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If you're into Flash 5 ActionScripting, I whole-heartedly recommend Colin Moock's ActionScript: The Definitive Guide.

It is easily the most comprehensive guide to ActionScripting in Flash I have ever seen. The first 2/3 of the book is divided into concept-based chapters - Variables, Loops, Events, Objects, Arrays, etc. This is great for when you think you know what you're trying to do, but you need some prosaic insight into the options you have, and some tips on avoiding pitfalls.

The last 1/3 is a detailed ActionScript Reference that puts all others to shame. It covers everything. Where Macromedia's ActionScript reference barely explains many commands, and almost never gives example code, Colin's guide has several realistic examples for every single entry. It will never fail to mention that one little quirky behavior that would otherwise keep you up all night debugging.

It is not a book of tutorials, and this is a good thing. Now there's nothing wrong with tutorials - they're a powerful tool for visualizing a complete process - but sometimes you want to just look something up. I use it incessantly: my copy of ASDG is only two weeks old, but the dog-ears and post-it notes make it look like I've owned it for years.

It is a book that I can honestly say has made as much a difference to my creative relationship with computers as the legendary Commodore 64 Programmer's Reference Guide. Thanks, Colin!



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