Linear Flash movies - the ones that play and then, well...stop - are all well and good. They can be a good platform for cartoonists and motion type artists to showcase their stuff. But it's the non-interactive and uninterruptable aspect of these Flash events that has given Flash a bit of a bad name amongst usability gurus. "Skip Intro" is now a byword for pointless Flash filler. But it doesn't have to be that way. By using client/server coding, and hooking up your Flash GUI to a dynamic back-end database, you can create the cutting-edge web-sites of the future. The book concentrates on the Window's OS, although other server options are covered.
Flash 5 Dynamic Studio is written by a collective of Flash 5 experts who will tell you everything you need to know to upgrade your Flash 5 knowledge to Flash 5 expertise. Assuming a basic knowledge of Flash, the book gives you a thorough grounding in ActionScripting techniques, teaches you the basics of a myriad of scripting languages Flash interaction, discusses and implements client-side/server-side interaction- the middleware that can make your life considerably easier (Ultradev, Generator, Swift Generator, ASP Turbine), and demonstrate database (Access, SQL, and MYSQL) interaction and usability. To conclude this admittedly tough but not prohibitive learning curve, the book walks you through a selection of fairly generic real world case studies, using Flash with middleware and database connectivity, demonstrating how these elements come together to give you truly dynamic, interactive Flash sites. This book is about visual richness and utility. Web business is getting beautiful, and Flash is getting useful.
Flash 5 Dynamic Content addresses the growing market of web artists under pressure to learn the finer points of interactive design with Flash 5. This book demonstrates the best tools for integrating dynamic content using Flash as a front-end. Readers will see how to link Flash movies, via a middleware bridge, through to a back-end datastores (images and/or text). This book assumes that the reader already knows the fundamentals of creating Flash movies, and that they are familiar with the basic relationships between web servers and web clients (browsers). It does not assume any programming knowledge. Dynamic content generation tools covered will include Flash Action Scripting, Macromedia Generator, Flash Turbine and Swift Generator. ASP, PHP and Cold Fusion.
In response to disappointment from some Mac-users friends of ED would like to stress that this book is strongly orientated around the Windows platform. We hope this book offers a comprehensive and advanced guide to injecting dynamic content into your Flash website. If you have any queries or suggestions please email feedback@friendsofed.com, or visit our website, friendsofed.com where you can find more information about the book.
