I have heard great things about Phillip Kerman’s conference presentations on the subject of Flash ActionScript, so I was looking forward to this book.
      I was not disappointed—ActionScripting in Flash ranks up there with Colin Moock’s ActionScript: The Definitive Guide as a damned fine reference for designers who have already dipped their toes into the waters of scripting and wish to make their way down the path of becoming fully-fledged Flash programmers.

Who For and Why?
ActionScripting in Flash is not for the beginning ActionScripter. There are several excellent books directed to designers needing to learn scripting, such as Friends of ED’s Foundation ActionScript and Flash 5 ActionScript Studio, and Brendan Dawes’ Drag, Slide, Fade.
      All of the above are better suited to the visually-oriented and to busy designers needing to quickly get to grips with common ActionScript actions and effects. The time to get a better understanding of how the language actually works, and what other objects and functions are available to you, is after you have broken the ice and have gained a better understanding of how scripting can radically extend what Flash can do for you.
      Using Flash without even touching ActionScript, as a surprising number of designers manage to do, is like trying to walk on one leg or worse.
      ActionScripting in Flash will be popular amongst people already working as programmers but who want to expand into ActionScript. The book is text-heavy with the illustrations sparse and mostly screenshots in monochrome, and that is a design approach more familiar to readers of programming rather than design books.

Freak or Unique?
But where Kerman triumphs over the authors of more regular programming books is in his deep and detailed exposition of what he is doing. He does not skimp, and I found I could easily follow his explanations even if I did not understand the code he was talking about at first.
      The book is anything but heavy-going even if the idea of programming does not come lightly to you. You will need to read through each chapter carefully, preferably while having your copy of Flash open on your machine in front of you to better burn his words into your memory. But that painstaking effort will pay off handsomely.
      What is also unique about ActionScripting in Flash is Kerman’s understanding and coverage of Flash 5’s Smart Clips feature. Smart Clips, like so many other aspects of Flash, have been poorly explained by Flash’s inventors even though they love to hint at their power and flexibility.
      That tendency has been frustrating in the past, but Kerman takes the sting out of it all by clearly showing how to build Smart Clips and then how to give them your own custom GUI (Graphical User Interface).

An essential, IMHO.
Sooner or later you are going to come up against the boundaries of what you can do with Flash minus ActionScript. That is when you should definitely go take a look at some of the excellent introductions to scripting for designers that are out there.
      Then, when you see that Flash 5’s programming horizons stretch on further than you had ever imagined, get yourself a copy of ActionScripting in Flash. I would also add a copy of Colin Moock’s ActionScript: The Definitive Guide. They complement each other, and together make for a very complete and very definitive ActionScript reference.

The Book:

• Title: ActionScripting in Flash
• Author: Phillip Kerman
• Publisher: SAMS
• Publication Year: 2001
• Pages: 618
• Illustrations: Monochrome
• ISBN: 0672320789
• Rating: 4.5

• Part I, Foundation
  • Flash Basics
  • What’s New in Flash 5
  • The Programmer’s Approach
  • Basic Programming in Flash
  • Programming Structures
  • Debugging
  • The Movie Clip Object
  • Functions
  • Selecting Text, Trapping Keys, and Manipulating Strings
  • Arrays
  • Objects
  • Homemade Objects
  • Smart Clips
  • Interfacing with External data
• Part II, Workshop
  • Ensuring that Users have the Flash 5 Player </li>
  • Faking Video
  • Creating Custom Cursors
  • Building a Slide Show
  • Mapping
  • Working with Odd-Shaped Clickable Areas
  • Adapting Built-in Smart Clips
  • Creating a Currency Exchange Calculator
  • Creating a ToolTip Smart Clip
  • Creating a Digital Timer
  • Creating an Analog Timer
  • Creating a Countdown Timer
  • Developing Time-Based Animation
  • Creating a Multistate Button
  • Offline Production
  • Creating a Dynamic Slide Presentation
  • Creating JavaScript Cookies
  • Writing JavaScript Inter-Movie Communications
  • Fixing Broken Scripts
• Part III, Appendices
  • Equivalents
  • Making Flash Extensions for the Macromedia Exchange Web Site