Tutorial Pitfalls
The easiest way to see if a tutorial is good is to check if it’s on Tutorio.us. It is? Then it’s good- we guarantee it. But if it’s not (yet), here are some things to watch for that can save you from wasting a perfectly good evening banging your face on your keyboard.
The dreaded “_root”
First of all, If they’re using ‘_root’, stop reading. They mean well, but they’re crippling you by teaching you how to sidestep basic object-oriented protocol. Oh, and that also probably means the tutorial’s in AS2. Not good.
Ancient Flash versions
Before you even begin, check what version of Flash the tutorial is targeting. The topic may still be current if you are simply learning how to use the Flash development environment (Flash CS3 itself), but you should be very careful when learning ActionScript because there are some dramatic differences. For reference, here is a handy chart so you can see what you’ll be accomplishing with that tutorial.
| IDE Name | AS Version | Targeted Plugin | Should I use it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash 5 | AS1 | Flash Player 5 | For the love of God, no. | Flash MX | AS1/AS2 | Flash Player 6 | Only if you’re opening Flash time capsules on a regular basis. |
| Flash MX 2004 | AS1/AS2 | Flash Player 7 | Not recommended, but it is better than Flash 5. |
| Flash 8 | AS1/AS2 | Flash Player 8 | Still somewhat of a time-waster for AS, but the least time-wastingest. |
| Flash CS3 | AS3 | Flash Player 9 | Heck yeah. |
| Flex 2 | AS3 / MXML | Flash Player 9 | If it’s an MXML tutorial, you should probably look for Flex 3. If it’s ActionScript, it’ll still work fine. | Flex 3 | AS3 / MXML | Flash Player 9 | Again, heck yeah. |
It should be noted that any tutorial targeted at Flash MX or later will still have some value; however, it is our not-really-all-that-humble opinion that if you don’t start out near the cutting edge, it will take much longer to get there. Not convinced? We recommend the excellent essay at the beginning of our Transitioning from AS2 course. It’s by Colin Moock, who is a certified Flash Ninja.
As an aside, you can check the market penetration of the various Flash plugins on these charts from Adobe.com.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many good tutorials out there. Use these tips, and you should be able to hunt them down without wasting your time. And if you find something good, make sure to drop us a line and let us know. We’re always looking for more stuff for our courses.