Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for ANY programmer
Review: As a programmer for 20+ years, I have known the value of flash/action script, but had been unable to actually make anything happen every time I tried to do something in Flash. Nate's book uses a very thoughtful approach to guiding the user through an intelligent process. He jumps right in, in the beginning, getting you buiilding something fast, so you can value the environment and see just how easy it can be when you know how. Then, he walks you through action script techniques, demonstating the power of integrating object-oriented programming via a compiled, web-accessed language. The examples on how to connect to data servers were superb and really focussed on doing what makes sense, rather than just going with the newest technology. He wraps up with good session-variable and form integration/validation techniques. The approach this book uses makes sense for the learner, while becoming an excellent reference when finished.I bought this book after sitting through a macromedia demo showing how I could make a whole 'web site' in flash without any action scripting whatsoever. I was amazed and intrigued and immedaitely bought flash mx 2004 pro. Then I tried to use it and just couldn't make it do the magical thing the macromedia guy had done. I saw the power, but couldn't master the art. I expected this book to be all about how to use mx 2004 pro's screens and web services connectors. As I first started reading, I was initially disapointed because I thouht the book was just a flash mx 2004 (not pro) renamed to catch the reader's eye. After getting into the book, I am THOROUGHLY glad that Nate used the approach he did! He explains that the new screens and components have value, but do not negate the value of many, many other tools within flash. Seeing the big picture will truly enable me to build quality apps while utilizing a variety of resources within flash. In conclusion, I am VERY, VERY pleased with this book's honest, experienced approach to making flash a practical and effective tool in developing Rich Internet Apps.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for ANY programmer
Review: As a programmer for 20+ years, I have known the value of flash/action script, but had been unable to actually make anything happen every time I tried to do something in Flash. Nate's book uses a very thoughtful approach to guiding the user through an intelligent process. He jumps right in, in the beginning, getting you buiilding something fast, so you can value the environment and see just how easy it can be when you know how. Then, he walks you through action script techniques, demonstating the power of integrating object-oriented programming via a compiled, web-accessed language. The examples on how to connect to data servers were superb and really focussed on doing what makes sense, rather than just going with the newest technology. He wraps up with good session-variable and form integration/validation techniques. The approach this book uses makes sense for the learner, while becoming an excellent reference when finished. I bought this book after sitting through a macromedia demo showing how I could make a whole 'web site' in flash without any action scripting whatsoever. I was amazed and intrigued and immedaitely bought flash mx 2004 pro. Then I tried to use it and just couldn't make it do the magical thing the macromedia guy had done. I saw the power, but couldn't master the art. I expected this book to be all about how to use mx 2004 pro's screens and web services connectors. As I first started reading, I was initially disapointed because I thouht the book was just a flash mx 2004 (not pro) renamed to catch the reader's eye. After getting into the book, I am THOROUGHLY glad that Nate used the approach he did! He explains that the new screens and components have value, but do not negate the value of many, many other tools within flash. Seeing the big picture will truly enable me to build quality apps while utilizing a variety of resources within flash. In conclusion, I am VERY, VERY pleased with this book's honest, experienced approach to making flash a practical and effective tool in developing Rich Internet Apps.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a Great Book for Server Geeks!
Review: As the book stated, this is a book for application developers (e.g. people that write web applications using Java, C#, ColdFusion). If you are one of those people, and like me, need to learn how to use Flash as a rich client front-end and retrieves data from a server, this is hands-down the best book!! I have never used Flash in my life and this is the first book I went through. After going through it, I was able to use Flash adequately and have a VERY GOOD understanding how to bring data back from the server. The author explains everything from the point of a developer (not a designer) and this helps tremendously. Note that this book is narrowly focused, but gets the job done very well!!
After you read this book, you will probably want to learn more about ActionScript 2.0, you should then move on to Essential ActionScript 2.0 by Colin Moock.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Bridges the Gap
Review: At last, a book for the graphically impaired who cringe when they open up Flash MX and see an interface full of panels, but no place to type in code. Nate Weiss does not spend much time on Flash's plethora of graphics tools, just enough to allow the reader to create simple visual objects to display data. After a quick run-through of the Flash interface, including helpful preference settings to make the desktop coder-friendly, he gets right into building an app using components and ActionScript. He makes Flash concepts accessible by relating them to familiar programming concepts, like classes, methods and properties. The well-thought-out sample applications provide significant interaction with the development environment as well as familiarity with the ActionScript code. The author covers several approaches to retrieving data ( plain text. XML, Flash Remoting and Web services) using the appropriate component for each. He also explores forms, validation and maintaining session state, including shared local objects. Sample apps and data are downloaded from the book's web site. All server-side code is presented in three formats: ColdFusionMX, ASP.NET and Java. This code is explained line by line in such a way that PHP or Perl programmers should be able to write their own versions. Sample data is provided in four formats: Access 2000, MySqp, SQLServer 2000 and Oracle. Mr. Weiss knows his audience. A graphic designer with minimal programming experience will fine this book daunting, but a code-focused developer will find it a perfect guide to the world of Flash MX 2004.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is for server geeks - ONLY
Review: I am an experienced Flash MX 2004 developer but I have little experience with server side programming. I hoped that this book would help to bridge that gap but it doesn't - unless you are already experienced in ColdFusion, ASP.NET or JSP. The author says it is easy to translate the examples to PHP etc. I have some experience with PHP. However the server side code for the examples is NOT explained which makes it difficult if you don't know ColdFusion etc. Knowing PHP is not sufficient.
In fairness, the author is very clear about the intended audience (page xxi) but the back cover of the book says it is for "web developers" and "exchanging data between client and server". If you are a web developer using (say) Dreamweaver rather than ColdFusion this book is probably not what you want. If you already know Flash MX and want to learn how to integrate it with server side programs its probably not for you either. If you are truly a server geek - you will probably love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating book
Review: I guess the positive reviews come from Cold Fusion developers. I'm trying to use Access or SQL, and none of the examples worked for me. I noticed a bug as well. None of my correspondence to the author was answered, and there is no list of errata on his web page. The book was a waste of $50 for a project I needed done yesterday.
Rating:
Summary: I keep this book at arms length
Review: I have used Flash since the very beginning and have always just used it for design and animation and always avoided the actionscript as much as possible as I thought the entire interface was a little too cumberscome to adopt.
I am a systems integrator and mostly just a hack type of coder, not really knowing any specific language to any great degree. I just learn what I need to get by.
However, when I picked up this book, I was a little intimidated because I thought it was going to be for the hardcore coding junkies (I mean look at the title for godsakes), but I was definitely pleasantly surprised.
I have been a very active amazon customer for a long time and have never ever written a review and I thought that this book definitely deserved my praise.
Let me tell you how I ended up buying this book, despite my own coding ability (or should I say inability) and despite the intimidating title of the book.
For the last couple months I have been scouring the internet, trying to find supportive material to help me build Rich Internet Applications using FlashMX2004Pro and ASP.NET with a MS SQL back-end and without the pure knowledge of ASP.NET, I thought that my mission was going to be a lost cause, or rather I was going to have to outsource my project. But, as soon as I bought this book, I was able to connect to a Microsoft SQL database and build a Flash App that generated the buttons dynamically from an XML file and provide dynamic content right from the first example in just a short amount of time. This not only sold me on the book and the author, but got me excited about what I was going to be able to do with the new FlashMX2004Pro.
The author explains everything in a very simple and understandable manner and ties the knots, instead of leaving you hanging. I felt comfortable in learning the examples along with the server-side code he provides. (btw, he provides you with server-side code examples in Cold Fusion, ASP.NET and Java for each example - which was over and above my expectations).
Just even with example server side ASP.NET code, I can begin to develop the project that I have envisioned and I now feel that I have the proper tool set and foundation to code any idea in full.
RIA developers -- Watchout, there is a new force in town. ;)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource from beginner to advanced developers
Review: I was one of the Technical Editors for the book and I have to say, without a doubt, that this book has all the information you could ever want in communicating with nearly any server side technology you would need to. The examples are complete, thorough and very well written. Nate took the time to write out expamples that employeed advanced techniques in Flash for those that are curious, but keeps the main focus straight forward and easy to comprehend. This book covers all the basic, fundamental ways to get Flash talking to a server and covers the new ground of 2004MX (Data components, remoting, webservices, Slides, Forms etc) - Great book to have on your shelf!
Rating:
Summary: Pulling it all together!
Review: I'm thrilled to no end that I bought this book! As a ColdFusion developer, I have been wanting to add a Flash front end to my apps for months. But between timelines and tweens, I just couldn't justify the time to learn Flash. When Flash MX Professional 2004 was released, I took another look. I downloaded the trial copy and started playing around with it and was able to create something rather quickly. So I bought the product. At that time, the books were few and far between. Some online tutorials existed, but didn't seem to be in line with what I was trying to do. I preorded this book based on the Author's previous writings with Ben Forta in regards to ColdFusion. The day it arrived I started reading it from page 1, which is something I rarely do...usually I just look in the contents or the index to find something specific that I am looking for. Before I was finished with the first chapter, I knew that it was written just for me! This book is for developers that want to create rich, data-driven internet applications without the fuss and muss of using the Flash timeline! It has a great mix of background explanations and hands-on projects to get you started right away. I've recommended this book over and over in the online forums that I subscribe to, and haven't had a dissatisfied person yet!
Rating:
Summary: Pulling it all together!
Review: I'm thrilled to no end that I bought this book! As a ColdFusion developer, I have been wanting to add a Flash front end to my apps for months. But between timelines and tweens, I just couldn't justify the time to learn Flash. When Flash MX Professional 2004 was released, I took another look. I downloaded the trial copy and started playing around with it and was able to create something rather quickly. So I bought the product. At that time, the books were few and far between. Some online tutorials existed, but didn't seem to be in line with what I was trying to do. I preorded this book based on the Author's previous writings with Ben Forta in regards to ColdFusion. The day it arrived I started reading it from page 1, which is something I rarely do...usually I just look in the contents or the index to find something specific that I am looking for. Before I was finished with the first chapter, I knew that it was written just for me! This book is for developers that want to create rich, data-driven internet applications without the fuss and muss of using the Flash timeline! It has a great mix of background explanations and hands-on projects to get you started right away. I've recommended this book over and over in the online forums that I subscribe to, and haven't had a dissatisfied person yet!
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