Time to Study - Book suggestions

[barney-0-]

After fluffing around with Flash over the last month or so its definitely time to brush up and learn correct practices....

There are 2 areas that i must understand...xml and actionscript.

With xml, im looking to understand the basic principles, apply them within the flash environment and pull in mysql database tables via php etc (im ok with dynamic php wesbites, but not a clue with flash)

With actionscript, im looking to understand the basics, and then jump to some advance stage by following practical examples..

Could anyone suggest some books that may be use. Ive got moocks action script bible (covered in dust), therefore im looking for practical examples that will help me understand more effectively. I understand that ill need to learn how make a ball bounce etc, however any book that briefly looks at this and then catapults me into in actionscript that i would actually like to use would be great.

Ive had a quick look around...

Foundation XML for Flash
Foundation ActionScript Animation: Making Things Move!
Flash and XML: A Developer's Guide

...can anyone suggest any?

many thanks in advance

[rougy]

LearnFlash.com has some video tutorials for sale that I would highly recommend.

I bought the "Building a Website in Flash 8" for $197, and I declare, I learned more in the three days it took me to watch those vids than I have in the past three years hacking my way through Flash MX, Flash 2004, and eight months with F8.

I'm going to check out his actionscript tutorials as well as his animation tutorials.

It's pricy - no doubt. But I've probably spent about $200 on Flash books over the past three years, and none of them compared to what I learned in that video series.