActionScript book you will buy...
Review: When O'reilly put out a book on ActionScript, I knew Flash had finally arrived. As one of the early Flash users who had to fake interactivity through smoke and mirrors with versions three and four ,I immediately was impressed with the potential of Flash 5. Colin Moock unleashes that power with a very clear and thorough account of Flash's new tools. This is a must for new programmers. If you can't learn the fundamentals of coding from this book, you might just want to try a new career. This is easily the best book on ActionScripting that I have ever read, and I have read most of them...
Rating:
Summary: Are you sure this is a Flash book?
Review: Actionscript is the complete focus of this book. There are zero glossy full color double page pictures showing cool Flash effects, or one-shot Flash recipe projects which present a lone, sad fragment of Actionscript as an incidental gimmick. All you get is a beginning-to-end systematic and methodical development of the Actionscript "programming language". After reading through part of this book, it amazes me how much depth there is in Actionscript and how weird it is that Macromedia buried what appears to be a full-featured object-oriented language behind all those graphical palettes. What is cool is the way Moock has you use Flash, you'd think you were using Visual Studio -- instead of a graphical application accessing some script functions, you use Flash like a programming application that has a really well developed graphical module. Moock + O'Reilly also do a really good job of mapping out the language a la traditional C++ type texts in a way that should let most programmers build what they need to build to control Flash objects and do mathematical processing of general stuff. The best feature of the book is Moock's narrative style. His presentation is easy-going and conversational but also very concise. He describes relatively complex features straightforwardly, and never condescends like certain obnoxious Friends of Ed Foundation books. Few passages are cryptic. Code samples are relevant and not overly specific. The flow of one chapter into the next is logical, well-outlined, and easy to follow. He even reveals the presence of the interpreter in the first chapter and describes its function in controlling Flash with Actionscript, as with any other OO language. The appendices are beautiful in their depth and utility. As a side note, I also think this would make a decent book to learn OOP, because that's actually what I am using it for right now. I disagree with some of the reviewers here because though it may be easily read by newbie programmers and up, it would probably be a steep curve for those without some similar mathematical or operational logic exposure; however, I think absolute beginners with good effort and some references can get as much out of this book as any other good intro book on programming, especially with the more visually rewarding output when everything works. This book sets a standard for excellence.
Rating:
Summary: everything, I mean EVERYTHING you want to know about AS
Review: This book kicks AS. A reference - most definitely, it has everything. A learning tool - for both beginners and advanced users, always some information for everyone. A leisurely read?- I hate to admit it, but yes. I take this book whenever I know I'm going to have free time to read because it's that kind of book - I cant put it down. Even if you just want to learn about programming basics, Colin introduces it in a way that anyone could understand it; even without a programming background. Colin has so much experience in Flash Scripting. He's prompt in answering email. His site has all the files for download (we didnt have to buy the CD). It ranks up there with Hillman Curtis' book when it first came out (that introduction was classic). This is one of the best Flash books I've ever owned. No no, one of the best books I've owned - period.
Rating:
Summary: The Holy Friggin Bible of ActionScript!
Review: If you're into Flash 5 ActionScripting, I whole-heartedly recommend Colin Moock's ActionScript: The Definitive Guide. It is easily the most comprehensive guide to ActionScripting in Flash I have ever seen. The first 2/3 of the book is divided into concept-based chapters - Variables, Loops, Events, Objects, Arrays, etc. This is great for when you think you know what you're trying to do, but you need some prosaic insight into the options you have, and some tips on avoiding pitfalls. The last 1/3 is a detailed ActionScript Reference that puts all others to shame. It covers everything. Where Macromedia's ActionScript reference barely explains many commands, and almost never gives example code, Colin's guide has several realistic examples for every single entry. It will never fail to mention that one little quirky behavior that would otherwise keep you up all night debugging. It is not a book of tutorials, and this is a good thing. Now there's nothing wrong with tutorials - they're a powerful tool for visualizing a complete process - but sometimes you want to just look something up. I use it incessantly: my copy of ASDG is only two weeks old, but the dog-ears and post-it notes make it look like I've owned it for years. It is a book that I can honestly say has made as much a difference to my creative relationship with computers as the legendary Commodore 64 Programmer's Reference Guide. Thanks, Colin!
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: This is a Great Book, I studied ActionScripts And C for only a month, but I was not really familiar with sytanxes and some specific commands until I received this books two days ago. But this explained everything! By using arrays and string functions I was able to write a 450 lines of scripts for an A.I. character on flash... You can do anything with this book. A must buy for anyone!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book detailing Action Script & Prog. fundamentals
Review: Absolutely fabulous book. Being a total Action Script novice it is not only teaching me Action Script quickly and thoroughly but also details general programming fundamentals which is a God-send to a non-programmer. I feel once I have finished the book I will be able not only to Action Script at an advanced level but also to apply the theory to learn other languages far more easily and quickly. A well deserved pat-on-the-back to Mr Moock. It is worth knowing that you need to have a good grasp of the Flash 5 environment and components within it before reading the book i.e. movie-clips, buttons, graphics, etc. This review will be updated once I have completed the book.
Rating:
Summary: Ripped Script
Review: This book absolutley blows the competition away. Finally an actionscript reference that doesn't humiliate, abuse and frustrate me. It took an artist to speak in a manner that us right brainers could absorb without getting sweaty migraines. I feel initiated and empowered. Now I can join the party all the code primates have been enjoying. Colin is lead dude of the digital renaissance.
| 
