0 to 60 in Flash

You've heard of Flash. You've seen it. You're impressed. You're contemplative over the history of the web. You're indignant that a 15 - year - old kid from Hackensack can install Flash and within a month make something more visually attractive than anything you have ever made, (dammit, you were making web pages when frames were new)! Oh, yes - and you're scared.

There there. Everything is going to be just fine. Flash is good for everyone. Flash has already grabbed everyone's attention as the hot thing in web animation; and it promises to be an increasingly serious tool in web development. Flash by itself can already be used in concert with JavaScript and CGI. Chances are that Flash will integrate well with your current area of expertise. In addition, tools for extending Flash are coming out of the woodwork - from industrial strength middleware to cutesy novelties.

So relax - the basics of Flash are easier to learn than your first frameset you made in notepad. (And if you're the 15 - year - old from Hackensack, pay attention, because surfers will probably get tired of functionless animations within a year or so, unless you are one of the half-dozen-or-less gifted artists working in Flash).

Before you zip up your fire-suit and strap yourself into this 900hp tutorial, going "0 to 60 in Flash", let's run a quick safety check.

First you need (duh) a Flash player plugin for your browser. If you don't have it, go to the Flash Player Download Center and get it. (Now don't waste the rest of the day watching SouthPark shorts on Shockwave.com).

You will also need the Flash 4 authoring software; you can buy the full version or you can get a free trial copy (30-days timeout variety, fully functional). Everything in place? Good. Suit up and start your tutorial!

Contents:

Flash is Different
Terms/Work Area
The real thing
Test the movie

Additional Flash Articles

Tricks & Data, Flash Yin & Yang
Bubba, a typical client, wants you to build a Flash application that will allow him to input and display showtimes at his movie theatre. In addition, he wants to be able to update his showtimes in a .txt file that the Flash movie can read. Yin-n-Yang walks you through just such a scenario and shows you how to give Bubba precisely what he wants.

0 to 60 in Flash
Flash is Different