AS3 Classes

[Reliable]

Is there an "easy" way to learn the different AS3 classes, their properties (if applicable) , and their methods and syntax?

[JasonHippy]

I guess the easiest way would be to either look up some AS3 tutorials on the web, or buy a couple of decent books on AS3.

"Friends of ED" (a publisher) do a few good books on AS3. A few which I own and recommend are:
Foundation Actionscript 3.0 Animation:Making Things Move!
Advanced Actionscript 3.0 Animation
Object Oriented Actionscript 3.0
The Essential Guide to Flex 2.0 with Actionscript 3.0

That last book might be a slightly outdated now as flex3 is the current version of flex. Plus the flex4 beta is also out, but FOE may have an updated version of the book for Flex3!

Note: None of these books list every single available AS3 class, but they will give you a good grounding in the AS3 classes you're most likely to use often in your projects.

The flash livedocs on the Adobe site are also a good reference point. They've proved extremely handy when trying to use some of the more obscure classes in AS3.

Once you've got the very basics nailed down, the best way to learn the more advanced stuff is to PLAY!

They say that the best form of exercise to improve your swimming is simply to get to a pool and swim. Likewise, to improve your AS3 programming skills you need to program some AS3..Just have a play. Create some random flash apps and mess with the available classes and functionality. If you get really stuck on anything there are loads of forums like this one where you can get some help!

Cheers for now,
Jas.

[Reliable]

I guess the easiest way would be to either look up some AS3 tutorials on the web, or buy a couple of decent books on AS3.

"Friends of ED" (a publisher) do a few good books on AS3. A few which I own and recommend are:
Foundation Actionscript 3.0 Animation:Making Things Move!
Advanced Actionscript 3.0 Animation
Object Oriented Actionscript 3.0
The Essential Guide to Flex 2.0 with Actionscript 3.0

That last book might be a slightly outdated now as flex3 is the current version of flex. Plus the flex4 beta is also out, but FOE may have an updated version of the book for Flex3!

Note: None of these books list every single available AS3 class, but they will give you a good grounding in the AS3 classes you're most likely to use often in your projects.

The flash livedocs on the Adobe site are also a good reference point. They've proved extremely handy when trying to use some of the more obscure classes in AS3.

Once you've got the very basics nailed down, the best way to learn the more advanced stuff is to PLAY!

They say that the best form of exercise to improve your swimming is simply to get to a pool and swim. Likewise, to improve your AS3 programming skills you need to program some AS3..Just have a play. Create some random flash apps and mess with the available classes and functionality. If you get really stuck on anything there are loads of forums like this one where you can get some help!

Cheers for now,
Jas.

Excellent!!! Thank you

Anyone with anything to add?

[jakesee]

Go look at some cool flash sites and try to replicate it. If you are not already a flash professional, I am sure you will start to learn new classes to get the job done.

Sometimes, you will realise that third party API and classes help you accomplish your task better and you don't even need to learn the built in classes!