A key to understanding this book is noting that it's title is "Essential ActionScript 2," not "ActionScript 2: The Definitive Guide." If you're looking for a complete treatment of the language, look elsewhere. If, however, you have a good working knowledge of ActionScript 1 (AS1) and are considering a move to ActionScript 2 (AS2), then get this book.
Also note that the title of this book is not "Essential Flash MX 2004." I agree with some reviewers who would have liked to see more coverage of topics such as data connectivity. That said, I like how the author kept his focus on the ActionScript language. Many topics, such as the new components, have much more to do with updates to the Flash Player than to the scripting language. They are certainly related, but a developer can utilize most of the new components without writing a single line of ActionScript, and can realize the benefits of AS2 without ever using one of the new components. A discussion of these components would have been welcome, but I can see why he left them out. This book is primarily about understanding and using AS2.
To say that this book covers the "essentials" does not mean that this is a primer on the ActionScript language, nor that it is written for beginners. The author's explanations often draw on comparisons to AS1 and other languages, especially Java. If you are unfamiliar with AS1 or Java, you will probably find such explanations less than satisfying. If, however, you are at least somewhat familiar with these other languages, you will find most of these explanations interesting and informative.
Among the features I found most useful in this book were the discussion about new features and benefits of AS2, especially with regards to continuing to develop for Flash Player 6. It answers very well the questions of why I would want to switch to AS2 and when I can use it. His examples do a good job of demonstrating new features of the language and how AS2 opens the door to more functional Object-Oriented Programming using external class files. He does an excellent job of pointing out not just what to do and how to do it, but _why_ you should care or take the extra time to do it. He demonstrates, for example, how classes and datatyping can take some of the headache out of Flash debugging.
The best thing I can say about the book is that I was able to apply it immediately to my code, which I suppose is really the only thing that matters. The book answered my practical questions about switching and I was able to begin using AS2 immediately and know why I was doing it. AS2 has its problems as a language, but if you develop for Flash you need to know it and use it. If you need to know and use AS2, I would definitely recommend adding this title to your library.
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