How many of you were just itching to install and try out Flash MX 2004 but left scratching your heads because of the lack of documentation and the onslaught of new features? And how many out there are always admiring how these professionals do "wonders" with their websites? Quite a few, I would imagine?
ShockExcite and its partners are here to shed some light into it. ShockExcite will be offering you assistance from known designers around the world. (Names will be announced soon, we're planning now to have them in Malaysia for a talk)
Anyway! before jumping in to read the first tutorial, make sure you have Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX 2004 Professional installed (you can download a 30-day trial for free from Macromedia, although many or "ALL" would know where to get the copies ;) ). If you haven't had the chance to play around with Flash MX 2004 yet, you may want to read up on Peter Elst's review (availabe on Macromedia Flash tutorials website), to get up to speed on all that is new. With so many new features, the latest version of Flash can appear daunting at first but we have an excellent line-up of authors to make things easier for you! Phillip Kerman, Dave Yang and Michelangelo Capraro are only a few of the top names who have taken pen to paper (well, finger to keyboard) to present you with in-depth introductions for using the latest features in Flash MX 2004 and Flash 2004 Professional. Our tutorials are sprinkled with healthy amounts of examples, follow-along exercises and downloadable Flash movies!
With the latest version of Flash, Macromedia appears steadfast in trying to woo web application developers to develop Rich Internet Applications. This is a move first revealed with the launch of the MX line, which introduced us to Flash Components, DevNet, DRKs, Flash Remoting and the Flash Communication Server. In Flash MX 2004, Macromedia have completely rewritten the component architecture to create the Version 2 of the Macromedia Component Architecture.
You can read up on the latest components and get an overview of the new component architecture in my tutorial on Introducing Flash MX 2004 Components. After you've learned the basics, let Peter Elst (who will contribute to this article with ShockExcite and its partners) take you through Skinning Flash MX 2004 Components, where he will introduce you to themes and skins and how to customize them.
Once you've played with the components a bit, why not try your hand in creating your own? You can do just that with Chafic Kazoun's tutorial on Developing Components in Flash MX 2004.
You have, no doubt, also heard about the new version of ActionScript introduced with Flash MX 2004; ActionScript 2.0. AS 2.0 brings us one step closer to true object-oriented programming with an implementation of classes. It also introduces exceptions for error handling and strong typing for easier debugging. Although all scripts still get compiled down to ActionScript 1.0, writing your applications in AS 2.0 should increase their maintainability and scalability. Of course, it's possible to write bad code in any language, and that's why you mustn't skip ActionScript guru David Yang's excellent tutorial on ActionScript 2.0.
If your head starts spinning from all the code in the component development and AS 2.0 tutorials, why not take a break from code while exploring the new Timeline Effects and Behaviors with Michelangelo Capraro. These two new features allow you to create animation effects and control your movies without writing any code.
One of the biggest advances in Flash MX 2004 Pro has to do with video. You can now export Flash Video directly from supported video editors and even edit video while importing it into Flash using the new Video Import Wizard. Phillip Kerman will take you through all of this and more in his tutorial on Flash MX 2004 Professional Video.
If you're interested in Rich Internet Application development, you must be excited about the new data binding and forms-based development features in Flash MX 2004 Pro. If so, we have an amazing dynamic duo of authors to guide you through these advanced topics: Peter Hall has an excellent article on Data Binding and Mr. Flash OS himself, Grant Skinner, will show you how to apply the Model-View-Controller pattern to your applications using Forms. Both of these tutorials will show you how to use (and even extend) these advanced features and make them part of your real-world development process.
This is only the beginning (but what a beginning, eh?) I hope you enjoy our current line-up and be sure to expect many more tutorials in the coming weeks and months!
By ShockExcite Media Sdn Bhd
http://bizpartner.com.my/articles
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