Book Description
If you want to take your Flash Professional 8 skills to a new level while learning how to produce games that rival anything available on the web, this is the book for you. Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Game Development is written by a professional game developer. Using the power of Flash and the most recent advancements in ActionScript, the book progresses through the entire development process to teach programmers and Web developers how to create professional quality games quickly. It teaches techniques for producing fast 3D effects that can be used with "cheat" techniques to produce powerful, high-performance results. It details the actual science of game development, including design, character development, the physics and motion of a game, and audio issues. And in this new edition, all of the latest features of Flash Professional 8 are covered, including the new sound channels, bitmap caching, texture pages, and more. The book covers many advanced topics in a simple, easy to understand way. It emphasizes the incredible power of the new BitmapData class and teaches how it can be used to take the performance of Flash games to a whole new level. It has never been easier to get right down to the pixel level and manipulate things at blazing speeds, making previously impossible games a breeze to make. So get to your computer, insert the CD-ROM, and prepare to begin your journey into the world of Flash Professional 8 game development.
Customer Reviews:
Good for the intermediate Flash programmer.......2007-07-30
The book provides several examples that progress the reader through the programming of gradually more complex games. The reader should have a basic knowledge of Flash and Actionscript, as the book brushes over beginner-level concepts. At the time, the book is fairly up to date, however there is supposedly quite a jump between Flash 8 and Flash CS3, which uses Actionscript 3.0. Nonetheless, the concepts taught in the book are universally applicable regardless of what Flash version you are using. The inclusion of a CD-ROM is an added bonus and a must with this kind of book.
Great Book.......2007-06-11
I found the book easy to read and very practical. The use of examples to explain things is great. And of course, examples that do work is great also!!!
It's the right book for those that already know something about flash and actionscript (doesn't need to be an expert), and want to learn to develop some games in flash, and perhaps aplly those technics on other apllications.
The book is great fun!!!
very limited discussion of incorporating physics.......2007-05-29
As a physicist, I looked at the chapter on "Physics for Games". It's very introductory Newtonian mechanics. Applying these in time-discrete form for moving objects in the game. Gravity is considered for vertical motion, and wind is incorporated to affect horizontal motion. Freshman level stuff. If you are developing a game where you need to seriously incorporate physics, there are entire books devoted to it, like Physics for Game Developers.
Though to be fair, the book is about learning Flash and its effects. Other chapters offer code fragments. Of necessity, these are all elementary, from a programming complexity standpoint. But they help explain how to apply Flash.
The most intricate part of the book seems to be when you model a 3d world. Nice rendering examples. Doesn't go very deeply here. Flash almost certainly has more advanced functionality.
In-Depth game Development!.......2007-05-17
I've bought this book with the purpose of starting to make flash games. Well, i couldn't have chosen a better way! The book is very easy to read and understand and the the examples are incredible. It explores the appropriate tools to create games like the BitmapData while giving other tools an explanation too. 5 stars!
Specifics for beginners, bad habits for mid-levels.......2007-04-28
If you've worked with strongly type languages like Java/C++/etc then this book might make you cringe a bit. First, the code is very terse with clever tricks to shorten the number of lines. Eventually it makes sense but methods like makeFader() don't really make a fader, they do other things like remove a game object from the scene.
So along with softreferences ( for i to 10, make a variable box_i=i ) - ew, and bad naming conventions, it plays out more like an Oreilly Cookbook that encourages bad habits. Granted, I ordered it and I'll keep it as a book full of complete examples. But I think any of the examples that I copy/type/study, I'll refactor later to be more clear and well-coded.
It's a fast ramp-up to ActionScript 2.0. If you're looking for smarter and more mid-level code then maybe wait for a book on AS3.0 that is more class oriented and less procedural like this book. Else, if you just want to see end-to-end examples as fast as possible the author does a good job of explaining code blocks as he goes even if he's encouraging bad habits.
Book Description
XML is a completely platform agnostic data medium. Flash is able to make use of XML data, which is very useful when you are creating Rich Internet Applications -- it allows you to populate Flash web interfaces with data from pretty much any source that supports XML as a data medium, be it databases, raw XML files, or more excitingly, .Net applications, web services, and even Microsoft Office applications such as Excel and Word! In this book, Sas Jacobs first introduces XML itselfwhat it is, its syntax, its associated technologies (such as CSS and XSLT,) and how to get XML out of your applications in a format Flash can use. Then she shows how to use the XML object to stream XML data into Flash, and how to use the XMLConnector component and XML Sockets to build advanced Flash/XML applications. Numerous example applications are built throughout the book, including an MP3 player, XML photo gallery, an Excel-driven web catalog, Access and Word-driven content management systems, and an XML-driven chat application.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2006-12-26
I really do not understand what the negative reviews are all about for this book. Even if you do not want to use office to generate your xml, you can still read over those chapters use the xml file created and learn HOW TO USE xml in flash which is what this book is about. I would probably not use office but I learned alot about processing the xml files that were created by the office program. Anyways this book took me from 0 knowledge about xml in flash to becoming fairly copmpetent in this subject. I highly recommend this book.
Horrible Book.......2006-10-27
I had to purchase this book for a class I'm taking, and now it's 8 weeks into the semester, and I seriously got nothing at all from this. I'm having better luck looking for tutorials than reading this worthless book. Pictures are horrible, chapters drag on forever, and it's just plain not worth the 40 bucks i lost for this. Find a different book if you're just learning xml and flash, worst purchase in my college years!
Not exactly what I expected..........2006-07-13
I was actually hoping that it would be the perfect companion to the 'PHP for Flash' & 'Advanced PHP for Flash' series but it's more on the intergration between XML/Flash/MSOffice which in the web-designing industry is kinda/sorta useless since seeing that most of the technology used is PHP/ASP and MySQL.
The book is great for learning the basic functionality of XML with Flash but doesn't really give you the in-depth functions that are so widely used today.
Hopefully there will be an 'Advanced' series out soon.
Happy flashing!!!
Learning to use XML structured data in Flash projects.......2006-04-10
This clearly written and well-organized book provides an overview of XML and how to use XML structured data in a variety of Flash projects. Anyone who is interested in working with XML in Flash and would like to learn more about how to get started will benefit from the easy-to-follow examples and the range of topics that the author has chosen to cover. Beginning with an overview of XML the chapters quickly move on to show how Flash can use XML data. The content is addressed to both Flash designers and developers. While Flash developers may already be familiar with the uses and specifications for XML schemas, Xpath, and XSLT; many Flash designers will gain an appreciation for many of the complexities of XML, as well as insight into the Web Services model. Later chapters, for example, reveal how to use Microsoft Word, Excel and Access to create XML content.
As one who can manage Flash ActionScripting, but who does not have a strong programming background, I found the background into the various XML types to be quite helpful. The book does an excellent job of explaining entities, relationships, schemas and how to navigate an XML object in order to show the how to use XML content with Flash. I was particularly interested in the many applications for e-learning and found the blend of author's screenshots, code examples and main text to provide a nice balance of learning styles.
I learned a lot from this work and am sure that it would be useful to people who are already familiar with Flash and want to learn more about how to use XML with this program.
Really nice book.......2006-03-10
How to use the XML in the Flash? This is one of the doubts most recurrent in lists and forums of quarrels. Who already tried work in Flash with XML created in one of programs of the Office Package definitively already lost the patience, much calm is necessary to reach the accurate node of the correct skill.
Sometimes we obtain alternatives, but almost always having to lose much time to carry through simple tasks. There the book "Foundation XML for Flash" of the Friends of ED publishing company enters, it presents simple solutions for who works with this type of archive, shows as to work with archives of the Word, Excel, Access besides instruct to work with Web services and much more.
It is a perfect book for who wants have complete reference regarding about the Flash and XML theme.
Book Description
XML in Flash is an excellent introduction to creating state-of-the-art Flash applications with XML. XML is quickly becoming the most popular way to store and manage data. Flash's XML Socket makes it possible to network Flash front-ends to an application server. This allows developers to use a Flash interface for applications such as message boards, real-time chats, surveys, news feeds, and games.
XML in Flash begins by illustrating the basics of XML and the Flash XML Object. In Part I, Flash is used as a teaching aid as you learn the basics of Flash/XML integration. Part II covers how Flash works with middleware languages, such as PHP and ASP, as well as performance and optimization. You will also create a Flash message board with a database. Part III delves into the advantages of XMLSocket. Hands-on projects include creating a stock market ticker to receive XML data from servers. Finally, the appendixes include invaluable reference information on XML, XMLNode objects, and XMLSocket objects, as well as Frequently Asked Questions.
The example applications also illustrate the key concepts necessary for understanding the Flash/XML relationship. You will be able to use the applications on the accompanying Web site regardless of whether or not you spend the time to read and learn about their inner workings.
Download Description
XML in Flash is an excellent introduction to creating state-of-the-art Flash applications with XML. XML is quickly becoming the most popular way to store and manage data. Flash's XML Socket makes it possible to network Flash front-ends to an application server. This allows developers to use a Flash interface for applications such as message boards, real-time chats, surveys, news feeds, and games. XML in Flash begins by illustrating the basics of XML and the Flash XML Object. In Part I, Flash is used as a teaching aid as you learn the basics of Flash/XML integration. Part II covers how Flash works with middleware languages, such as PHP and ASP, as well as performance and optimization. You will also create a Flash message board with a database. Part III delves into the advantages of XMLSocket. Hands-on projects include creating a stock market ticker to receive XML data from servers. Finally, the appendixes include invaluable reference information on XML, XMLNode objects, and XMLSocket objects, as well as Frequently Asked Questions. The example applications also illustrate the key concepts necessary for understanding the Flash/XML relationship. You will be able to use the applications on the accompanying Web site regardless of whether or not you spend the time to read and learn about their inner workings.
Customer Reviews:
not great........2004-04-29
The plain-English explanations of XML are very good. The problems are in the code examples. Often the comments are short and ill-considered, and the code is presented in an illogical order. It's a good book, but unless you're great at reading other people's code (I'm not), you will need to do some digging.
All examples use Flash 5.
Slick and detailed.......2002-10-25
If you are new to coding, and want to learn about the XML objects in Flash, and how they interact with PHP, ASP and Java, this book will more than get you started. Very well commented source code also.
No support.......2002-08-07
To be fair, I am giving them 3 stars. I purchased this book months ago to get me started with XML in Flash. I have not read the whole book, and gave up rather easily. I am not saying the book is bad, I just wanted to say that if you tell your readers the web site will be an "invaluble resource for learning the ins and outs of using XML in Flash" you might want to offer more than just the source code.
"[URL]will also have message boards and Frequently Asked Questions so you can find quick answers to any questions that need answering."
Please go to the website and look for yourself.
[URL]
The page was last modified 3/25/2002 and here it is months later.
Excellent Book, but full of Errors.......2002-07-25
This book is a MUST HAVE if you plan on working with XML within Flash. The book covers all the details of working with ActionScript and XML. I started out with little knowledge of ActionScript and working with the ActionScript associated with Flash's XML objects and methods. The authors explain almost every thing so clearly, that you understand not only how to work with the XML objects and methods, but how to work with ActionScript. I've found that there are quite a few errors that cause things not to work, which kind of bugged. But with my new knowledge was able to correct the bugs. .... I gave it 4 stars because it was enjoyable learning, easy to understand and I was able to do what I wanted...Learn XML in Flash, I would have given it a +5 if the errors wouldn't have been there.
Excellent book!.......2002-01-22
I bought this book not knowing what to expect, the description promised quite a bit of know-how was contained within. Pleased to say it was well worth it. Prior to getting this book, I'd gotten good with ActionScript and JavaScript but to hook Flash up with any back-end scripting or XML for my clients I've always been calling other people to consult and half the time had to just go with HTML instead.
I always had a fear of any of those 3-letter languages (ASP/PHP) since the few books I'd gotten on them were way to heavy on programming theory and usually lacking on real world examples, and definitely never had an example of how to connect those things to Flash! There's a good sampling of how to effectively use XML with Flash and working through the examples let me finally understand many concepts that previously had been just out of my grasp.
Average customer rating:
- Not supported any longer
- Read this BEFORE you read any other Actionscript books
- A great end- to-end guide
- A disappointing tome
- Clear and easy to understand.
|
Flash and XML: A Developer's Guide
Dov Jacobson , and
Jesse Jacobson
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
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Similar Items:
-
XML in Flash
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Foundation XML for Flash (Foundation)
-
XML for Web Designers Using Macromedia Studio MX 2004 (Internet Series)
-
Flash XML StudioLab
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Foundation ActionScript Animation: Making Things Move! (Foundation)
ASIN: 0201729202 |
Customer Reviews:
Not supported any longer.......2006-09-25
Don't waste your money. This book isn't supported any longer by the author and publisher so the code is no longer on the web. The code inside the book is so disjointed that I found it impossible to follow. They shouldn't be selling expired books.
Read this BEFORE you read any other Actionscript books.......2006-02-23
This book was suprisingly useful. I bought it to understand how to connect Flash to XML server back ends, but it quickly taught me much more that I was not expecting. The true value of this book is teaching how to use Actionscript 1.0 to make Flash Clients talk to servers with the fastest, leanest possible code (Not necessarily XML.)
The author does a great job of teaching how to make reusable, tiny, elegantly structured modules to build a trivia game. The lessons in here should be required reading for any Flash Actionscript programmer BEFORE they can use any fat Actionscript 2.0 components. By reading this book, you can avoid torturing your users with the "Loading Forever" progress bars which result from using Flash without understanding it's elegant, fast loading, optimized roots.
A great end- to-end guide.......2005-08-23
I used this book to add database capabilities to our flash app, and could not have done it with out it. Well, perhaps that's an exaggeration, but it would have taken *significantly* longer.
Getting flash connected to a database requires a combination of good strategy and lots arcane nitpicking details that span multiple knowledge domains. The book brings you along, step by step, in making the app dynamic. The discussions of database design and implementation via PHP and mySQL were very useful.
The book was written during the day of Flash 5, but aside from a couple of outdated screen shots, the ActionScript is current with the version 7.
There were a couple of places where some explanations were a little light, but all in all, it was worth many times the price I paid for it.
A disappointing tome.......2004-09-02
I have to agree with other users who point out the book's awkward construction. It's sort of a mutant blend of a hands-on how-to book and a broader discussion of Flash and XML. As the authors ramble through the creation of an XML-based quiz engine, they abruptly propose different ways of addressing coding issues, then move on to the discussion of another coding aspect without telling you which of the two or three or four options you should have plugged in in order for the next set of code to work with it.
By mid-2004 this approach is even more awkward as you discover that some of the hands-on steps they tell you to carry out no longer work in Flash MX or Flash MX 2004; there's nothing on the cover or the introductory material to warn you that the authors wrote this for Flash 5.
Clear and easy to understand........2004-01-31
Authors have deep understanding of the subject, which is
eveident in their clear and simple way of explaining things.
Book Description
Flash has evolved into an excellent tool for creating innovative vector graphics and animations for the Web, due mainly to its easy-to-use features, high-quality output, and relatively low cost. But Flash is also a perfect illustration tool. Why hassle with creating your illustrations in one tool and then exporting them when you don't have to? Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8 provides in-depth methods for mastering the truly jaw-dropping illustration possibilities you can achieve with Flash. The book is written to teach new and experienced users how to use Flash as your illustration tool of choice. It provides innovative techniques and solutions for using the drawing tools in Flash from an artist's perspective, and it teaches you the methods needed for making beautiful, effective illustrations, whether you are naturally artistic or not. This new edition has been completely updated to cover the latest advances in Flash, provide new techniques and solutions, and to teach you the entire process for creating vector illustrations using step-by-step tutorials. Beginning with a tour of the basics of illustration concepts, techniques, and approaches, you'll progress to learning about design techniques for logos, interfaces, and content layout, as well as animation and texture techniques. You'll also discover how to use Flash to draw in a variety of different styles-- cartoon, anime, and photorealistic, and you'll finish up with advanced tutorials for layering multiple textures, using filters for blur effects, and using linear gradients to create a wrinkle effect. If you want to learn how to use Flash as your illustration tool, this is the one resource you need.
Customer Reviews:
Curse you, Charles River Media!!!.......2007-06-20
I'm not a fan of Charles River Media's books. They don't have color illustrations, aren't well proofread and just generally seem cheaply put together.
Despite all that, Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8 is a must-have book for anyone using Flash. Firebaugh's use of Flash as an illustration tool is mind blowing, using simple vector tools to create photo-realistic images.
The problems of being published by CRM are evident though. The black & white pictures make it hard to judge what's going on and there are a few confusing typos and mis-wordings. (he often says "delete" when he really means "cut") You end up stuck having to have the FLA files right in front of you while you read. It's a good way to learn, but rather inconvenient.
I don't want to come off as down on this book just because I don't like the publisher. There's tons of great learning in this book. The source files are set up so you can poke through each step and see how things are put together. Also there are exercises at the end of each chapter to practice what you've learned.
All in all, Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8 puts you on the path the to do things with Flash you never thought were possible.
Second Edition to Use Flash 8 Features.......2006-04-29
Micromedia Flash, now part of the Adobe family, has long been thought of as an annimation tool for web sites. This book stresses that Flash is also capable of producing high-quality photorealistic illustrations. To get the most out of the book you should have some experience with Flash. As such, I consider it an intermediate level book.
This is the second edition of this book, with the new edition focusing on more advanced illustrating projects, covering the new features built into Flash Professional 8, and covering points discovered since the first edition appeared.
The format of the book is basically a tutorial. It starts with simple line art, like you might use to illustrate assembly instructions for a bookcase. From there it goes on to more complex items eventually getting up to what the author calls 'photorealistic.' The images are close to photo quality. As some of these illustrations are quite complex, they are included on a CD supplied with the book.
Using Flash as the way to generate illustrations increases the utility of the program, their data storage formats are smaller than those of many other programs, and of course animation is available.
Book Description
Teaches everything web designers, GUI-based Flash developers, and those new to ActionScript need to understand how ActionScript works and how to use it in everyday, project-based work.
In
Learning ActionScript 3.0, author Rich Shupe shares the knowledge he's gained from his years as a multimedia developer/designer, and teacher. This book starts from the beginning -- defining the basic components of how ActionScript and Flash work - and builds from there. After reading this book, readers will have a solid foundation in how ActionScript has developed into its current state, and how to use ActionScript 3.0 for practical, everyday projects.
Main topics include object-oriented programming, logic, classes, event handling, basic design patterns, migrating AS2-based sites to AS3, and more. Rich uses exercises that help in learning various techniques, and short quizzes that help readers make sure they're up to speed with key concepts. The companion CD-ROM contains material for all the exercises in the book, as well as trial versions of popular software for graphics creation and editing, web-page and web-site creation, and audio- and video- integration.
Average customer rating:
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Flash Dinamico, Php, Xml Y Bases De Datos / Flash Dynamic, PHP XML and Data Bases (Guia Practica Para Usuarios / Users Practical Guide)
Daniel Baena Romero
Manufacturer: Anaya Multimedia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8441516685 |
Book Description
Add seamless, interactive, user-controlled delivery to your Flash applications. This book builds upon your understanding of basic ActionScript (AS) syntax with the foundational skills that you need to use XML in Flash applications and AS2 or AS3 to migrate your existing applications.
Beginning with an introduction to XML, XML parsing methods, and a short introduction to AS2 you learn how to create a universal XML load/onload Class as well as a universal XHTML parser. Then you learn how to use Components using XML as the data source, including the menu, menubar, datagrid and tree component. Finally, a tutorial projectthe design and development of a Real Estate Web site that contains an XML search enginepulls it all together with hands-on experience.
All the applications use XML as the data source and are written as class files. Select parts of the Real Estate Web site are redeveloped in AS3 for purposes of illustration. The new XML class is presented and specific code examples demonstrate techniques to apply methods and use properties. Particular attention is paid to the differences between AS2 and AS3 and how to effectively transition from one AS version to the other.
The companion CD contains code for all of the properties and methods of the AS2, AS3, and XML class examples. Components for the Real Estate Web site project are also provided.
* Build on basic ActionScript syntax skills
* Add seamless, interactive, user-controlled delivery
Books:
- Managing and Using Information Systems
- Managing IT as a Business: A Survival Guide for CEOs
- Mastering Oracle SQL and SQL*Plus
- MCAD/MCSD Training Guide (70-316): Developing and Implementing Windows-Based Applications with Visual C# and Visual Studio.NET
- MCAD/MCSE/MCDBA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Database Design and Implementation, Exam 70-229, Second Edition
- MCDST 70-271 &70-272 Exam Cram 2 Bundle (Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Windows Xp Operating System)
- MCPD Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-536, 70-528, 70-547): Microsoft .NET Framework Web Developer Core Requirements
- MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294): Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Second Edition
- MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294): Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Second Edition
- Microsoft .NET Distributed Applications: Integrating XML Web Services and .NET Remoting
Books Index
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Beginning Flash Game Programming For Dummies
The Flash 8 Game Developing Handbook
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