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BOOKS

Programming Flash Communication Server

Programming Flash Communication Server

Programming Flash Communication Server
by Brian Lesser, Giacomo Guilizzoni, Robert Reinhardt, Joey Lott, Justin Watkins

Paperback: 816 pages; O'Reilly & Associates (March 1, 2005)
ISBN: 0596005040


Review:
This book applies to version 1.5 of Flash Communication Server. The most current version of the software out there is version 2, now referred to as Flash Media Server. This review pertains to the book as it relates to FCS 1.5.

This is, hands down, the best authority on a very poorly documented subject. Adobe (formerly Macromedia) released FCS with inadequate help files and little fanfare. The user base for FCS is also fairly small so the related online web resources we Flash developers normally refer to are also sparse. This book covers everything from setting up the server to making connections to how to put together complex applications. Instead of reading it cover to cover, I used it as a resource to answer questions and provide examples as I worked on projects.

Excellent chapters include Shared Objects, Managing Streams, and Securing Applications. If you want the definitive word on Shared Objects, this chapter alone is worth the cost of the book. If you want to see the full potential of what can be done with FCS (and to convince your clients to go that route), then this book is good reading.

Written by the big names in the FCS community, this is one Flash technical manual that won't gather dust in a bookshelf. You can read more information about it here as well as read a sample chapter. To download code examples, you can visit the support site here: www.flash-communications.net

review by:
Raissa Mould
Freelance Flash Programmer
www.Flash-Nerd.com


Paperback: 816 pages; O'Reilly & Associates (March 1, 2005)
ISBN: 0596005040

buy from: Amazon.com l Amazon.ca