Internet Books

If you have ever thought of a feature request for Flash then this book is for you. It teaches you how to make your own! Flash MX 2004 is in the title but it's just as useful for Flash 8. This book is worth the price just for the JSFL reference alone.

This book has gone under the radar based upon its title. It truly does not explain what this book can teach you.

Basically it teaches the basic Flash user that you can extend what Flash normally does for you in its normal authoring environment. Like create new drawing tools, create commands that perform complex real-time tasks instantly (similiar to custom macros), create custom user interfaces, add timeline effects (scripted tweens) to any object, and create scripted behaviors (prebuilt code components) to help almost automate your Flash development.

If your an exisiting Flash developer who knows how code with ActionScript and needs a way to streamline your development environment and development time, this is a book you shouldn't pass up.

If you are an advanced Flash user, Extending Flash MX 2004 may be just the right book for you. Written by veteran Flash developers Keith Peters (bit-101) and Todd Yard (ego7), this book introduces you to the world of extending Flash MX 2004 by teaching you how to create custom functions and features for the Flash MX 2004 authoring environment.

At first I had never heard about 'Extending' Flash MX 2004, but hopefully my following explanation may help you to understand this concept if you are new to this term. Imagine Flash MX 2004 being a customizable browser such as Firefox. In Firefox, you can download snippets of programs called extensions that add some cool, extra features to your browser. Creating new extensions for Flash MX 2004 is similar to developing extensions for your browser. Using a new language called JavaScript Flash (JSFL), you have the ability to create scripts, commands, behaviors, etc. that add new functionality to not a Flash animation, but to your actual Flash MX 2004 application itself.

This book teaches you how to use JavaScript Flash to create extensions - custom commands, menu items, and others things to help make repetitive tasks easier and enhance your Flash MX 2004 program. You start with the basics and progress towards complicated techniques. Early on you start by creating a command that, for example, allows you to take any shape and automatically arrange them on a user-defined grid. Towards the end, you move beyond simple commands and learn how to modify Behaviors, create custom interfaces using XML, and more!

Another great feature of this book is the expansive JavaScript Flash (JSFL) reference. The JSFL reference section contains all of the various items of the JSFL language that you can refer to when creating your own JSFL extensions. For any JSFL code item or property, you will find a description, the types of values it accepts, and a code example.

If you use Flash MX 2004 extensively and are interested in automating some of the repetitive tasks or adding new, useful features to Flash, you will find this book's coverage of this new topic excellent for intermediate and advanced users.

Keith and Todd command a huge knowledge of one of the more interesting and productive new features of Flash MX 2004, extensibility. The authors guide you on your way to learning about these new features starting off with easy concepts and then moving into more specific areas. This book is essential for anyone who develops with Flash MX 2004, the skills and tools that you get from the book will streamline your work flow and improve your productivity. From JSFL commands, xml to UI, custom behaviors and custom tools this book will load your Flash IDE with tools and widgets to get the job done faster and smoother. Excellent book!

I have been very impressed with the computer skills my daughter has developed using this workbook. It is well put together and fun to use. It has been a valuable tool in her computer education. I highly recommend this book!!

This workbook has been easy to follow and use for my fifth grader. She has improved her typing speed, is understanding computer vocabulary, and has learned many shortcuts with computer keyboarding. I will continue to use this resource in the upcoming years.

My son uses the fifth grade technology binder and I am thrilled with his progress. It is easy to understand and follow. I highly recommend this series.

I am just thrilled with the workbook my son Myles is using in computer class. It is well organized, easy to follow, and loaded with great techniques and homework assignments! I highly recommend it to all 5th graders who are learning the ins and outs of computer technology.

Your book fills a much needed gap in the non linear workflow for editors and producers alike! For me the video formats and compression chapters are fabulous cross platform information. Lately, it seems that everywhere I go people are reading it.
Virginia Quesada, Q MEDIA, INC. and VIDEOCULT.COM

As the co-author of this book, I just want to thank all of our students who inspired the writing of this book with their hunger for practical knowledge on FCP and the great questions they ask in class.

So often, the nature of these questions went beyond the technical text and sample projects that we were using in class. It is also frequently difficult to answer real-world questions about FCP in the classroom context. So many of these answers "depend on the project you are doing . . . "

Consequently, we took to using a series of real-world anecdotes - experiences of our own in postproduction that could illustrate the larger points regarding process and decision-making.

These experiences made the conceptual basis for this book, and those anecdotes became the case studies.

Robbie and I hope that you enjoy what we think is a unique approach!

This book should be marketed differently. I (hesitantly) picked it up expecting a very software specific how to book and what I got was a guide to creating and maintaining a sucessful post production firm.

I am new to the production world; only just recently opening a boutique production company here in Chicago.
For a while I struggled with Final Cut Pro and maintaining productive organization from reel to distribution.

THIS BOOK HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING.

The amount of money that this book has saved me is starting to stretch into the thousands. Optimizing your workflow within Final Cut is the best way to maintain quality and effeciency.

Most creative media help books talk about specifics, glorified tutorials really. Final Cut Pro Workflows breaks down the entire process of post-production in a really straightforward way.

It even gives you amazing case studies that touch on not only the physical aspect of the post-production but dealing with clients, vendors, and talent.

Imagine the best textbook you ever read in school, especially on your favorite subject. I don't know about others but I would read it through, enjoying learning the material. Final Cut Pro Workflows does that.

This book, while obviously geared towards FCP (with suite specific hints, shortcuts, options), should also be marketed towards the overall creation and maintainability of any production company regardless of the suite.
With just a little bit of translation you can apply the business help aspects of this book to an Adobe/ Avid workflow or even a workflow that has takes advantage of ALL the available software out there.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a desire to take their production values to the professional level.

As a user of Final Cut Pro, but a relative newbie to postproduction I've struggled to understand the "Big Picture" of postproduction workflow.

Final Cut Pro Workflows is an awesome resource that doesn't cover all the same button pushing techniques that every other Final Cut Pro book does, but provides insightful and thoughtful workflow techniques that I've been able to apply to all my projects.

What I found particularly cool, and what I think separates this book from others is the 3rd part of book which is a collection of case studies. These case studies are great because they're written as a narrative and explore quite a few different workflows using Final Cut Pro.

This book is a must have!

Great reference book. I think every function and aspect of FW is in here! I have already found out a lot of new things about FW from this book! Lots of great ideas too! There are not many FW 4 Books available, but this one is definitely worth a look!

Great reference book. I think every function and aspect of FW is in here! I have already found out a lot of new things about FW from this book! Lots of great ideas too! There are not many FW 4 Books available, but this one is definitely worth a look!

I think anyone serious about Fireworks needs this Bible as a reference source. The index is excellent for looking up quick answers. Its a bit "design" challenged and if you have version 3 the major portion of the illustrations are the same.

You could learn Fireworks with this book if you are patient or have a lot of time, but its better suited as a reference book. The layout and order of things don't flow like a step by step, beginners book.

Don't get me wrong, this is an excellant book with a wealth of information. If you are looking for inspirational design ideas then this isn't it. There are some more advanced topics such as customizing Fireworks and a chapter on integrating Fireworks with Dreamweaver. Good value for the money. If you want to find info quick, this book fits the bill.

I highly recommend this book! I like the way the author didn't waste my time trying to include little jokes to spice up the text. Every feature was covered in complete detail. I read the book from cover to cover and immediately became a master at using Fireworks 4. Previously, I had been using photoshop to make my web images and effects but since reading this bible book I haven't touched Photoshop. Fireworks is a great program and if you want to learn all of its capabilities then you should own and read the Fireworks 4 Bible.

Do you want to learn Italian? If you want to begin to master this beautiful language, then I suggest that you acquire this fun approach. This book is for kids, but anyone who is studying a new language needs graphics to see what the words are. This book is a perfect way to visualize Italian nouns ( persons, places, or things) in the home (kitchen,bathroom, bedroom living room stairs, etc.) in the yard, in the workshop and garage, on the street ( anything you can think of), in the toy store (OH, no!), in the park, at the zoo, at the airport, in the country, on the farm, at the ocean, in school ( a scuola) in the hospital ( il gesso e le grucce ), at a party (la festa), in the grocery store ( il negozio ), food to put on the table, parts of the body, clothes, occupations, family members (zio ?) then action words, opposites, story characters, pet favorites, weather ( il tempo ), seasons (le stagioni), sports ( il calcio), colors (verde e bianco), shapes and numbers, the circus, and an amusement park. This book also teaches the masculilne, feminine, plural, and singular form of nouns, aids pronunciation, and has a large list of other useful words. In addition, the picture words are indexed in the back of the book with a pronunciation guide for each book. A must for your Italian language library!

This book is bright and cheerful. It is loaded with pictures to capture the attention of the young person interested in Italian language. It's a fun book for the entire family. Full of photographs labeled in Italian and with a glossary that gives the English word, Italian word AND Italian pronunciation. For a children's book we were impressed with the details and tips on pronunciation. Our friend who speaks fluent Italian was so impressed, she purchased it for her American-born children.

This is a great book, great pictures, great for object recognition. The only drawback is that the pronunciation guide is at the back of the book. So for each word you have to look through the list of words till you find the word and it's pronunciation. It would have been better if they had done it like they did in, I believe the Russian book, where they put the pronunciation under the word.

My daughter enjoys learning italian through this book! It is very colorful, funny and interactive. This is a great guide for my 2 year old daughter who is learning three languages.I also bought one for my niece and she is 5! Highly recommended.

Its for a very niche audience, technology marketers, technology product managers, technology online marketers. Especially if you're in the telecommunications industry.

Great writing style, quick read, essential reading if you fit into the targeted audience.

This is a great book for light reading or serious investigation.
Even though the book is specifically targeted for technology products, the ideas and concepts apply equally well to any product that is being developed with a general audience in mind.

You dont need to be creating a product to purchase this book.

This book was great and gives concrete examples and projections about the abandonment rate of users. This book could be helpful across a range of industries, and I find it of particular relevance for website design.

Too many webmasters/product designers forget about the end user, and in this book the authors layout specific fallacies ("myths") and prescribe a better way of approaching development.

It's a quick read, but invaluable!

This is a specific book for a specific market, but if you do create any type of consumer-touching tech product--from hardware or software to websites, blogs (like mine [...]) and any type of e-commerce--it's a real Godsend. I devoured this one in an evening and a morning, interrupted only by a night's sleep...where I dreamt about the multiple raminfications this could have on my mobile entertainment business. Breezily written in a style so real-world and friendly that it's accessible to a wide audience, but after getting to know Smethers and France in print, I would suspect that cutting a wide swath through the book-buying public would just serve to disprove the theory they build so convincingly. These guys are bright, concise and relevant, and demystify a process that even many of tech's big boys have trouble dealing with. Mark me down as a "Power User" of the Five Myths.

I didnt buy this book to learn about flash coding, or web development. I bought this book because I am interested in Software rendered graphics. That is, applications that dont utalize OpenGL or Direct 3D for rendering to the screen. I bought this book for the techniques it discusses in "faking" 3d, and also producing real 3d. So far it has done a perfect job in giving me ideas and techniques that I can use in my applications. For anybody interested in producing anything that is real time, and 3d, I would reccomend this book.

This is the best book I have read in years! If you know the basics of ActionScript and you know sine and cosine, this book opens up whole dimensions of possibilities for both games and business applications of Flash.

It is clearly written and reads more smoothly than most programming books. While it does assume a basic literacy with ActionScript, it does not leave you flailing with complex 3D concepts. You may have to pull out your definitions of sine and cosine, but beyond that, it is pretty light lifting.

The genious of the book is that it violates commmon assumptions, and this results in simple, elegant techniques that are also powerful for a wide range of problems. The common assumption is that Flash doesn't do 3D. Don't believe it anymore. If you are willing to use some basic limitations to your application (such as keeping your polygon count down), you can have some smoothly flowing, useful 3D applications with relatively little effort. And unless I'm mistaken, those applications will run equally well on a browser running on a Mac, Windows or Linux.

The solutions are simple and eclectic. The authors have created a variety of 3D engines - each optimized for a given purpose. The engines are simple enough that (in theory) you can take the source and enhance it to your needs. Each technique is backed up by source code that you can download from the publisher's web site. But don't shortchange yourself with only the sample code - the explanations in the text are worth the cost of the paper book.

Here are my favorite techniques:

* ch 8 (P 195) - Drawing API and Math for 3D - here they explain and provide a working polygon 3D engine. The demos work smoothly (at least 20-30 frames per second) on my cheap Dell laptop. The demos include a oragami bird and a rocket ship with at least 10-20 polgons each. It doesn't support bitmapped textures, but it does offer fill color and shading support.

* ch 9 - 3D Slice Engine - this is the more clever, powerful and non-obvious technique of the book. Check out "dad.swf" in the binary samples from the web site to get an idea of the power of this approach - the author has made a 3D talking head of his father from a photograph! The idea here is that if you can view your 3D world as a topographical map, then you can model it with a set of parallel planes, where each plane represents a certain cut through the entire 3D model. This approach, though not immediately intuitive, is extremely powerful in Flash because it plays on the strenghths of Flash. Each plane is represented by two "movieclip" objects, with one embedded in the other. The first one handles scaling, and the second handles rotation, within the scaled clip. The hidden surface problem is finessed because the planes are parallel - so you only reverse the rendering order once every 180 degrees of change in viewer angle. This enables you to handle full bitmap detail of your scenes, and the result is pretty dazzling! The basic rendering engine requires only about 50 lines of ActionScript!

* Ch 6 - Parallax Scrolling - This name is misleading - it really goes beyond a scrolling 2D game model. In the Wyvern's Claw" example, it explores the idea of building a 3D world like a movie set - with a set of strategically placed flat surfaces (like the fronts of buildings in the studio sets). Each surface is a movieclip, and your script manages the proper scaling and shading as the viewer moves through. The demo then shows an animated walk-through of a small town rendering in such a way. This seems very cool for a potential game.

I'm already using the Chapter 9 slice engine for a work-related project - multidimensional data browsing. So for me, the book was not only stimulating to read but valuable!

TOC:

Chapter 1 Introduction to Flash 3D
Chapter 2 Light and Shadow
Chapter 3 Scaling for 3D
Chapter 4 Isometric 3D
Chapter 5 Focus and Depth of Field
Chapter 6 Parallax Scrolling
Chapter 7 Text Effects in 3D Space
Chapter 8 Drawing API and Math for 3D
Chapter 9 3D Slice Engine
Chapter 10 Departure Lounge: Moving beyond Flash 3D

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10 don't require a trigonometry
background. One of Chapter 6 topics uses XML though.

The best chapters for me were 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.

I gave the book 5 stars because it has something for everyone.
Some people use Flash to create digital art while others use it
for practical purposes. This book delivers to both people.
Unfortunately, I belong to the latter kind and some of the topics
aren't for me.

I also think that some chapters are impractical unless you're
really a math geek. For example, I think Chapter 8 - Drawing
API and Math for 3D -- is unnecessary because you can import
Swift 3D files.

Some of the authors also show you Actionscript without really
explaining what it does (I think they assume you do know trig).
I work for a software engineering firm (not as an engineer
though) but I do know that it's bad practice to embed magic
numbers -- literals that don't have apparent meaning -- in
any code. It's better to put them in constants.

One of the authors (the Chapter 4 author I think) said to get
a good book on trigo. I don't think I will because there are
plenty of free trigo tutorials on the web. I agree though that
to get the most out of Flash and this book, learning trigo is a
must.

This has to be about the best book I have ever seen. The 3D cheats in it are amazing -- and you surely wouldn't know you were cheating. There are some incredibly insightful techniques, and some more staple things if you're not quite steady on your feet yet.

I think I am, but this book showed me how much more there was to know!

I bought this book figuring it would teach me a few design tricks, but I did not hold out much hope for more then that. I had bought a couple other FX and Design books and that is about all they were good for. Man, was I surprised!!

This book is PACKED full of subtle but incredibly important lessons about the in's and out's of Flash, especially the in's and out's of ActionScripting.

I have been trying to learn ActionScripting for a few months. I used to be a bookkeeper but have a disability now that prevents me from sitting so I am pretty much housebound. Every mishap has it's silver lining and advanced ActionScripting is mine. The first time I looked at a script from 'Flash Math Creativity' it made me drool. I had never dreamed there could be such a thing as scripting mixed with web design mixed with math mixed with so many other parts of the brain.

I took a Javascript class a few years ago and loved it so I suppose it is not surprising I love ActionScript but I could not get my head around the basics. I am surrounded by books on ActionScripting and Javascript and HTML/DHTML, etc, Some really good ones too. It wasn't until I read the first ten pages of this book that I started understanding. I actually learned how to use databases with Flash using Arrays! In the first ten pages!

If there is that much to learn in the first ten pages, can you imagine how much there is in the rest of the book? Well, it is a lot. If you are a beginner, if you are intermediate, if you are an advanced user, if you use Flash 5 or if you use Flash MX, GET THIS BOOK!

Phew, I can't believe I got so emotional over a book. Good luck with your future and happy scripting,
Leslie

I have read several books on Web design and also read Macromedia's Flash tutorials online. However, I found this book by Bill Sanders to be the most wonderful of all, because it guides me step by step through the essential commands. I found I understand how to do tweening so much better, understand the minute but essential details on creating a motion guide for a layer, and the explanation and project (example) on masking makes me understand the various layers to get special "spot-light" beam effect.

I feel I need to write this review because this book has helped me so much. I wish to congratulate Bill Sanders and the editorial team for a great job done! Thank you.

It's fine to read through, but I'm finding it is very difficult to reference.

Here are the problems I had with it:

1) The definitions in the glossary dont give thorough enough explanations.

2) The example scripts in the glossary rarely give the results of the given example.

3) The index is not very comprehensive. I look up "loadVariables" in the index...I can't find it ...it's under "variables" but not under "load"; I wanted to find out how to use access brackets to create a pathname that included a variable...no help...only one reference to access bracket is made under the subheading "Arrays" and the page referred-to hardly makes mention of access brackets much short of demonstrating the different ways they might be used.

The Author overall spends much too much time with "Projects" that demonstrate one way of using a series of scripts (and 90% of the explanations in these projects are of very simple scripts). Not nearly enough time is spent on demonstrating each script in multiple applications...like my above example of access brackets...there is more than one way of using them....or so I've found out on my own.

I like the way this book moves through Flash. The author speaks with a quite authority and spells out what I needed to know to get Flash 5 working for me. I'm a designer; so I don't need an art lesson, and I didn't get one. Instead I learned how to use all the tools in Flash to do my kind of art and design. This is not a baby level book--plenty of those are around. It's not a "guru" talking down to me either. This guy seems to know what designers want to get out of Flash 5, and he gives it to them. I really appreciated the chapters on animation concepts. It nicely ties in traditional animation with Flash and provides several good clear examples but all of the pieces there. I finally(!) found a good clear explanation of how to move an object along a path. Also, as a nice touch for anyone in design, the author provides a color palette for all of the projects giving the RGB values to plug in. This helped me learn how to use both the details of the color tools in Flash 5. (The color section in the middle of the book helps in seeing how to create your own color palette using the Mixer and Swatches panel.)

Another area that gave me fits with Flash 4 was masking. It's not that difficult with Flash, but the author walked me through it in a way that I finally got it. It's full of those kinds of "oh now I get it" insights. The sound chapter not only shows how to bring in differnt types of sound, but where to get sound and how to coordinate sound with animated movement. I really liked the sound chapter and the "music video" example and the explanation of how to stop and start sound in Flash.

The chapter on movie editing and navigation was ok and a good review of navigation in Flash was there, but it was just a little simple. But the ActionScript chapter is the best I've ever seen. I started to learn ActionScript in Flash 4, but I'm glad I didn't. Flash 5 ActionScript is lot different and IMHO is a lot easier to learn--especially the path system. (I like the dot syntax way better than the slash syntax.) Also, the author shows how to move MCs without using Tell Target. He used the dot syntax.

I don't use QuickTime so I more or less skipped that chapter, but the last chapter was the best I've seen on using Generator 2 and external files. I wish the book had more on the different types of Generator 2 objects, but I can create pie charts like a pro (if you want a pie chart). Using external files with loadVariablesNum() and loadVariables() is very interesting, and I learned how to do it, but I need to learn a lot more about it. It gets pretty advanced in the last chapter, but it was clear enough so that I didn't feel lost.

It's a nice book to have around. The index is fine and both loadVariables() and loadVariablesNum() are indexed --I think that other reviewer got his books confused-- and so it's great for looking up different techniques. So if you want a book to see how to develop professional quality (or just really good amateur quality) Flash 5 movies, I think you'll like this a lot. I know I did.

Coming from a programer whom went design this book is excellent! This is clearly the book you want to buy if you are a designer who knows how to do the pretty stuff but you want to combine that into Flash, and want to have knowledge of the program that will allow you to carry out your very own ideas. Flash 5 practically malformed itself from Flash 4 to the point that I was totally lost for a while, and this book explains that all, and issues related with designing in the new version. This is great information for anyone that is going to undergo the time consuming effort to produce a good flash movie. The tricks and tips are truly a wonderful addition to this book that some Flash books do lack. This is an excellent choice for any Flash Design beginner!

a great book for any flash student with superb examples . a must for anyone connected to computers..

This is a quite thorough book that picks up where Mohler's intro book leaves off. It's written as if a Flash instructor literally transcribed his class presentations, which is good and bad. Explanations are long, but at times are wordy and dull. It will remind you at times of tedious homework assignments and drills. There is quite a bit of slogging through pages with only two or three long paragraphs with no Flash code. That's not bad, but it's a sign that an editor probably could have tightened up the writing here.

Also, these authors need to lighten up and learn to write! The tone they take is often "academic", with all the snobbiness and overuse of big words and long sentences that comes with that. Often it's clear that one or the other of the two authors has written a particular passage--and there are some awful clunkers there. Better instructors and writers strive for a more human, friendly tone.

Also, there are coding techniques that seem to me not to reflect current or common Flash coding practice, like the frequent use of the eval() function and the set() function (which I've *never* seen other advanced Flash authors use).

One good thing: the two long projects in the book are kind of neat, definately better than in some other big Flash books.

I'm a beginning flash user, and I picked this book up as a follow up to Mohler's first book. Even though it explores advanced scripting, the explanations are clear enough for beginners like myself to understand. I actually understand OOP because of the great dog class example. There are some really great examples on the cd-rom. It's so helpful to have an actual Flash file to play with, so I can see exactly how it works.

I bought this book a couple of weeks ago and I love it. It has tons of examples in the CD. It is a great book to learn complex actionscripting.

I will just write one line review that beginners will get help but advance level developer will also get benefit. Just read the BlazeDS chapter and messaging it will give you idea.

I've watched both of David's lynda.com video series (Flex 3 Essentials and Beyond the Basics, which are excellent by the way), and I am now reading this book. His depth of knowledge is apparent, yet his ability to convey the simplest to the most complex topics in an easy to understand and logical manner are what really separate his books/videos from the pack. He's not afraid to tackle the more complex subjects that many books state, "are beyond the scope of this book," with amazing clarity. In particular, his coverage of data services is unparalleled in current works. While there are many excellent books out there on Flex that whet your appetite, this one satisfies it. This book is structured so that you can read it cover to cover or jump to a specific section that interests you (it is excellently cross-referenced, within itself and to resources on the Internet), which makes it quite useful as both a learning tool and desk reference. I only wish was available in PDF format. Complete source code is available at the book's homepage. If you're looking to learn Flex, do yourself a favor and get this book and watch his Flex video series at lynda.com. Thanks David!

my Star Rating is between the 3 and 4...

This book is a good tool for quick lookups on some data.. Not kidding.. Great reference tool.

If your fairly new it isn't going to help you out at all. It isn't written for a beginner. I will say that I would like to see the next edition of this book have a few details about data. I read a lot about arrays and xml type information, but the hardest thing to figure out was getting to my data(really understanding what i was doing). I could see it in the debugger, but just didn't REALLY understand how to access it... I would like to see more info on that in the flex books in general. This book is NOT the only one missing that data..


For example.. When you build a data grid.. The books reads click here.. And you move on...

I would like to see it simplified...
Click data grid - > it makes an event and does other magic stuff...
To get to your data you access all data via:
event.target.selectedItem.HostName

Example:
Build data grid example... click on a row
trace(event.target.selectedItem.HostName);
Look at the console and you should see the hostname printed out.

That is a very raw example, but when I figured out how to do that.. I started to figure out how to work with the data I was getting back.. Now I am moving right along.. I can/could not find that info ANYwhere..

I would also like some examples on working to customize the datagrid... Like.. Making the background or text a color if a string matches abc.... Things like that.. I am just now learning action script, so I have no clue on how to do that.. Having simple examples to show me how to do little stuff like that would be great..

This 900+ page book is a seriously meticulous walk-through of all the essential aspects of developing Flex applications as of the Flex 3 release. After a tiny bit of history, the author wastes no time in getting right to the Eclipse IDE in it's Flex 3 incarnation. One indication of the thoroughness of this book is in the fact that he spends 7 pages entirely devoted to the "html-template" folder within a Flex project! And I don't know how many other Flex books out there (as I write this in 2008):

* Show you how to override the clone() function for event bubbling
* Describe the use of Flex 3 advanced layout constraints like constraintRows and constraintColumns
* Spend 6 pages showing you how to create skinning graphics in Flash CS3
* Describe the all-important facts surrounding switchable-container creation policy and deferred instantiation
* Show you how to use the BindableComboBox that comes with the ColdFusion Extensions for Flex Builder
* Walk you through how to group flat data with the GroupingCollection and the Advanced DataGrid
* Show you how to install and configure a Flex-BlazeDS-Java application
* Show you how to configure and develop a Flex-Coldfusion application
* Show you how to create a Flex-ASP.NET application
* Show you how to create a Flex-PHP application

It is a testament to the depth of the Flex API and to the inherent complexity of ANY serious front-end development platform that I can say that even with this book, there are still some pretty important things that are not covered. There's no coverage of the History Manager or deep linking, no coverage of the ExternalInterface API, no coverage of how to use Cairngorm or other frameworks to keep a large application from becoming a tangled mess. But the book is already pretty darn thick, and it had to end somewhere. Basically, I think that with this book plus a good book devoted to ActionScript 3, the motivated novice-to-intermediate Flex developer would be good to go. Excellent book.