Foundation ActionScript 3.0 for Flash and Flex

ActionScript 3.0, the latest version of the Flash Platform’s scripting language, offers many new and powerful features. ActionScript is now a full-fledged programming language, with complete object-oriented capabilities, improved event handling, sound and video support, drawing capabilities, support for regular expressions, and much more.

Whether you are a Flash designer wishing to add to your skill set or an experienced ActionScript developer who wants to get up to speed with the latest version, you’ll find all you need to know in Foundation ActionScript 3.0 for Flash and Flex.

Starting with the fundamentals, you’ll learn how to add interactivity to your Flash movies by using ActionScript objects, manipulating sound and video, and harnessing the power of regular expressions and XML. The book concludes with two case studies to consolidate what you’ve learned and introduce some additional advanced techniques. You’ll gain a solid understanding of the new and exciting world of ActionScript 3.0 and see how everything fits together to form complete applications, so you’ll be able to build your own professional sites.

The sensible layout of the book makes it easy to find information about specific techniques. It focuses on the essential skills that will enable you to get up and running quick. With this book as your guide, you’ll be creating killer Flash applications before you know it.

What you’ll learn

• Learn the fundamentals of ActionScript 3.0 using both the Flash IDE and Flex
• Use ActionScript 3.0’s object-oriented features
• Manipulate sound and video to produce exciting modern web applications
• Work with XML as your data source

Once you've mastered the Flash or Flex IDE there's only one way to go to create more powerful and interactive applications—you need to learn ActionScript. The ActionScript language was massively updated in version 3.0, and even if you know AS 1 or 2, you'll find that there are a lot of things in AS3.0 that you don't recognize. Whether you're completely new to ActionScript or you're coming from a previous version, Foundation ActionScript 3.0 for Flash and Flex will teach you all you need to know to get up and running with AS3.0 in no time.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started with ActionScript 3.0
2. ActionScript 3.0 Fundamentals
3. Objects and Classes
4. Working with the Display
5. Creating Vector Graphics with the Drawing API
6. User Interaction and More with Events
7. Working with Video
8. Using Audio
9. Working with Components
10. Regular Expressions
11. Using XML
12. Case Study: Creating a Dynamic Image Viewer
13. Getting Started with Flex
14. Flex by Example

This is an update of Foundation ActionScript 3.0 for the new editions of Flash and Flex. Along with updating the book, we are also making it version neutral to extend the shelf-life now that we know that Adobe have no plans at the moment for ActionScript 4.0. By separating the ActionScript language from the Flash and Flex version, we will increase the sales potential of the title.

Paul Milbourne is an Adobe Certified Expert and Instructor for Flash. He has been a Flash platform consultant in the Washington- Baltimore metropolitan area for the better part of a decade. His journey has allowed him to work with such clients as the Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, Democratic National Committee, and many others. For the most part, Paul has made a handsome career cleaning up after other developers. This experience has exposed him to most aspects of Flash development through a multitude of industries.

His true passion is the advancement of the Flash community in that area. Paul is the principal and founding member of the Baltimore-Washington Adobe Flash User Group, which now boasts more than 300 members. His vision is to unite that community in a collaborative effort, both informationally and vocationally.

Paul currently studies computer science and art at the University of Maryland. And, though he was a professional chef in a former life, he is not responsible for any of the food references in this book!