Forget classrooms. Forget intimidation. Get inspired -- and get lost in ActionScript 3.0!
Pack your bags for the Lost ActionScript Weekend. In this unique DVD training series, you'll learn how to program in ActionScript 3.0 with world-renowned ActionScript guru and educator Colin Moock. Course 1 starts with the basics and moves into intermediate programming techniques. Sit down in a relaxed outdoor setting with Moock, artist James Paterson, and technologist Hoss Gifford in this unique and intimate learning experience.
Based on his bestselling O'Reilly book, Essential ActionScript 3.0, and his successful "ActionScript 3.0 From the Ground Up Tour," Moock teaches everything you need to know about the core ActionScript 3.0 language, as well as visual and interactive programming topics and code production issues. Share the fun, the energy, and the excitement of programming with Moock and his friends in a relaxed outdoor setting, and get a firm grounding in ActionScript programming. If you want to delve into the advanced aspects of this language, check out Course 2 of this series!
1. Introduction 28 minutes Get to know the world of ActionScript 3.0, the spirit of Flash, and your intrepid instructors.
2. OOP Overview 17 minutes
Enjoy a gentle introduction to the fundamentals of object-oriented programming, including classes, objects, methods, and variables.
3. The Virtual Zoo and Packages 15 minutes
Take the first steps in building a "toy-pet simulation" game.
4. Making a Class (Free Preview) 10 minutes
Learn the syntax and structure of classes, the building blocks of every object-oriented program.
5. Constructor Methods 4 minutes
Learn how to initialize objects, and create a program's entry point.
6. Making an Object 8 minutes
Create new objects from a class using "new syntax" and "literal syntax," with a little help from the "import" statement.
7. Variables and Instance Variables 18 minutes
Use variables to create object characteristics and to keep track of objects, then learn how to isolate parts of a program using encapsulation.
8. Constructor Parameters 5 minutes
Learn a convenient way to give new objects their initial characteristics.
9. Object References and Garbage Collection 25 minutes
Learn to refer to a single object from multiple parts of a program, then study the princi ples of memory management in ActionScript. Remember, values are not socks!
10. Methods 11 minutes
Give objects custom behaviors, such as "jump", "eat", "submit", or "accelerate".
11. Public Methods 14 minutes
Learn why objects should be built like a black box, with controls on the outside and internal functions on the inside.
12. Method Parameters 9 minutes
Use "parameters" to make an object's methods configurable.
13. State Retrieval and Modification 23 minutes
Use "modifier methods" to guarantee that an object won't break when supplied with illegal input.
14. Static Variables 11 minutes
Use "static variables" to keep track of global information and reduce error-prone "magic values".
15. Functions and Static Methods 8 minutes
Create centralized functions for use throughout a program.
Watch Colin push ActionScript to the limit by connecting mobile-phone users to big public screens.
