Rating: 
Summary: A Quick Read Packed With Information
Review:
At first glance of "Macromedia Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications" I noticed that the book is not meant to be a complete reference for Flash MX 2004 or ActionScripting. Finally I had a book in my hands that isn't a 1400 page terse reference manual. "Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications" at 460 pages is very convenient and easy to hold. Thank goodness for that as I have read through so many 1400 page reference books lately that my wrists are about to explode. This book will really strike a nerve with intermediate Flash MX 2004 developers who already have some basic understanding of ActionScript and the Flash MX 2004 interface. I enjoyed the small snippets of code with easy to understand explanations. It's a real source of relief to me that it doesn't require writing 2,000 lines of code just to get an understanding of how a small function works. The book is written as if the author knew "just" the code I needed to get many important tasks done and he presents it in a way that gives direct explanation and a flexible snippet of code that is also reusable. Of the most interest was Chapter 5 'Presenting Data" which has some really good examples of how to work with HTML and CSS styles inside of Flash to present data in a consistent form. Also standing out is Chapter 6 'Basic Data Exchange' which covers using Flash to store user information and manipulate your Flash movies in some creative and interesting ways. It also covers the use of XML specifically in the Flash MX 2004 interface which is nice. Another mentionable is Chapter 10 'Production Techniques' which is full of time saving and useful tips to using Flash. This chapter is really worth the price of the book if you don't have a vast network of Flash developers to tap into for the 411 on how to use Flash MX 2004 in a production environment. All said and done, after I finished reading "Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications" it was hard to believe that this book could pack so much useful information into such a small package but it did just that for me. It was a pleasure to read, interesting and full of information. We highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A Quick Read Packed With Information
Review:
At first glance of "Macromedia Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications" I noticed that the book is not meant to be a complete reference for Flash MX 2004 or ActionScripting. Finally I had a book in my hands that isn't a 1400 page terse reference manual. "Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications" at 460 pages is very convenient and easy to hold. Thank goodness for that as I have read through so many 1400 page reference books lately that my wrists are about to explode. This book will really strike a nerve with intermediate Flash MX 2004 developers who already have some basic understanding of ActionScript and the Flash MX 2004 interface. I enjoyed the small snippets of code with easy to understand explanations. It's a real source of relief to me that it doesn't require writing 2,000 lines of code just to get an understanding of how a small function works. The book is written as if the author knew "just" the code I needed to get many important tasks done and he presents it in a way that gives direct explanation and a flexible snippet of code that is also reusable. Of the most interest was Chapter 5 'Presenting Data" which has some really good examples of how to work with HTML and CSS styles inside of Flash to present data in a consistent form. Also standing out is Chapter 6 'Basic Data Exchange' which covers using Flash to store user information and manipulate your Flash movies in some creative and interesting ways. It also covers the use of XML specifically in the Flash MX 2004 interface which is nice. Another mentionable is Chapter 10 'Production Techniques' which is full of time saving and useful tips to using Flash. This chapter is really worth the price of the book if you don't have a vast network of Flash developers to tap into for the 411 on how to use Flash MX 2004 in a production environment. All said and done, after I finished reading "Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications" it was hard to believe that this book could pack so much useful information into such a small package but it did just that for me. It was a pleasure to read, interesting and full of information. We highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: RIAs in : ) Refreshing web pages out : (
Review: A truly down to earth book. It covers the programming aspects in easy to understand and real users lingo. Almost reads my mind as to when to throw in a 'cool exercise' to show the benifits of the particular section. I've read numerous books on Flash RIA development but this one is the one that makes it all seem simple in retrospect. The data is flowing!
Well done, Phillip. You've moved to the top of my list for authors in Flash.
Rating:
Summary: RIAs in : ) Refreshing web pages out : (
Review: A truly down to earth book. It covers the programming aspects in easy to understand and real users lingo. Almost reads my mind as to when to throw in a 'cool exercise' to show the benifits of the particular section. I've read numerous books on Flash RIA development but this one is the one that makes it all seem simple in retrospect. The data is flowing!
Well done, Phillip. You've moved to the top of my list for authors in Flash.
Rating:
Summary: an eye opener on many development tricks and techniques
Review: A very good read! I took interest to this book mostly for the 2 chapters on Flash Communication Server and have ended up reading a great deal of the rest of the book. I have found that there are a lot of hidden gems in this book that many authors don't touch base on. From production shortcuts to optimizing scripts that even macromedia doesn't mention. Seeing how one develops their own apps without components in the flash comm chapters was a real eye opener due of the lack of documentation on doing such. This book has help on a few different projects since I have read it! From optimizing my RSOs in FCS to building powerful multidimensional arrays - efficiently. I think this book is for self starters and motivated individuals that see the need to learn with out the opportunity of having some one around to show you the tricks and techniques to speed up your production.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the greatest, but not too bad
Review: Alright, I went through this entire book. It did bring up a lot of new things I wasn't familiar with. For example, the Local Shared Object was new to me. There are some errors in the book though like where he says that all external .as class files must be in the same directory as the swf. Not true at all. Or where he says there is no limit to the amount of data you can send with POST.
Nevertheless, I found it to be an enjoyable read. It's really a book more about RIA development with Flash in general. Good for medium level developers, not experts who are great at manipulating objects and class files.
I'd recommend buying it used on the cheap, definitley NOT retail!!!
Rating:
Summary: Phillip Kerman has written another MUST READ flash book!
Review: As a web development professional who's purchased well over a hundred Web Devlopment books over the years, I most often find myself skimming and referencing these giant manuals, however in Phillip Kerman I've discovered a READABLE technical author. After purchasing Phillip Kerman's previous outstanding book "ActionScripting in Flash MX" I saw that he was the first to publish an MX 2004 title. Naturally, his previous book was recommendation enough, so I purchased "Macromedia Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications". Having now read it cover to cover - and now as I go through it again - I'm amazed at his writing style. Not only is it extremely understandable, thoughtful, and insightful, (even the complicated parts), it makes sense of the CONCEPTS behind what he's talking about - not just the examples. In MX 2004 for RIA's, Kerman walks the user through everything from arrays to the new components, to exchanging data with outside sources, to communication server, etc. Basically covering all the good bits that Flash MX 2004 is capable of. This is not a reference book - It is a book that gives you a BROAD UNDERSTANDING as well as the confidence you need to take on the advanced stuff on your own. If you're the type of person that borrows code from other sources because you've never quite UNDERSTOOD something. Read this and people WILL BE BORROWING YOUR CODE. I'm please to say that Kerman is consistently ahead of the pack in both his writing and explanatory style. I enthusiastically recommend this book to all professionals looking to dive into Flash MX 2004 and gain a thorough understanding of it's new and improved features and components.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs and Big Toes Up!
Review: Be certain that if you are going to give this book a bad review that you have read it through completely. There are chapters which very much gloss over important aspects of Flash RIA's. These are dealt with in much greater detail later in the book. If you have given this book thumbs down so to speak, it is not likely you have read the whole book. Having gotten that out of the way: Does this book cover absolutely every aspect of Flash MX 2004? No way, not even close! No sinle book could; not even the big fat Flash Bible covers everything. But none of that matters. The title of the bok is not,"Flash MX 2004 A Comprehensive Guide" no, the title is, "Flash MX 2004 FOR RICH INTERENET APPLICATIONS". And not even the Big Fat Flash Bible covers Flash/Data management and RIAs as well Kerman's book does. If you are somewhat familiar with flash and actionscript and have begun the confusing process of creating RIA's this book will go a long way towards clearing the air. It is written in an easy going conversational style that enables one to read entire chapters without so much as a single yawn. Chapter 3 lays out the technologies in question. It is an excellent overview. The following chapters describe these technologies in greater detail and how to employ them. If you are new to flash remoting and flash communicating with the outside world this book is for you. I am not new to this technology but the good habits this book portrays and encourages will go a long way towards improving my scripting, designing and developing skills. This book is for designers and developers. The codes within are solid. There is nothing worse than trying to understand a new concept only to discover that the code you were trying to learn from suffered from syntax errors. Fortunatley that is not an issue here. Kudos to the Author!
Rating: 
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK
Review: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!!! This is a complete waste of money. The reviewers who gave > 2 stars MUST be 'planted' reviews by the author or publisher, because this book is clearly written by a Flash novice. You were warned.
Rating:
Summary: If only all tech books were as interesting to read ...
Review: Having read through (more or less) quite a number of Flash books during the last year or so, it strikes me how easy this book is to read and understand. As another reviewer noted, reading this book is like reading a good novel - it catches you and holds you to the end... (and it won't take you that long to get there). I find that some of the other Flash (or any tech subject for that matter) titles on my bookshelf collects dust while I try to find the time to finish them. This title won't ... This book presents an excellent overview of Flash MX and data comms and gives an intermediate Flash user like myself an understanding on a higher level. I know that this book has strengthened my appetite for dwelving into subjects like Flash Comm Server and Coldfusion.
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