Book Review: Essential ActionScript 2.0

Colin Moock's name is synonymous with Macromedia Flash. Since releasing (in 2001) his first 'Definitive Guide' to ActionScript -- the programming language behind Flash -- followed by the expanded 'Flash MX' second edition, Moock's references are considered by most Flash developers (myself included) to be the best ActionScript language references available.

Moock's guides live up to their "Essential" titles because they are accessible by any Flash developer, regardless of experience. For the amateurs, Moock's writing style is clear, organized, and plain-spoken. For the pros, Moock's language references are thorough, well-researched, and chocked full of real-world knowledge. As a whole, they are the perfect books to both learn ActionScript from the ground up, and as a guide book for daily use.

So with Essential ActionScript 2.0, Moock is back with another 'essential' ActionScript guide, but like the '2.0' in the title suggests, the book is completely different. So different in fact, it requires discussion of what changed in Flash itself.

ActionScript 2.0 is essentially a more formalized version of ActionScript, or as it is now referred to, ActionScript 1.0. The base of the language is exactly the same -- all the familiar built-in objects, methods, and attributes from old are carried over (making Moock's previous Definitive Guide still very much up-to-date) -- but 2.0 ushers in new commands allowing developers a stricter, more object-oriented environment to create applications with.

So if the changes between 1.0 and 2.0 are small, why do they warrant an entirely new, 504 page book? The answer isn't in the language, but in the new programming structure ActionScript 2.0 provides. Object-oriented programming is an entirely different method than procedural. It requires developers to no longer think of their application workflows in a linear 'start-to-finish' fashion, but as a group of modular 'black boxes' of logic that together form the programming interface of a project.

For programmers new to Flash -- especially those coming from Java, C++ and others -- the new ActionScript 2.0 framework will feel right at home. For longtime Flash developers, accustomed to the wild-west, loose structure of traditional ActionScript, the shift to 2.0 will require a little hand-holding. EA 2 handles the needs of both magnificiently.

Essential ActionScript 2.0 not only covers basic object-oriented theory, and how it applies to ActionScript, but provides guidance on how to best construct, organize, and maintain your Flash applications. It's here that EA 2 shines by providing a bounty of real-world, experienced knowledge so developers can quickly get up to speed with everything that is new, and more importantly learn the proper way to start.

But should all Flash developers immediately upgrade their skill set (as is often the impulse reaction to all Flash updates) and start coding all their projects in an object-oriented style using ActionScript 2.0? Absolutely not. As Moock points out, there are many day-to-day projects that benefit from the loose, procedural style of coding most developers have been using in Flash for years, and ActionScript 2.0 is not about to replace the old way of doing things. But as a developer's experience grows, and their projects become more complex, the greater the need for a strict, logical programming structure to work within. And when that need arises, EA 2 is the best ActionScript resource for intermediate and advanced developers on shelves today.