Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:  
Summary: Starts Off Well - But Too Many Errors and No Corrections
Comment: I was really enjoying the first few chapters of this book. The code examples and explanations were done well. But after continuing through chapters 4 through 10, I came across several significant errors in the code examples.
I went to the book's website several times over the past 2 months to try to find an errata published and an updated code download. I even emailed the book's author several times with corrections and requesting that errata be published and a new code download made available.
Even though this book was published in November 2007, as of the end of March 2008, there still is no errata available or updated code download.
Now that Flex 3 is out, I would recommend purchasing one of the new Flex 3 books and skipping this one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good intermediate book
Comment: I have been working with Flex off and on and still have some questions about things. I am not a codewhore; there is still a little spring left in my derriere. I like to get things done. In that regard, this book has been a real help in terms of finding solutions to common problems or issues related to the Flex framework. It does not delve deeply into Actionscript 3.0 and design patterns, but rather how to work specifically with MXML, Flex components and events. It has been really easy to find things and the author explains some more of the complex ways to work with Flex in a very practical manner that builds confidence.
Flex is deceptively simple-looking from the design view, but can get rather complex under the hood. The Expert tips sections are very helpful in that they acknowledge more abstract ways to work that you will probably be using over some of the more simple code illustrations.
For advanced actionscripting, check out "Advanced ActionScript 3 with Design Patterns". If you are trying to wrap your head around Flex and don't know where to start, "The Essential Guide to Flex 2 with ActionScript 3.0" is a good choice.
Additionally, there are a number of actionscipt books out there, and I would advise going to a bookstore to really get a feel for it. Some programming books assume no knowledge and other books assume you're coming from another language, etc.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for practical real examples
Comment: This is the perfect resource to have on your desktop while developing. When I bought it I was searching for a book different from the Flex Documentation released by Adobe. In fact I bought other Flex books that seemed like a copy (or something like that) of the Adobe Flex Livedocs.
The book (almost 1000 pages of Flex code) covers subjects of interest for developers with any level of Flex expertise. Within each chapter (14 in total), several problems are tackled and a lot of pages are devoted to each problem, with this format: the problem, what's involved, How to build it, and Expert tips.
The book has been updated to cover some of the new Flex 3 features such as the AdvancedDataGrid, the new charting components features and AIR development.
This could also be a book you'd use to learn Flex from scratch, but you'll better appreciate it if you'll use it on a regular basis as you continue to expand your Flex knowledge.
A great time saver and required resource for Flex develoeprs.
Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Errors, source code is unavailable
Comment: I really want to like this book. The examples are useful but are full of errors and mis-named variables galore.
I was tempted to write a positive review until I found that the two Web sites noted in the Introduction as the place to download the source code referenced in the book (every example references the source code examples) are no longer operational. The sites simply no longer exist. How poor.
I do not recommend this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lame...
Comment: I have to say that at first glance, this book seemed like it would be a good intro to Flex (for those with prior exposure to programming).
This was a really fast read because so much of the content was redundant. A huge chunk of this book is dedicated to binding data to controls. And unfortunately, there are a LOT of errors that only lead to confusion. I'm convinced it was rushed simply to be printed as one of the first V3 books on the shelf.
It would have been great to learn more about practical design issues. For instance, encapsulation techniques specific to Flex. However, the few examples that touch on the subject are totally wrong and completely miss the point of loose coupling.
If you buy this book, buy it for the "solutions" it includes. But don't expect to get much more.
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