Adobe's most recent promotional campaigns have focused on the "freedom of choice" that its solutions provide for developers, allowing them to create projects in a number of coding languages for nearly any platform.
Flash, Adobe's proprietary rich-Internet application (RIA) solution, is the prime example. Thanks to plug-in status, Flash and its associated ActionScript 3 work equally well in all enabled browsers, including the much-maligned Internet Explorer (IE) 6. What's more, the Flash platform is now native to Google's Chrome browser—no plug-in required—and supported on nearly all mobile Internet platforms except Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
This nearly ubiquitous support makes using Flash very attractive.
Unfortunately, many developers—particularly freelancers—are already proficient in HTML (HTML5), CSS, JavaScript, and any number of server-side scripting languages. So learning a new coding system can seem daunting. But there is very good news, learning Flash might not be as difficult as you think. In fact, ActionScript, which is essential for getting Flash to function as an RIA, is surprisingly similar to JavaScript. And if you're familiar with Adobe products like Illustrator and Dreamweaver, Flash Professional won't be too foreign.
In this post, I have assembled a list of several free tutorials that will help you learn to work with Flash. It will take some time, but these tutorials can help.
"Creating your first Flash Professional CS5 document"
This tutorial article is an excellent introduction to the terms and techniques involved with Flash development. It is the place to get started.
"Tutorial: Use the Graphic Class in ActionScript 3 to Generate Site Traffic"
Flash developer Jonah Werre is a regular contributor to Ecommerce Developer. He's posted 26 detailed Flash and ActionScript tutorials that function like a video Flash cookbook for taking on many of common tasks.
This particular tutorial demonstrates ActionScript 3's graphics class.
"Flex in a Week"
Last year, Adobe released this five-day curriculum for learning Adobe Flex (which is now part of Flash Professional). The course includes dozens of videos and practice exercises, so that a developer can be up-to-speed with the tools in about four hours a day for five days.
"Build Your Own ActionScript YouTube Player"
Ecommerce video is, perhaps, one of the hottest trends in design and development this year. This tutorial demonstrates how to build a custom video player using ActionScript and the YouTube API. With a custom player like this one, clients can host video on YouTube, but play them back in a unique or even branded player on product detail pages.
"Setting Up the Flex SDK"
This tutorial describes how to set up the Flex Software Development Kit (SDK), which allows you to develop RIAs without purchasing specific Flash or Flex integrated development environments.
"Learn Flash Professional CS5"
This is Adobe's comprehensive Flash Professional CS5 video tutorial series. It contains 21 detailed video tutorials created to introduce you to the latest version of Flash Professional.
"Quick Tip: Introducing Flash CS5 Templates"
"CS5 has introduced a load more, falling into a wide selection of categories such as banners, buttons, media playback, animation and more," wrote Tom Green in this tutorial's introduction. Check out this quick introduction to using templates in the more recent version of Flash Professional.
W3School's Flash Tutorial
W3Schools is a great site for learning web development techniques, and this Flash tutorial series is no exception. The series provides a good introduction to Flash development, including introducing tweening and basic animation.
"Creating Animation in ActionScript 3"
Jen deHaan walks developers through creating ActionScript 3 animations in great detail in this nine-page tutorial.
"Tutorial: Using the Flint Particles API to Simulate Rain on a Screen"
During the holiday season, several large online retailers used Flash or JavaScript to add some seasonal flare, such as snowflakes tumbling down the screen, to their stores. Such an effect shows a high degree of professionalism, skill, and attention to detail, which are all useful attributes to convey to site visitors.
In this Adobe Flash and ActionScript tutorial, Jonah Werre will introduce you to the Flint Particles System, which is an API that makes it easier to simulate naturally occurring weather events, such as snow.
