Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great Introduction To ActionScript 3
Comment: I am an experienced programmer who knows Java very well, and I was looking to learn ActionScript 3 so as to be able to build Flash applications. I found this book very easy to read and to understand, and the examples easy to put in practice. Sure, there are a few errors here and there (including in the code, which may confound a truly inexperienced programmer, but also make him think a bit to find the errors... a good exercise), but the overall tone is nice. I took my time, going through about one chapter a day (having other things to do as well), so I finished the book in about a month. Someone dedicated can probably read the whole book and play with all the examples in about a week. I especially liked the fact that the book introduces the reader to almost all Flash APIs: graphics, animation, user interface, XML parsing, file management, networking, image processing, printing, JavaScript interaction, etc. It does not go in depth into most APIs, but by the time you're done reading the book, you have a great overall picture of what you can do with Flash, and you can now explore the APIs in depth by yourself to build more complex projects (using the very comprehensive integrated help that comes with Flash CS3 Professional). You know where to look. I took notes while reading the book every time I learned a new concept, and now I use a highlighter to cross individual notes out as I put the concept in practice into my code and memorize it for good. I hope to have crossed out all my notes in the coming weeks. Anyway, one month after having finished the book, I consider myself quite familiar with ActionScript 3, and I have been writing some good code. So I would say that I am very happy that I purchased this book.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Hilariously Unusable
Comment: I rarely write a review but feel compelled to warn others to steer clear of this book.
Although a good, "hypothetical", big-picture overview; most of the book's examples have been edited to save space; thus rendering most of the examples found within the book incomplete and totally unworkable. What's still, is the downloaded example files are full of misspellings (extremely important in such a specific language as AS3) and stray characters (most notably, the letter "i" which was the word-wrap arrow when translated from the book) that broke the code completely.
If you're looking for a practical overview filled with useful examples that illuminate instead of frustrate, look elsewhere. I know I am.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Simple to Read
Comment: Good organization and objective topics that can be read in sequence or as a reference. But the paper quality is very poor and the cover is too thin.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource
Comment: The Actionscript 3.0 Bible is an excellent resource for Actionscript developers as well as Flash/Flex designers. This book has tons of valuable code snippets and examples to help you to create anything you can imagine within you RIA. This is a must have for Flash and/or Flex developers. Worth every penny.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not useless, but disappointing
Comment: The ActionScript 2.0 Bible, in my opinion, was indispensable; so I figured that this book, too, would be of considerable value in the migration from AS2 to AS3. I was disappointed by the examples, which were often fragmented or incomplete, and by the general organization of each chapter. Rarely were methods and properties for featured classes listed entirely in one location; this made quick reference difficult. Because there are many significant differences between AS2 and AS3, this book would benefit from more explicit and practical, as opposed to hypothetical and conceptual, examples (especially in the Class chapters). That said, I am now up and running in 3.0; but I often found myself working through the help files in the CS3 software to try to figure out how to implement the instructions in the book. As a teacher, and presently student, of technology, I would suggest comparing a few texts before buying this one. It's definitely not a waste of money if you have prior AS experience, but you may find a better value elsewhere.
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