I want to learn Flash

[elph]

I've got a lot of 'free' time these days and I'm really disappointed that I haven't been more productive with my past 18 or so months of joblessness. I wish I had started learning a new language or 2, a musical instrument, and a few other things.

Well, now I've got some access and purpose to learn some aspects of web design I've always wanted. I want to learn Flash as it pertains to web design.

Some things I'm looking at figuring out...
How to link flash with (X)HTML
How to link flash with Forms / blogs (like word press)...
Hot to make a website completely in flash that's easy to maintain without so much of the need to rebuild to add content...

I learn best by doing, then by reading. I taught myself HTML/CSS (at least a great understanding for it) by hand and the only book I found useful was PeachPit Press's HTML quickstart guide (HTML really isn't a complex thing to learn). But are there some easy (preferably free) resources online that anyone has used / suggests for learning Flash?

 

[Olorin]

www.flashkit.com is one of the biggest flash resource sites with lots of tutorials, examples and a huge forum.
Most of the web/programming teaching sites also have some flash tutorials and articles, like www.devshed.com

You'll also learn a lot by just messing around and seeing what happens. I've never used a book other than the manual and actionscript reference guide that came with flash.

 

[Reboneer]

How to make a website completely in flash

I hate you.

 

[elph]

<useful Flash info>

Thanks. I'll take a look through there. There are a lot of resources online for learning Flash that it's pretty overwhelming as to what's good, and what's crap. I did the same with HTML/CSS. I bought huge books, dummies books, read online, but it wasn't until I bought the Peachpit Press book that I fully got the hang of it.

How to make a website completely in flash

I hate you.

I don't think I'd ever really put it into play. I don't like them myself, but I have a friend that has some ideas for a story element (for our games) using the web to distribute it. It'd basically be like a database program of heroes/villains (ala Batman's computer and files) with a certain look that may be easier to do in Flash, then in HTML/CSS.

 

[fade]

Maybe. If you're looking for real-time feedback to the screen from some other resource, you could look more into JavaScript. Especially AJAX, which is really an important sounding name for one function call in JavaScript that lets you do things very desktop app like. You could also look into Google APIs which kind of pretty up some of the backend details of javascript and the DOM in Python-like syntax. This is what Google Maps, for example, uses. There's a decent google apps intro here: http://www.macresearch.org/tinkering-google-app-engine

 

[elph]

Maybe. If you're looking for real-time feedback to the screen from some other resource, you could look more into JavaScript. Especially AJAX, which is really an important sounding name for one function call in JavaScript that lets you do things very desktop app like. You could also look into Google APIs which kind of pretty up some of the backend details of javascript and the DOM in Python-like syntax. This is what Google Maps, for example, uses. There's a decent google apps intro here: http://www.macresearch.org/tinkering-google-app-engine

Yeah, I've been out of the loop of sorts with no real web design type project for a few years so I've missed out on a few things that may work better. There are a lot of things I've noticed that Javascript is doing a lot more then it used to, but I just haven't looked into it.

Is AJAX used for some of those image slideshows that seem to be very popular now? Where the thumbnails are shown on a page, you click one, it comes up and then you have a series of options (back, next, description, some background color) and the window goes dim behind it.

 

Flash is known as the fastest man alive. There have been several to use the name Flash, but it all started with Jay Garrick, who was also a member of the Justice Society. Then there was Barry Allen, but he sacrificed his life to save the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths. He was followed up by his nephew, Wally (previously Kid Flash), who was able to tap into something called the Speed Force.

Recently Barry's come back to life and...

...oh, wait. It might help if I read the post, not just the thread title. :tongue:

 

[elph]

Flash is known as the fastest man alive. There have been several to use the name Flash, but it all started with Jay Garrick, who was also a member of the Justice Society. Then there was Barry Allen, but he sacrificed his life to save the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths. He was followed up by his nephew, Wally (previously Kid Flash), who was able to tap into something called the Speed Force.

Recently Barry's come back to life and...

...oh, wait. It might help if I read the post, not just the thread title. :tongue:

Yeah.. c'mon.. don't be "That Neon Guy". :tongue:

 

[bigcountry23]

Flash is known as the fastest man alive. There have been several to use the name Flash, but it all started with Jay Garrick, who was also a member of the Justice Society. Then there was Barry Allen, but he sacrificed his life to save the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths. He was followed up by his nephew, Wally (previously Kid Flash), who was able to tap into something called the Speed Force.

Recently Barry's come back to life and...

...oh, wait. It might help if I read the post, not just the thread title. :tongue:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odU1bHaYNDQ:2fgnw9g8][/youtube:2fgnw9g8]

 

[fade]

Maybe. If you're looking for real-time feedback to the screen from some other resource, you could look more into JavaScript. Especially AJAX, which is really an important sounding name for one function call in JavaScript that lets you do things very desktop app like. You could also look into Google APIs which kind of pretty up some of the backend details of javascript and the DOM in Python-like syntax. This is what Google Maps, for example, uses. There's a decent google apps intro here: http://www.macresearch.org/tinkering-google-app-engine

Yeah, I've been out of the loop of sorts with no real web design type project for a few years so I've missed out on a few things that may work better. There are a lot of things I've noticed that Javascript is doing a lot more then it used to, but I just haven't looked into it.

Is AJAX used for some of those image slideshows that seem to be very popular now? Where the thumbnails are shown on a page, you click one, it comes up and then you have a series of options (back, next, description, some background color) and the window goes dim behind it.

I can think of a few ways to do that. Another good API set to look at is "jquery". It's an open-source project similar in some ways to Google Apps, but more accessible. Really, between PHP and JS, you should be able to make your page nearly as interactive as Flash. And with video and audio capabilities defined in the standard, HTML5 will probably overshadow flash (at least flv) soon.