Flex book recommendations

Question

I am a .NET developer, but I have started learning Flex.

I made a basic site in it, but I have never truly mastered the declarative nature of the syntax. Then again, my job is writing C# code so there is quite a difference.

I've seen several books, but I am not quite sure which is the best. Also, some of the stuff I lack practise in (but touched upon in some experiments) I know I can cover from looking on the net, but it's better to read a detailed book written by an industry figure (Eg Forta).

I am looking for a book which covers ALL the basics (using collections, interfaces, using the different components, but at the same time, developing one app throughout the book - or several small apps using different features of the technology).

What book is best for this?

Thanks

Answer 1

I am assuming you want to learn Flex 3 (keep in mind the next version is due as well). I extensively use the Flex 3 online documentation (also available with FB3) and the tutorials posted on Adobe's site.

Here's is a recommended reading list from Adobe (which you surely can trust):

• Flex 3 Cookbook: The Adobe Library Guide for Rich Internet Application Developers by Joshua Noble, Todd Anderson, Joey Lott, Chafic Kauzon, Abey George

• Programming Flex 3; The Comprehensive Guide to Creating Rich Media Applications with Adobe Flex by Chafic Kazown, Joey Lott

• Learning Flex 3; Getting up to Speed with Internet Applications by Alaric Cole

Answer 2

This book will be released imminently and is written by some very well-respected people in the Flex community:

Professional Adobe Flex 3 Joseph Balderson, Peter Ent, Jun Heider, Todd Prekaski, Tom Sugden, Andrew Trice, David Hassoun, Joe Berkovitz

http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-Adobe-Flex-3.productCd-0470223642.html

Answer 3

If you're just writing apps using the built-in components and the like then get Programming Flex 3. If you'll be writing your own components (say you need a color wheel or something)... well that's a bit harder. In that case I'd probably just get Essential ActionScript 3.0 (if you're already pretty familiar with AS) or the ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook if you'd prefer reading lots of example code (the former has significantly less example code).

Good luck!