Rating: 
Summary: Good Book with real "Flashy" stuff
Review: I got this book yesterday and found it worthy. This is a good book for programmers who want to do stuff with XML,JavaScript,ActionScript and integrate it with Flash animation. This book requires you to know javascript at least. It tells you to read the actionscript reference in case you don't know any. So if you're a beginner in programming, you'll need to refer some basic programming book like "Sams Teach yourself" serires.
Rating: 
Summary: Leaves me in the dark
Review: I have been doing actionscripting in Flash 4 and it seems that since a lot of tags were deprecated (outdated) in Flash 5 so I have to learn new methods employing actionscript in Flash 5.I am not a programmer but a web designer, employing programming knowledge in HTML including CSS and minimal javascript so my knowledge on the object-oriented model used in Flash 5 is minimal. This book requires you to know javascript at least. It tells you to read the actionscript reference in case you don't know any, but even as I did read and tried to understand the reference so many times, the book wasn't as helpful. It leaves me in the dark because even though it explains what those custom functions are for, it does not explain why the order of the functions are in such a way such that you would require one to initialize first, etc. etc. I'm thinking even if I'm an expert in javascript, I would not need this book because the methods employed would be the usual ones anyway. So if you're a beginner in programming, you'll find that this book is not helpful at all, leaving you in the dark on the "whys" of the script. Or if you're expert programmer, you probably won't need this book because the methods employed are the usual stuff anyway.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: I have to say, this is a great book. I don't think there is another on the market like this one!
Rating:
Summary: ADVANCED USERS - READ IT BACKWARDS
Review: I just bought this book less than 24 hours ago, and I read the last section - on database integration - first. My rating is based entirely on this last section, which for me, was worth the price of the book. I am an advanced ActionScripter, and have thorough knowledge in many other languages like Perl, PHP, JavaScript (of course), and XML. I never knew Flash 5 could do the things Flash 5 Magic has taught me so far. No more using Perl to write text files for the loadVariables() method... The 350+ pages are laminated & in full color too, so that's gotta be worth something:)
Rating:
Summary: A book that is not just full talk
Review: I know the basic of Flash 5 and have been really wanting to learn the more complex areas but have had trouble finding a source that explained them well and most importantly gave solid, real life examples to back them up. I umed and erd about buying this book, but from the moment i got it any reservations were dismissed. It if fantastically done, well laid out, colour is well used to make example text stand out. What is so good is that anything they try to teach you has a very solid, real life example to go with it, and you are given the start .fla files as well as finished ones, if you want/need to have a sneak peak at what it will look like. It is very usefull having the finished article available as if you don't quite understand what is meant from the text, being able to look at an finished example it helps it all fall into place. Although there is something in this book for all levels of users it is more aimed at people who already know the basics and who want to leverage Flash more effectively in the production process. It covers basic to advanced levels of object-orientated scripting, Flash application development, client-server interaction, rich media content development and of course animation. to quote,'It is built around projects and intergrated techniques, rather than individual techniques of Flash..' ActionScript is the heart of Flash, and the power it has is the big reason why it destroys any of its competition, so if you are wanting to learn Flash, ActionScript is a must, and if you want to learn ActionScript you could so alot worse than this book. Well done to the authors, a brilliant example of what other books should be like!
Rating:
Summary: Intermediate to Advanced
Review: I really am enjoying this read, for many reasons. I like all the authors' style of writing, and their examples are actually practical. I also am digging the shape of the book. It's short and wide and stays open by itself. If you are serious about flash than I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: One Great Book!
Review: I thought Flash 4 Magic was good this one is great! They diffently out did themselves with this one. Mind you, it is for experienced Flash users but a big help!!! You will love it and all Flash users should own a copy of this one. Great Job!!!
Rating:
Summary: 6 Stars!! It's that good!
Review: I thought Flash 4 Magic was great, but this version, which is a Totally different book, is in a category of it's own. But be warned, when the category listing says intermediate to Advanced, it means it. Of course that's what useres at that level want. If you want a beginners book, check out Friends of Ed foundational book or the Idiots book (I hate that title) but Mr. Karlins did a great job for the beginner. You want the meat and potatoes of Flash, this is a great book. It uses Real World projects such as managing your assests, designing a shared library, and tons of ActionScript. Is this the "pretty" stuff, no, but it sure helps you get the job done. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of the pretty stuff too, but with the pretty comes setting up rotation and alpha transparency, animating mouse effects, randomized arrays. There is just so much in this book, I couldn't begin to tell it all. You will even implement databases and add content to an XML document. This is a very deep book and the tough subjects are not avoided. You will not regret investing in your future by purchasing this book.Even if you are new with ActionScript you will be able to figure it out with this book. Not to say a total novice opening Flash for the first time would be comfortable.
Rating:
Summary: Still Helpful as Ever...
Review: I would consider myself a semi-advanced Flash developer. In my department we have programmers, animators and developers working with Flash 5, each at different levels. This book has really helped us out with our projects. The different projects and ideas that this book has to offer as helped us get started with our projects. For me, the great part has been some of the more advanced ActionScript examples in this book. As most Flash developers I get stuck from time to time, usually hours before a project is due. This book has many different examples and I am able to review them and usually find answers to my problems. My animators like the book because it offers more than just ActionScript... something that is still a new concept to some of them :) I don't find all the chapters to be useful to me but most of them are quite useful. I use parts of each project in the book to help me with my projects.
Rating:
Summary: Flash 5 Magic pays for itself
Review: I've worked through the majority of the chapters in the book. Since working through the book I've been able to utilize techniques I learned in the book on several jobs. I'm grateful I took the time because this book has paid for itself 10 times over for me. Don't listen to the people who claim the book is full of errors. Oh, there's an error or two, but everything I found was inconsequential. I made it through every chapter I tried without in any real problem (aside from my occassional typo or misreading the directions). This book isn't perfect, but it's WAY ahead of the competition.
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