New to Flash MX Actionscripting? Then this book may be just right for you!.... or maybe not. Ask yourself one question before you go out and buy this book, are you the type of person who learns better by hands-on tutorials, or by simply reading through a long paragraph of text explaining everything?

Mr. Kerman definitely did a fine job of keeping his audience interested with his friendly tone throughout the book but in my opinion, one thing he lacked was definitely something OTHER THAN text. I'd say this book is by no means a decent reference book (well compared to all the other books you can buy instead), but it is good in that you don't need to sit at your computer and follow along tutorials and stuff like that (not for the first part where he explains the stuff in actionscript). But if you're like me, you'll soon realize that this is definitely something you need to REALLY learn properly. Luckily for me, I had the foundation of actionscript from my previous book Macromedia Flash MX ActionScripting: Advanced Training from the Source by Derek Franklin, Jobe Makar, but since I just felt like my knowledge of the language lacked a bit of clarity, I turned to Mr. Kerman's book as a refreshers' course.

As I read through the pages, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to learn actionscript virtually anywhere I was since I didn't need a computer for the first half of the book (the part where he teaches you the concepts behind all the different codes), but I soon became annoyed as I found myself forgetting a lot of the stuff I'd read earlier on as I progressed into the later chapters. Call me forgetful or whatever, it just didn't seem to sink into my head as deep as I would hope it did. If the author had added a few more visual examples along with his explanation of what each term/function/etc. did, I think I would have understood all the stuff much better.

I'd like to point out that this book IS meant to take you from actionscript-stupid to actionscript-knowledgable (you get what I mean!) and it is the part where you actually get down and dirty with actually typing the code along with the guidance of the book that I think you really learn how to make use of actionscript. But one problem, if I hadn't gone through my previous book on actionscript, I think I'd most probably be lost without any visual examples for me to grasp what exactly is going on. It's like learning math formulas by reading a book full of text and not enough worked examples to show you its applications.

Ok, I'm being a bit unfair, because the book does have a workshop at the end, but I'm just saying, it's no point if you go to the workshop section and realize you can't explain clearly what is going on from just seeing the script.

So if you're the type that can learn and remember stuff new to you from just reading about it without requiring hands-on training, then this book is a good step for you to take towards learning the language. If you're the kind that can learn and remember stuff new to you from just reading about it along with a lot of worked examples of these new things to see on the printed pages, then this book is not for you. There are other books out there like this for example, the Macromedia Flash MX ActionScript Bible, but that's a hefty 1000+ pages, and I wouldn't say its a good book for a actionscript first-timer (I'll write a full review on that book sometime later!).

But if you're the type that needs to do the stuff before it stays in your mind (like yours truly), then this book is going to leave you confused if it is your gateway to your exploration in the unchartered world of actionscript. You'll have to try somewhere else.

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reviewed by: Ellen Lazare

Phillip Kerman’s “Actionscripting in Flash Mx” is not a light read. It is over 650 pages chock full of information. The author himself does not recommend it as an introduction to FlashMx.

The book is organized into two basic sections. The first part, accounting for about two thirds of the book, consists of 16 foundation chapters which cover almost every detail of Actionscript. The second part, a series of workshops, is divided into basic, intermediate and advanced workshops. Throughout the book he has included “new to Mx’ icons which are very useful for those familiar with previous versions of Flash.

As a Flash “fledgling” this book has been an invaluable teaching aid and Flash resource. Kerman has an excellent way of simplifying complex concepts. For example, his chapter on programming structures uses a jellybean buying trip to explain conditional statements. He manages to “lighten up the book’ with paragraph headings like “have the humility to call yourself a fool”. His fishbowl graphic used to illustrate how frames of reference work is simplicity itself.

The workshops build on the concepts introduced in the first part of the book and will provide a designer with many practical applications. The code used in the workshops is available on his website.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about mastering Flash.

Ellen is a web designer in the Comox Valley on beautiful Vancouver Island in British Columbia. She hopes with her second read of Kerman's book it will all crystallize!