5 comments about UnrealScript Game Programming All in One.

1. This is pretty much designed as if you wanted to look at UnrealScript as a base programming language for learning basic programming skills off of. This is definitely not useful at all for practical modding or general game making. It just goes into very basic programming abilities that unreal script. To be honest, I bought this for a class that bases the language in unreal script. I thought this book may be useful since it is ALL IN ONE (yeah right!). I was already adept in basic programming and this book was absolutely useless for practical gaming modification.



2. While this book doesn't actully get into writing funtional Code for the Game as far as i have gotten that is. it deffintly a Good place to learn the base of UnrealScript code.
   
   With this base it and a review of other Scripts for the games it self, you can pretty much cobble togather anything.
   
   No I'm still not do with this book And untill then, This review remains standing.



3. This is book is not really about UnrealScript. It is an introduction to programming tough though Unreal Script. The book spends more time going over how to use tools than how to use the language. It appears the author set out to write a better book but had to finish in a weekend. I would not recommend this book for people like me looking for advances in UnrealScript and the classes of UT2004. I also would not recommend this book due to some LARGE mistakes in programming foundations. Not a good book for people looking to start game design. I wish I could have a refund.



4. I was looking for a book to give in depth information on Unreal Script and how to make your own weapons, mods, mutators and game types, but I have not find anything in this book that helps you make your own types.
   
   Unfortunately, this book was not what I was looking for. The title is misleading for its purpose.



5. I just got this book and after flipping through it, I'm realizing it's not what I wanted at all. It's a book trying to teach programming from step one using UnrealScript. The examples used don't involve games. The programming given is not something you can directly apply to games. It's just programming. Plain old programming. If I wanted this I'd go buy a C# or Java book, not UnrealScript. It is NOT game programming and so it really shouldn't be called UnrealScript Game Programming All In One.

4 comments about Flash 8: The Missing Manual.

1. As per usual, the Missing Manual line hits another solid ball with Flash 8: The Missing Manual, but this time it's not out of the park. Packing 14 chapters and nearly 450 pages with solid material and great writing like you would expect from this line, I cannot do anything but give five stars for the writing and instruction. Unfortunately, when one opens the book and finds that there isn't even a SINGLE color page in the entire text, this is big mistake. If this was a book that covered something like Word or Excel (except for any graphs that might be used) this might not be such a bad thing, but for something like Flash where the entire premise is flashy graphics, smooth animations and crisp, clean vector graphics, to not have any color at all is a mistake. If you want to use Flash you cannot go wrong with this book, but this major decision faux paux I consider a huge fumble and it's the only thing stopping me from giving my usual Missing Manual 5 star rating. Hopefully this can be improved in the 2nd edition or with Flash 9.
   
   **** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



2. The book dissapoint me at the begining because i consider the contents to be too soft, like totally for beginners, I thought "oh no, I just bought another "flash for dummies" sort of book, where you get told how to use tool by tool, but not how to put everything together, the keys of how to actually create a professional flash website. But I totally start to enjoy the book from episode 10 where the author explains how to control your animation with actionscript. It happen to be very clear and useful to me.So, yes, i would definetly recommend this book to everyone who wants to start to get into flash. Not for Medium-Expert users anyway.
   
   However, the quality of the illustrations that are used as examples are of really poor quality. So if you are looking fordward see pretty graphics not purchase this book. And it's in black and white too.



3. Are you a Webmaster who has given up in frustration because of distracting and annoying elements on your sites? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Emily A VanderVeer, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that explains all of the tools and shows you step-by-step how to create animations from scratch; as well as, why you want to do each step--in English, not programmer-ese.
   
   VanderVeer, begins by guiding you through the creation of your very first Flash animation, from the first glimmer of an idea to drawing images, animating those images, and testing your work. Then, the author shows you how to manipulate your drawings by rotating, skewing, stacking, and aligning them; add color and special effects, and multimedia files such as audio and video chips; slash file size by turning bits and pieces of your drawings into special elements called symbols; and, create composite drawings using layers. Next, she shows you how to add ActionScript actions to frames to create automatic effects and to buttons to create audience-controlled effects. Finally, she focuses on testing, debugging, and optimizing your animation.
   
   This most excellent book will show you tips and shortcuts for making Flash easier to work with; as well as, making your animations as audience-friendly as possible. More importantly, this book is designed for readers of every skill level except the super-advanced-programmer.



4. This is my first Missing Manual book that I've read through. I'm sure that humor is something difficult to perform in a step by step text. Still, as the text droned on and on with too limited a vocabulary, I found myself fighting harder to make it through this book.
   
   The lady author did make a joke here and there, in fact I think about every 70 pages there was a joke or two until later in the book. Somewhere in the 300s, the lady changed her vocabulary from simple explanations to simple explanations with some American slang in between. The sentence with 'muff' was my personal favorite in the book. That sentence flowed so natural, I felt as if she was talking to me in a conversation. After that, it went somewhat downhill with slang she didn't seem well adapted to, and later getting better toward the end of the book. Other than lack of vocabulary, she took nearly a hundred solid pages and used 'she' instead of 'he' in her sentences. English wise, she 'muffed' up. A better choice would have been 'individual' or 'person' or if she so desired 'dude' or 'dudette'. In that case, the slang would have been obvious, and loose rules would be applied.
   
   As far as teaching, the book does provide the necessary information to use Flash to produce an animation, basic web page, or an animated GIF. There are a few notable shortcuts given, such as #Static, which were worth the last hundred pages you made it through to read them. Actionscript is very lightly covered. It seemed that she was tired of this book somewhere in the middle of the 300s, which is understandable, as I was tired of the book at least thirty pages before it was obvious the author was. Covering Publishing, Publishing Profiles, and Exporting was well done excluding her PICT explanation where she didn't explain dpi(dots per inch) or postscript, which was definitely not any of the prior options of gif, jpg, or png which she compared the export PICT option menu to.
   
   The book also makes many references to programming, but seems bound by the presentation and audience of the book to achieve that depth. This book would have been better if the times when the author found herself bored, she consulted a thesaurus to vary the vocabulary.
   
   Even though I've spoken of some annoyances, the missing manual book does it's job. Flash 8 basics to intermediate usage was taught. The step by step instructions were simple and easy to understand. There is enough explaining to understand and learn what is going on. While the book does fail to achieve and maintain an 'interesting' status, the book succeeds in it's objective to be a simply understandable guide to Flash 8.

2 comments about M Is For Mayflower: A Massachusetts Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series).

1. I purchased 'M is for Mayflower' and 'C is for Centennial' for my niece. After reviewing the books, I found that they have several different levels of learning within the illustrations and text that will make these books readable for years to come for her. She seems to like them, and is attracted by the colorful illustrations. Because I live in MA and she lives in CO, she is eager to learn about the place where her auntie is. These books are good, fun learning tools that will help prepare a child for elementary social studies classes.



2. I purchased 'M is for Mayflower' and 'C is for Centennial' for my niece. After reviewing the books, I found that they have several different levels of learning within the illustrations and text that will make these books readable for years to come for her. She seems to like them, and is attracted by the colorful illustrations. Because I live in MA and she lives in CO, she is eager to learn about the place where her auntie is. These books are good, fun learning tools that will help prepare a child for elementary social studies classes.

5 comments about Macromedia Flash 8 @work: Projects and Techniques to Get the Job Done (@Work).

1. I bought this book last month due to some good feedbacks. But when I read, it seems the book is too much unnecessary words just to make it look thick but the actual content is thin. I would suggest to learn from the help section of the flash program itself. It's much more clear and right to the point not like this book. From there then google up and you will find a lot of more better tutorials than this book and best of all, it's free!



2. With all due respect to the author, (who obviously knows his stuff quite well), this book is terrible for learning. The author, however, does not promise to teach you, which is in its way his safeguard. You are not meant to be taught, so do not expect to learn. The information the book contains is mostly lots and lots (and lots) of discussion ABOUT Actionscript put in a way as though Actionscript gurus would sit around discussing functions and classes and whatnot. If you are not up to reading 'about' Actionscript, skip this book. The first 57 pages bored me to tears... I guess I suffer a bit too much from A.D.D. to be able to sit and read 'about' Actionscript. Instead, I want to LEARN Actionscript, so that perhaps one day I, too, can be a guru sitting around, drinking my Red Bull and discussing Actionscript like some people discuss nuclear fission or jet propulsion.
   
   If you are the type who can handle reading and reading and reading in order to learn some minor information regarding a complex scripting language, best of luck to you with this book. However, if you're (obviously) dull minded like myself and cannot learn from reading paragraph after paragraph of stuff like this:
   
   "...although the third-pary product Captionate...is needed to inject Caption and Marker cue points, these cue point types are definitely worth including in this list...." then this book is not for you. For me, however, just tell me WHY and show me HOW.
   
   When will someone write a book which is clear and concise, which demonstrates step-by-step in as few words as possible how to do something (other than tweening and drawing) in Flash? I've got a dozen books from which I've been able to learn a few things, but for the most part I find myself falling asleep reading the same thing over and over again. I don't want theories on how I can write a function and an array; I don't want simplistic examples that leave me wondering how to do something a bit more complicated. I need real world examples, real world learning. Write a complex function and teach me how to do it! Don't tell me I can use XML, show me HOW to use XML. Be creative! Inspire me! I have projects to do, and don't have time to sit and read and read and read... I don't have time to cross reference with the Flash Bible to try to figure out what you're talking about, either.
   
   Lynda publishes some better books, (in particular to learning Actionscript in a real-world example), the Beyond the Basics book is excellent.



3. I wouldn't say the book is "totally useless" but the decision the author made to serve up ActionScript without explanation because he thought we "didn't want to get our hands dirty" was a bad one. I see in his reply that he says he never claimed to do otherwise, but you don't realize this until you have read two chapters.
   
   I would prefer it if he had given us less projects but gone over the code in his .as files for us.
   
   Also, the author should understand that no one buys a book to get ready-made projects. We are buying these books to learn how to do these things on our own. If I just wanted a ready-made project I could just Google what I want and find one of the countless FLA examples people are good enough to share online. When I buy a book, its so I can learn to do it myself.



4. I have tried to learn Actionscript for around 5 years and bought several books about this theme so far. So, this year I told myself: "You love Flash... So you HAVE TO understand Actionscript because you need to be more professional!". Ok... So I started studying again from the begining searching on the internet for the meaning of terms like variables, events, methods, object, classes, etc... just to check if I had left some important concepts behind. But even knowing those concepts, I still could not find myself writing code from the scratch! This book from Kerman cleared my mind and taught me how to implement code within the scope of a real Flash project. It guided me troughout the whole process of making a Flash application and made me understand how a Flash professional like Kerman deals when facing to everyday's Actionscript's challanges. So that's really a good choice for you to understand how you can implement a Flash project from the basis. Important: read every page carefully. If you dont't undestand a single line, try do do it so. You will realize that you have a priceless book in your hands to really get your job done!



5. The book is ok. It might not give you the "punch" that you need to open your eyes about Flash, but its fine for bigginers who want a hands on approach to learning.

5 comments about The Mathematica Guidebook: Programming.

1. I purchased the Programming Guidebook with considerable hesitation; to all appearances the Guidebooks are intended for the discerning cognoscenti, whereas I am very much a Mathematica novice.
   
   The Programming Guidebook turned out to be a pleasant surprise: while there is a vast amount of material that would benefit the expert, it is also a careful and patient instruction book for the beginner.
   
   Mathematica is a complex system; at first acquaintance it appears to be a bewildering collection of expressions and ad hoc programming styles. This book is a pedagogical masterpiece: it brings order to this seeming chaos by revealing the underlying framework. Topics are organized into comprehensible groups and the author focuses on each in detail.
   
   Some parts that particularly appealed to this reader:
   
   The section in Chapter 1 on Solutions to "What you always wanted to compute". This is a wonderfully whimsical list of problems that the author has gathered over many years and each is backed up by several references. This section is an unexpected delight and following up on the references provides an education in itself. The very first paragraph in Chapter 2, where the author provides one of the keys to unraveling Mathematica. The section in Chapter 3 on lambda calculus, which clarifies the use of pure functions. The entire collection of topics in Chapter 4 on meta-Mathematica.
   
   Chapter 5 deals with the topic that is probably most foreign to those like myself used to traditional languages, (Fortran, C, C++); the treatment in this chapter is outstanding. Chapter 6 shows how Mathematica uses lists as a unified approach for vectors, matrices and tensors. Be aware however, that the book does require a fair background in mathematics or physics, (bachelor's or above).
   
   It is clear that this is a labor of love; the author is deeply excited by the capabilities of Mathematica, and does his best to share his enthusiasm with the reader. The result is an inspiring book that is richly deserving of high praise. To fellow novices aspiring to use Mathematica gainfully, I can recommend the Programming Guidebook without hesitation. With study and patience, this Guidebook will dramatically enhance your ability to use Mathematica successfully.
   
   I still believe my path to skillful use of Mathematica is going to be a long one, but it does not matter - with a guide like this, I expect to enjoy the journey immensely.



2. Michael Trott's skill, knowledge and enthusiasm regarding the use of
   Mathematica in scientific research is extraordinarily impressive, as I
   have found to my considerable
   benefit from some extended professional contact.
   His infectious passion is manifested very strongly in this Guidebook
   (devoted to programming, with the subsequent three volumes --- already
   available --- being
   concerned with the topics of graphics, symbolics and numerics).
   Chapter 1 ("Introduction to Mathematica")
   alone contains close to twelve hundred
   references to the scientific literature (mostly physics, mathematics
   and engineering
   in nature), pertaining to one application or another --- many of an
   engaging/intriguing nature.
   Each chapter includes a set of exercises and a detailed solution
   proposal for each exercise.
   
   It certainly behooves each reader to peruse the Table of Contents and the
   Index to find the topics of most interest to him or her. Much valuable time
   for the computer practitioner
   can certainly be spent with simple browsing of this impressive work of
   devotion and erudition.
   Desirably, some of the virtuosity in the use of Mathematica, abundantly
   exhibited here by Trott, can be acquired by the reader.



3. Absolutely terrible book. The author fails to explain simple things simply and logically. The author should read "mathematica for Scientist and Engineers" by Thomas Bahder or "Mathematica Navigator" by Ruskeepaa to see how one should write a book.



4. Michael is a world authority on Mathematica. His deep insight, fresh perspectives and Herculean writing have produced a singular volume. It is impossible to turn the pages without a sense of amazement. If you want to appreciate the power and beauty of Mathematica, there is no better choice.
   
   Here we see Mathematica as used by a master. The instruction is top notch, the examples are superlative, the topics are fascinating.
   
   I think the customer rating system shows a blemish in allowing someone to rate this book as a poor introduction. It is a guidebook, a survey of capabilities, and as such is superlative example.



5. Trott's 4 book set is an amazing achievement. The Programming volume is the most generally useful, and Trott suggests reading The Mathematica Book (by Wolfram) through, cover to cover, and then reading Trott's own books in the order Programming, Graphics, Numerics, Symbolics. So, start with Programming when reading Trott. I think following these instructions would be the best way to start from zero and master Mathematica.
   
   It is hard to even consider all the information in here. I like areas others have discussed, like the Lambda calculus and the Metamathematica discussions. I also like that all 4 of the books are included, formatted as Mathematica Notebooks, on the DVD. The DVD that comes with any one volume contains that volume's notebooks already evaluated, and the other 3 volumes' notebooks unevaluated, and an unevaluated copy of that volume's notebooks, and the Table of Contents and Index and other infrastructural notebooks. So, while the hardcopy is very nice to have, I've also hunted around in the other volumes with great benefit.
   
   It really makes no sense to compare these with Ruskeepaa's Mathematica Navigator, which is a nice example of the several books that help get one started with Mathematica. Trott is aiming at a whole different level. His explanations are more insightful, more complete. He discusses more topics.
   
   Trott goes well beyond Wolfram's book. To quote him, "The four GuideBooks contain about 25,000 Mathematica inputs, representing more than 70,000 lines of commented Mathematica code. (For the reader already familiar with Mathematica, here is a more precise measure: The LeafCount of all inputs would be about 800,000 when collected in a list.) The GuideBooks also have more than 4,000 graphics, 100 animations, 8,000 references, and 1,000 exercises. More than 10,000 hyperlinked index entries and hundreds of hyperlinks from the overview sections connect all parts in a convenient way. The evaluated notebooks of all four volumes have a cumulative file size of about 10 GB."
   
   Mathematica is a huge and powerful tool. As Mathematica is to other technical computing tools, Trott's set is to other Mathematica books.

5 comments about Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: Using Digital Media for Effective Communication (The Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series).

1. This book is a comprehensive resource for professionals who plan and deliver presentations. It begins with the basics and progresses to the use of more advanced presentation tools. This book also offers practical advice and step-by-step instructions (with numerous graphics and screen shots), which makes it easy for readers to immediately implement the techniques outlined. I especially liked having additional resources listed at the end of each chapter.



2. Tom Bunzel has been an indispensable presentation coach to me for years. In person and in his books he has an uncanny way to bring out the best in people. This book puts in one place Tom's knack for making technical stuff easy while keeping readers focused on the subtle arts of using PowerPoint to make effective presentations. This is the perfect book for new or seasoned presenters to take their communications to a whole new place.



3. I do just enough presentations to know that I need to concentrate on improving my delivery and contents. I was excited to get a copy of Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: Using Digital Media for Effective Communication by Tom Bunzel. This is more than the typical "here's how PowerPoint works" book...
   
   Contents: Planning an Effective Presentation; Implementing Professional Design Principles; Creating Dynamic Visuals; Secrets of Animation and Navigation; Using Video and Audio Effectively; Powerful Presentation Tools; The Latest Technologies - Beyond PowerPoint to the Future; Delivering a Killer Presentation; Index
   
   Most books that talk about PowerPoint are tutorials on how to create one for your presentation. But realistically, nearly anyone can create a PowerPoint presentation with little effort. Whether it's effective or not is a vastly different story. Bunzel approaches the subject from the point of view of the presentation itself... what keeps an audience interested, what types of displays work to reinforce the message, etc. Once you understand what makes for a good presentation, it's much easier to decide what you should and shouldn't do in PowerPoint. Bunzel draws upon the experience of professional presenters, many who make their living using tools like PowerPoint to communicate to others. There are also a number of additional resources and recommendations for software you can add on to your presentation to make it stand out from others (photos, videos, software add-ons, etc).
   
   For me, I was surprised to see how much animation can add to a presentation. I've always avoided the cheesy fade-ins and animations that come with PowerPoint, as I was under the impression that they were more distracting than helpful. But after reading this book, I realize that I've been limiting the possibilities. This is one of those books that could make the difference between boring your audience or firing them up, between being a one-time speaker to being a repeat invitee...



4. Everyone in the business world (and probably in government, education, and all the others as well) uses powerpoint. But that is not to say that it is used effectively. PowerPoint presentations can be just about as boring, trivial, and useless as presentations made in any other way.
   
   This book is about how to make effective and hard hitting presentations. It is not a book on the mechanics of using PowerPoint, it is a book on using PowerPoint to communicate effectively. It teaches you to go beyond the normal bullets to tell a story that breaks through the barriers to reach the audience at all levels.
   
   To be sure, the book does include a lot of information on doing more sophisticated things than normal with PowerPoint including using third-party add ons to extend its capabilities.
   
   Recommended to anyone who makes presentations.



5. This is a great book. It showed me new tips to do in Power Point that enhances your look of your presentation. I learned a lot of valuable information I will use in the future. The book was easy to follow and the CD has all of the templates discussed in the book that you can use or copy. I would highly recommend this book to someone who wants to improve their PowerPoint skills.

5 comments about Web Designer's Reference.

1. This is a very well thought out book. The chapters and examples start very basic and build and build into some fairly impressive pieces. Javascript and PHP is used in limited fashion. Most examples are exclusively XHTML and CSS.

   My favorite part of this book is how the examples are laid out for the reader. They start simply and the reader is encouraged to build layer upon layer in CSS until plain text becomes a well presented page. Well worth the money IMHO!




2. Reference book, not really. It has a short reference for most used items in the back, but the book is more for putting things together.
   
   Very well written, with examples that are actually useful for future projects. My book shelves are full of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript books. This book has a lot less "fluff" and more information that a person can really use.
   
   Honestly, the only reason I bought this book is due to the high praises given on this site. Why would I need another XHTML or CSS book? I am very glad I decided to purchase the book.
   
   Beginner, hobbyist, or professional, I know every level of designer will get something out of this book.
   
   Sorry about the spelling and grammer, kind of rushed.



3. This books, in my opinion, is definitely not for the newcomer. If you've never done web design, this book is going to be overwhelming for you. It touches on a lot of topics.
   If you're a web designer or many years or even a relatively new one with a few simple web sites and a good beginner's book, this is a very good book. It's like learning from a master but as an apprentice. The master doesn't exactly spoonfeed you with information but lays it out on the table and expects you to pick up the spoon and scoop away the knowledge.
   I'd say you definitely should read this book if you're aiming to be a proper, high-class, professional web designer/developer. However, if you're brand new, then this book deserves to wait a bit.



4. A really average book. Most of the things inside it can easily be picked up on an on line tutorial. Targeted to the novice user, who is unfamiliar with CSS. Most of the techniques presented are just basic stuff, and not really worth paying for, just to own them in print.



5. This is a really great reference book on CSS and Web design in general. I read through the book twice so that I could really understand the material. Most of the chapters are interesting to read although certain sections were a little dry. He includes really nice examples to get you started and alerts you of common mistakes and how to avoid them.
   
   My only gripe is that the book was published in 2005 and is now outdated in the sense that the browsers he mentioned are now basically obsolete. Firefox is not even mentioned at all. Also he covers web design tools like Front Page which is now history.
   
   A second edition of this book is definitely needed, however the core concepts haven't changed that drastically, so I would still recommend this book.

2 comments about Macromedia Studio 8 Step-by-Step: Projects for Flash 8, Dreamweaver 8, Fireworks 8, and Contribute 3.

1. This book really leads you step by step -- without explaining much, to the point that you don't know why you're doing things or how to use the applications when trying to create your own webpage (you're fine as long as you're doing the exercises in the book). If you're an absolute beginner, choose something else.



2. Very good, clear step-by-step instructions for beginning Studio 8 users. It could use a little more explanation on the use of CSS, but overall a very useful book.

5 comments about Foundation ASP.NET for Flash (Foundation).

1. I've been a Flash developer for awhile now, have used it with PHP/ASP and other server technologies - but have avoided the learning curve of .Net. FOE books are great at giving you the basics so that you can get up and running quickly, and the tutorials in the book are usually spot-on for applying those basics. Read the book and did the exercises in one week, and now am writing basic Web Services, .dll files, and using remoting with Flash on a basic level - just as I thought I would after finishing the book. There are some typos and ommissions, which seems par for the course these days for technical books (does anybody proof read or edit these things?) - but if you have a genuine knowledge of Flash, you can overcome them pretty easily. Recommended.



2. My attitude toward this book has NOTHING to do with ASP.net 2.0, nor even Flash. It has to do with this book. While the opening C# Primer is good (a very clean, simplistic quick run down on the basics with strings and arrays), as well I can tell the examples are solid enough you lost me right when we're told to down load Eclipse's little web server control. "Free for development, but ten bucks for unlimited usage...bla bla" Didn't we just spend our money buying your book so we could LEARN not buy more stuff? Ok, it's only ten bucks, but it's the principle of the matter.
   
   Secondly, I think it's rather silly to have to use the code with some fancy web server control in the first place. That's rather cheap, if you ask me. For those who aren't too familiar with ASP.net yet: ASP.net isn't a language, it's the rendering mechanics for web applications in the .net framework. It's a bunch of fancy server controls (which are basically HTML like elements on steroids) that can either be hard coded, like HTML (but that sort of defeats the purpose), or programmatic activated through a .net programming language. This language is then a separate entity (which can be VB.net, or in the case of this book, C#...A very fine, fine language) from the ASP.net server controls, but it works together.
   
   In a nut shell, you don't actually need much of ASP.net's presentation layer (AKA, the page where you put the server controls). If any one is familiar with classic ASP, Response.Write("hello") (which is the equivalent of echo "hello"; in PHP) is all that you'd really need in a .net environment using Flash interfaces.
   
   On a more sophisticated level, you could learn some ADO.net, learn how to mess around with some SQL/XML out putting, and go that route to your Flash movie as well.
   
   So, the final verdict: I'll do the example, just for practice. But I can easily just make a User Control for my flash movies, put to practice what I said there, and VIOLA...no need to pay you ten bucks.
   
   However, for those that are in a bind, and need to Implement a Flash interface into a .net project (for what ever reason), here's a work around:
   
   I'd recommend getting Foundation PHP 5 for Flash by David Powers. Most web hosting solutions that are on Windows will have both .net and PHP installed. Learn how to work with Flash Movies via PHP, then you can embed your Flash movie in your ASP.net files (via a User Control...), and have your PHP files sitting with your ASP.net files in the same app (Trust me, nothing will go wrong nor explode)...This may sound gratuitous, but it really isn't.
   
   However, I'm going to translate David's code into C#, come up with my own projects and then embark on developing my own book on the subject.



3. I would like to make this short and sweet. Mr. Moore is at the forefront of the .net community. Without this book, I would have spent the next couple of years trying to learn all of what this book gives me, all for the price of taking my girlfriend to a movie! My offerings to my customers has expanded exponentially, and that, is what this is all about!
   
   5 Stars!!!!



4. A great primer on C# and installation of a local development environment using the free tools that Microsoft offered. All instructions and descriptions are step-by-step. Also includes important information on third-party Visual Studio components that allow you to send data between flash and .NET for pages that not completely inside the Flash interface. This book solidly provides multiple methods to interface with your flash applications using ASP.NET 2.0 with Flash remoting, Web services, and FlashVars... Highly Recommended.. Everything here as advertised!



5. I thought this book will discuss all issues and will have a rich
   ASP.NET solution for flash but it goes less than what I need
   sure its cool as it names on but it doesn't cover what am looking
   for from this title.

4 comments about Game Programming All in One, Third Edition.

1. I will never know if this book is worth squat.
   You see, it relies on the open-source Allegro game programming library.
   The problem is, it's nearly impossible to get it installed and working!
   The catch-22 is, I can't return the book because I opened the seal on the packaged CD that supposedly includes all the stuff you need for the book.
   
   the book looks promising, but for now it's a big paper-weight made of paper.



2. I had to figure out by my self how to compile the codes under linux. The book doesn't go over compiling under Linux, other than using kdevelop.
   
   
   
   1 star: Readability. It was easy to read. While I found some typos, it wasn't such a big deal.
   
   2 star: There aren't many books out there on Allegro Library, and that deserves some recognition.
   
   2 star: I own another book written by Jonathan S. Harbor, which was also a good read. Beginning JAVA ... I forget the title but it was a JAVA book. Anyways, the 2 stars are for the author, and his experience in game programming.
   
   It's a nice book to have.



3. This book is intended for the ABSOLUTE BEGINNER. It assumes the reader has a very basic knowledge of C, and understands the basics of pointers, arrays and structs. No experience with other multimedia library/GUI toolkit/etc required, although it helps.
   
   From that point on, it will get you up and running really fast; in quite a few chapters this book will cover simple 2D game programming, teaching all the basics neededed for programming more complex games. Trough the use of Allegro library, the topics of handling input (keyboard, mice, joystick) and output (sound, graphics, sprites) are covered effectively.
   
   The later chapters, however, did not appeal to me at all; they deal with horizontal scrolling (classic mario-like games) and vertical scrolling (1942-like shoot'em up's), AI, multithreading... which is very cool stuff, but I don't think the approach chosen is very effective.
   
   It is read REALLY fast however, with very big fonts, and clear and neat writing. It dissapointed me a bit because although it seemed very nicely edited, one of the examples was misplaced.
   
   If you plan to work under linux, the code will work (most of the time), but compiling can become somewhat cumbersome. Under windows, it works fine.
   
   To wrap up, I quite liked what the author says about gaming and game design in general, and teaches very effectively what he intends, having the "All In One" covered; but examples are overall too simplistic or superficial.
   
   I'm rating four out of five because I expect a book on the subject to be a little more high-end; however, if you are new to programming in general, this book will prove quite helpful. And, Allegro can take you really far (it even has the bonus of being open source!).
   
   P.S.: as a side note, reading other reviews, the second edition looks better than third.



4. I tend to shy away from game programming books with the phrase "All in One." And not without good reason. Most of them are utter garbage. They simply try to do too much. Take the 1st edition of GPAIO for example--it was just awful. It had diagrams on the wrong page, tons of errors, etc. And it wastes way too much time going through the technical stuff. Very little on game programming.
   
   Not so with this book.
   
   While there is some technical stuff, the author utilizes it almost instantaneously to form a simple tank game along the way. Towards the end of the book, he covers horizontal scrolling (i.e., Super Mario Bros.) and vertical scrolling (i.e., 1942). While neither example is a complete game, both really explain the mechanics well enough that making a game of either type should be fairly easy.
   
   I was a bit reluctant to buy the book because it uses Allegro, rather than the more mainstream options of DirectX and OpenGL. But I really think Allegro was a great choice. It allows him to focus on the meaty stuff, you know, actual game programming stuff. I have way too many books that waste upwards of 150 pages on setting up a window with DirectX.
   
   My only criticism is that the book is more for hobbyists than professionals, but then again I have never seen nor heard of any such book. Anyone who wants to program games, albeit simple games should definitely check this book out.
   
   As for the reviewer who gave GPAIO one star, I'm really doubtful that s/he is serious. But if so, my advice to you is this: If you can't get Allegro up and running, then you shouldn't be programming games. It's that simple. Really. It's not any harder or easier to set up than DX, OpenGL or even SDL.