Real-World Flash Game Development: How to Follow Best Practices AND Keep Your Sanity Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Real-World Flash Game Development: How to Follow Best Practices AND Keep Your Sanity? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Real-World Flash Game Development: How to Follow Best Practices AND Keep Your Sanity. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Real-World Flash Game Development: How to Follow Best Practices AND Keep Your Sanity ReviewYou should have some Actionscript 3.0 experience before you dig into this book. The user level on the back of the book says intermediate to advanced and they mean it! You will also need CS4 to be able to open the downloadable files. I could not open them on my CS3 machine.
This book covers a lot of topics I have not found in other AS books. Some examples are event propagation, dispatching events, E4X, getter/setter methods and protected variables. The chapters are very intense and delve more deeply into the workings of AS 3.0. If you want to know how and why Actionscript does what it does this is the book for you.
Real World also directs you to adopt best practices. This should keep you from developing bad habits and allow you to author modular code that could be easily modified.
The final game in the book is a platform game. You can learn how to load external SWFs containing the game's assets at runtime. This concept is very different from other game tutorials I have worked with.
I would recommend Actionscipt 3.0 Game Programming University if you haven't done any game programming. It has a much gentler approach to game programming.
Real World Flash Game Development should be an important addition to every game developer's bookshelf.Real-World Flash Game Development: How to Follow Best Practices AND Keep Your Sanity OverviewThis book covers Flash for the everyday developer. The average Flash developer doesn't have luxurious timelines, employers who understand the value of reusability, or the help of an information architect to design a usable experience. This book helps bridge the gap for these coders who may be used to C++, Java, or C# and want to move over to Flash. Griffith covers real-world scenarios pulled from his own experiences developing games for over 8 years in the industry. Gifts from Griffith's REAL-WORLD experiences include: Game design templates and pre-written scripts to automate tasks within Flash; Classes for handling common math computations used in gaming, so that game developers can see how to set up a simple game flow; Powerful debugging tools for your games(debuggers for Flash games are hard to come by, and this book provides them for you). The associated web site offers: Code from the game examples in the book with fully build-able source files. Additional code snippets, classes, and utilities. Scripts for automating tedious and repetitive tasks within Flash. Template game-design documents for planning game proposals in the same manner outlined in the book. Links to other helpful online resources for both Flash and game development.*Teaches Flash users the most effective ways to leverage Flash as a game development tool. Concrete, relatable approaches to Flash game development.* Provides sound strategies, and realistic goals for success - with REAL-WORLD examples and code included so that programmers become quickly empowered to make their own Flash games. *Covers ALL the aspects that come into play when developing a game in Flash, including art, animation, scripting, and optimization.

Want to learn more information about Real-World Flash Game Development: How to Follow Best Practices AND Keep Your Sanity?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

ActionScript 3.0: Visual QuickStart Guide Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy ActionScript 3.0: Visual QuickStart Guide? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on ActionScript 3.0: Visual QuickStart Guide. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

ActionScript 3.0: Visual QuickStart Guide ReviewI've been an intermediate Flash guy for years. The simplicity of ActionScript 1 and 2 made them easy to grasp for all the basics, but the limitations were also abundantly clear.
When ActionScript 3 debuted, I was excited that it had finally become a "real" programming language. But despite being a programmer since before there was an Internet, I found much of ActionScript 3 to be confusing, and honestly, intimidating.
I tried doing it on my own, and I tried other books. But they were either too focused on the language itself and lacked context for the sorts of real-world tasks one does in Flash, or they didn't go deeply enough. ActionScript 3.0 Visual Quickstart Guide finally struck the right balance -- at least for me, and my learning style.
As a programmer, I didn't need to be spoon-fed the basics of variables and control structures. But as a UI guy, I also needed practical, real-world examples like working with dynamic text, interfacing with the outside world, and loading assets.
Quite literally within minutes, I was able to use the straightforward, clear examples and explanations to whip-out Flash movies with ActionScript 3.0 handling the heavy lifting, and finally achieve some things I'd be struggling for months to learn through searching for code examples found online.
Two things are clear from reading the book, however:
1. While the book does cover the basics, people completely new to programming are probably going to be more lost than anything. This is a small book, and the content is relatively brief. If you want your hand held from a standing non-programmer start all the way to ActionScript expert, this probably is not your book. You should understand what programming is, and basic concepts (like variables and control) before you start. This book will help you connect that knowledge to ActionScript 3.
2. You're not going to become the world ActionScript 3 expert by reading this book. You'll get a superb foundation that will give the typical Flash designer/programmer everything they need, and a range of core knowledge that you can augment with some of the "deeper" books, web searches, or just plain reading the Flash manual. But I suspect that most readers, like me, will come out of this book with the stuff you really need for most real-world Flash work.
In summary, the book is well planned out, well written, and the examples -- every single one I tried -- worked as written, free of the typos, errors and omissions that seem to plague other ActionScript 3 books (based on reading reviews here at Amazon.com, anyway).
While your mileage may well vary, for me, for my learning style, and for someone of my experience level, this book was perfect, and finally (FINALLY!) the ActionScript 3 guide I was looking for.ActionScript 3.0: Visual QuickStart Guide OverviewActionScript is the programming language integral to the Adobe Technology Platform. It began as a simple scripting language for creating interactivity and animation in Flash, but is now used to create full-featured Web applications, not only in Flash but in Flex. ActionScript 3, introduced with Flex 2, is now a full-fledged object-oriented programming language, and the need for teaching materials, for both newcomers and veterans, is great. This task-based tutorial is for students with no programming experience as well as those programmers who have learned earlier versions of the programming language and now need to learn the new version. The book walks a reader through all the fundamentals, then moves on to creating interactivity, working with data, looping and decision making, programming visualizations, and working with multimedia. It's a complete end-to-end tutorial.

Want to learn more information about ActionScript 3.0: Visual QuickStart Guide?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly)) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly)). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly)) ReviewThis is a terrific book for boosting your productivity in two areas: how you work, and how you code.
The first section of the book, Mechanics, focuses on tools you can use to boost your productivity as you're working with your system. Ford launches off into an exploration of lots of little crazy tools that help you automate or ease repetitive tasks. You'll find lots of goodies from virtual desktops to shortcut tips/launchers, to using Ruby to script everything from splitting up SQL to automatically sorting your laundry and washing it for you.[1]
All these little tools and tricks add up to drastic decreases in the amount of friction you're forced to suffer through while doing your daily job. Cutting this friction lets you focus on the job at hand, instead of trying to bend your environment to your will.
The second section of the book, Practice, discusses ways to speed your development. There's an awful lot of goodness in this portion of the book, ranging from re-emphasizing critical aspects of object oriented programming, to object and method composition. Ford walks through a lot of great stories meant to get you to re-evaluate why you do things a certain way. The infamous Angry Monkeys story gets pulled out as an example, and Ford also concisely covers development principles like the Law of Demeter, Occam's Razon, and his Polyglot Programming meme.
The book's concise, amazingly well written, and a definite must-have for your bookshelf.
The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly)) OverviewAnyone who develops software for a living needs a proven way to produce it better, faster, and cheaper. The Productive Programmer offers critical timesaving and productivity tools that you can adopt right away, no matter what platform you use. Master developer Neal Ford not only offers advice on the mechanics of productivity--how to work smarter, spurn interruptions, get the most out your computer, and avoid repetition--he also details valuable practices that will help you elude common traps, improve your code, and become more valuable to your team. You'll learn to:
Write the test before you write the code
Manage the lifecycle of your objects fastidiously
Build only what you need now, not what you might need later
Apply ancient philosophies to software development
Question authority, rather than blindly adhere to standards
Make hard things easier and impossible things possible through meta-programming
Be sure all code within a method is at the same level of abstraction
Pick the right editor and assemble the best tools for the job

This isn't theory, but the fruits of Ford's real-world experience as an Application Architect at the global IT consultancy ThoughtWorks. Whether you're a beginner or a pro with years of experience, you'll improve your work and your career with the simple and straightforward principles in The Productive Programmer.


Want to learn more information about The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference (Wrox Programmer to Programmer). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) ReviewThis book is an excellent coverage of Visual Basic in the Visual Studio 2010 environment. Over 1000 pages of reference material including appendices. The book is well written, comprehensive, and concise. A reference book needs a good index and this book has one.
I purchased the book in April, 2010. It is now three months later and I briefed the reference and am writing my first Visual Bssic program in years. The programming environment has changed dramatically and this book is an entensive guide to my requirements. The text offers code within the book and links to many sources for assistance. In addition the author offers help through e-mail assistance, which is very timely. I don't think you can go wrong with this book for the money.Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) OverviewVisual Basic expert Rod Stephens shows you how to leverage the latest features of VB 2010
Microsoft Visual Basic (VB) is the most popular programming language in the world, with millions of lines of code used in businesses and applications of all types and sizes. The new release of Visual Basic 2010 is tightly integrated with the Windows operating system and the .NET programming environment. Renowned VB authority Rod Stephens provides a comprehensive guide to Visual Basic programming, including the latest enhancements to the VB language and programming environment with Visual Studio 2010 The tutorial is packed with detailed and practical code examples that show readers how to master all of the features of VB.
Visual Basic authority Rod Stephens presents a must-have resource on Visual Basic, the most popular programming language in the word
Fully covers the newest features of Visual Basic 2010, such as array literals and initializers, collection initializers, implicit line continuation, Lambda expressions, and more
Features extensively revised and tested code to ensure compliance with the latest release

With this essential resource, you'll be able to quickly review the details of important programming, objects, properties, methods, and events.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Want to learn more information about Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Essential ActionScript 3.0 (Essential) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Essential ActionScript 3.0 (Essential)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Essential ActionScript 3.0 (Essential). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Essential ActionScript 3.0 (Essential) ReviewThis review is more of a 'heads-up' for any beginners considering this book. There are many reviews here telling about the book's contents, so I am going to talk about the level of the book instead.
I think it is important to state that this book is in NO WAY aimed or intended for beginners. None of the books in this series are, for that matter. Being fair, and I think this information is important for people even though a bit off topic: O'Reilly RARELY makes beginner level books. What they do make is insanely useful technical books which will tell you more than you probably ever wanted to know about a subject. But they are done, IMHO, very well. Still, when looking at books to buy I think it is important to keep this in mind, particularly if you are a beginner in any topic. Especially because most programming books are rather spendy.
When I bought Moock's first book, I had been using AS for a couple years (starting from Flash 4) and was still a beginner. However, I could manage my way through the very limited scripting options. When Flash 5 opened up the AS language to a full-blown environment, I was excited to get his book. Once it arrived, I was completely overwhelmed and immediately put it away. For about a year. During that time, I found other materials and boned up on my AS, THEN revisited the book. I found it much more useful.
When AS 2 came out, I thought the same thing. Ah-ha! I already know AS, so his book will get me up to speed. Wrong. The stuff which was pretty much lifted from the previous AS 1 book made sense, but I could not grasp what he was saying about the updates and new features in AS 2. Again, I put the book away for a year, found other resources to familiarize myself with, and revisited the book. I was surprised at the wealth of information I learned, but I learned it AFTER reading numerous other sources.
Leading to this book, I completely expect the same. I am buying it because I KNOW it will be a tome well worth the price based on my looking through it at local book sellers. No one, at least that I have read, has the depth of understanding of AS Moock does. He, IMHO, really understands the what and how. And he will tell you EVERYTHING about it. He does not, sadly, possess the 'layman language' to make this a beginner book. It barely makes sense to those well immersed in the topic. BUT, once you get to the level that you can absorb what he is saying, you catapult your Flash skills and usage.
For beginners, definitely start elsewhere. Books by Phillip Kerman or Joey Lott are marvelous entry level books. Both authors have a superior knowledge of Flash AS, but the also possess the ability to talk about it conversationally. A huge help in anyone's learning of a new subject. Flash AS is a huge uphill battle, but one which rewards richly for those who travel the path. I would just hate to have someone not try because they do not understand a book reportedly aimed at developers with 'no prior programming knowledge.'Essential ActionScript 3.0 (Essential) OverviewActionScript 3.0 is a huge upgrade to Flash's programming language. The enhancements to ActionScript's performance, feature set, ease of use, cleanliness, and sophistication are considerable. Essential ActionScript 3.0 focuses on the core language and object-oriented programming, along with the Flash Player API. Essential ActionScript has become the #1 resource for the Flash and ActionScript development community, and the reason is the author, Colin Moock. Many people even refer to it simply as "The Colin Moock book."And for good reason: No one is better at turning ActionScript inside out, learning its nuances and capabilities, and then explaining everything in such an accessible way. Colin Moock is not just a talented programmer and technologist; he's also a gifted teacher.Essential ActionScript 3.0 is a radically overhauled update to Essential ActionScript 2.0. True to its roots, the book once again focuses on the core language and object-oriented programming, but also adds a deep look at the centerpiece of Flash Player's new API: display programming. Enjoy hundreds of brand new pages covering exciting new language features, such as the DOM-based event architecture, E4X, and namespaces--all brimming with real-world sample code.The ActionScript 3.0 revolution is here, and Essential ActionScript 3.0's steady hand is waiting to guide you through it.

Want to learn more information about Essential ActionScript 3.0 (Essential)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice (Expert's Voice in Open Source) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice (Expert's Voice in Open Source)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice (Expert's Voice in Open Source). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice (Expert's Voice in Open Source) ReviewIn terms of content, this is an excellent book. It is probably a little too heavy for absolute PHP beginners, unless you're already well-versed in other modern programming languages. For people who only know PHP, or who don't know any languages and are looking to start with PHP, you should make sure you have a strong grasp of procedural PHP before heading this way.
That being said, the Kindle version has one major issue: the code samples. They look like someone printed them out with a dot-matrix printer, then scanned them at 150 DPI, saved as BMPs to preserve all the visual errors on the scan, and pasted them into the book as images. In other words, the code samples are not text at all - they are really, really crappy images and you will often find yourself squinting to make out all the details of the fuzzy "text".
This isn't a dealbreaker - after all, any programming book you buy today has downloadable samples of all code available somewhere on the Internet... but it IS an annoyance. Why they couldn't produce the code in real text with an alternate font I have no idea. Why they couldn't present higher quality images of the code I also have no idea.
Suffice to say, if you buy this for the Kindle, expect 5 star content with 3 star presentation - thereby bringing us to 4 overall.PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice (Expert's Voice in Open Source) Overview
This book takes you beyond the PHP basics to the enterprise development practices used by professional programmers. Updated for PHP 5.3 with new sections on closures, namespaces, and continuous integration, this edition will teach you about object features such as abstract classes, reflection, interfaces, and error handling. You'll also discover object tools to help you learn more about your classes, objects, and methods.

Then you'll move into design patterns and the principles that make patterns powerful. You'll learn both classic design patterns and enterprise and database patterns with easy-to-follow examples.

Finally, you'll discover how to put it all into practice to help turn great code into successful projects. You'll learn how to manage multiple developers with Subversion, and how to build and install using Phing and PEAR. You'll also learn strategies for automated testing and building, including continuous integration.

Taken together, these three elements-object fundamentals, design principles, and best practices-will help you develop elegant and rock-solid systems.

What you'll learn
Learn to work with object fundamentals: writing classes and methods, instantiating objects, and creating powerful class hierarchies using inheritance.
Master advanced object-oriented features, including static methods and properties.
Learn how to manage error conditions with exceptions, and create abstract classes and interfaces.
Understand and use design principles to deploy objects and classes effectively in your projects.
Learn about design patterns, their purpose and structure, and the underlying principles that govern them.
Discover a set of powerful patterns that you can deploy in your own projects.
Learn about the tools and practices that can guarantee a successful project including unit testing; version control; build, installation, and package management; and continuous integration.

Who this book is for
This book is suitable for anyone with at least a basic knowledge of PHP who wants to use its object-oriented features in their projects.

Those who already know their interfaces from their abstracts may well still find it hard to use these features in their projects. These users will benefit from the book's emphasis on design. They will learn how to choose and combine the participants of a system, how to read design patterns, and how to use them in their code.

Finally, this book is for PHP coders who want to learn about the practices and tools (version control, testing, continuous integration, etc.) that can make projects safe, elegant, and stable.

Table of Contents
PHP: Design and Management
PHP and Objects
Object Basics
Advanced Features
Object Tools
Objects and Design
What Are Design Patterns? Why Use Them?
Some Pattern Principles
Generating Objects
Patterns for Flexible Object Programming
Performing and Representing Tasks
Enterprise Patterns
Database Patterns
Good (and Bad) Practice
An Introduction to PEAR and Pyrus
Generating Documentation with phpDocumentor
Version Control with Subversion
Testing with PHPUnit
Automated Build with Phing
Continuous Integration
Objects, Patterns, Practice


Want to learn more information about PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice (Expert's Voice in Open Source)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...