learn AS2 or AS3?

[PaulSheffield]

AS noob here just starting out on Action Scripting and wondering if it's worth the expense of investing in FlashCS so I can learn AS3 from the start or if I'm OK learning AS2 for now in Flash8 (which I already have).

TIA

Paul

[CyanBlue]

Howdy and Welcome... :)

Unless you have a client who wants AS3 project, I'd say learn the basics of AS2 and update your knowledge in AS3 when the time comes...

[tg]

lrn2code in flash4

everyone loves /syntax.

heh. joking. really. if your just starting? learn as3.
it will have broader application in the long run. unless you have a client that specifically request your code to be in as2. there is no need.


:) hahaha i know... im specifically contradicting cb.... he has 20k posts... imma noob. who ya gonna believe? :)

[CyanBlue]

I think it's up to him to decide because both are valid points... Of course, F4 is not a bad idea though... ;)

[PaulSheffield]

LOL, thanks guys. :p

Let me put the question another way: will learning AS2 make it more difficult to learn AS3 later? How different are they? Am I going to get into 'bad habits' with AS2?

Also, setting aside the expense of FlashCS, are there any advantages to learning AS2 first?

Paul

[CyanBlue]

Well... Unless you(or anybody else) have master brain, you won't be able to master AS2 in a matter of half year or so... That only means that whoever moves from one to another will have lots of trouble and that's sorta expected when we work on this industry... ;)

[Colin Campbell]

Personally if I was starting now, I would learn AS3, knowing both quite well. You're going to have to transition to AS3 at some point, and AS3 is more backwards-compatible to AS2 than AS2 is forward-compatible to AS3... ie, in my opinion, you'll have more luck learning AS3 and going back to AS2 (if and when needed, you might never need to do any AS2 and if you do, it will only be for a short period of time) than learning AS2 and having to go to AS3. A lot of the core concepts are there, but some of the stuff regarding the display list in AS3 will stick better on an untouched brain, rather than having been priorly corrupted by AS2.

Personally, I think we're right at the tipping point where it will make more sense to just go to AS3. I still use AS2 when I'm working with ads (they need to publish to Flash Player 6) but I can't imagine starting a project now in AS2.

That said, a lot of people are partial to AS2, and I can see why. It would probably be easier to learn (whether or not the easy road is the right road is a different story). I just think AS3 is a cleaner coding language that promotes better practices.

[PaulSheffield]

Thanks for sharing your opinion Colin. I recently did an Adobe Certified AS2 training course and the tutor stressed that the materials had been written to embed some of the priniciples of AS3 (e.g. apparently code cannot be placed directly on objects in AS3), but it did leave me wondering if it wouldn't be better just to go straight to AS3.

It reminds me a little of when I set out learning web design and CSS was just coming into its own.

[Colin Campbell]

Thanks for sharing your opinion Colin. I recently did an Adobe Certified AS2 training course and the tutor stressed that the materials had been written to embed some of the priniciples of AS3 (e.g. apparently code cannot be placed directly on objects in AS3), but it did leave me wondering if it wouldn't be better just to go straight to AS3.

It reminds me a little of when I set out learning web design and CSS was just coming into its own.

And you'd *try* to never design in tables right now, wouldn't you? ;)

[sunlis]

I would say that since you have Flash 8, it couldn't hurt to get some basics down with AS2, before making the upgrade to CS. The upgrade that I haven't made yet. XD

It has already been said that we about to reach a tipping point. I'll use the number of people currently viewing the AS2 and AS3 forums here as an example. AS2 has 133 currently viewing, AS3 has only 20. But, if I had checked those, a month ago maybe, it probably would have been more like, 150:10, if I had to guess.

As technology progresses, so must those who use it. The change to AS3 is inevitable. Clients are going to find out the advantages of it, and start demanding it.

So, if you've already done some actionscript basics, I see no reason to not go to CS and AS3. It just makes sense. ;)

[stepan]

Well... Unless you(or anybody else) have master brain, you won't be able to master AS2 in a matter of half year or so... That only means that whoever moves from one to another will have lots of trouble and that's sorta expected when we work on this industry... ;)

I dont think they will have lotrs of trouble. I has CS3 and I only learn AS2 from it . one time i went over to AS3 and it wasnt that different exept for me having trouble coding buttons

[PaulSheffield]

And you'd *try* to never design in tables right now, wouldn't you? ;)

I haven't laid out a page in tables in about 4 years: I went through a phase when I was a strict CSS fundamentalist! These days it's pretty hard to justify table-based layout, even IE is getting with the program... but that's another debate. ;)

Thanks for everyone's thoughts on AS2 and AS3. My budget dictates that I stick with AS2 for now. I'm not much of a programmer, so I can be learning a lot of coding basics without switching to AS3, but will probably look to switch early next year... it kinda depends how much Flash coding I actually end up doing. :cool:

[Colin Campbell]

I haven't laid out a page in tables in about 4 years: I went through a phase when I was a strict CSS fundamentalist! These days it's pretty hard to justify table-based layout, even IE is getting with the program... but that's another debate. ;)

I just had to do a quick HTML email design.... UGH. It's like a bad trip back to the '90s.

Best of luck mate.

[CyanBlue]

Html??? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PaulSheffield]

I just had to do a quick HTML email design.... UGH. It's like a bad trip back to the '90s.

Best of luck mate.
Steady, some of us spend whole days trying to get the float attribute to behave itself across different browsers! :p

Thanks again.

[hangalot]

I dont think they will have lotrs of trouble. I has CS3 and I only learn AS2 from it . one time i went over to AS3 and it wasnt that different exept for me having trouble coding buttons
no mate, this is sowing disinformation. AS3 and 2 are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. end off. I have been coding in as3 for 2 years now for my job and i did several years hardcode as2 and as1 before that, everyday even now i learn something new about as3. and thats not even including flex, bloody hell although i used flex 1.5 for ages the flex framework opens up more and more amazing tid bits of functionality.

Learn as3, learn flex, learn to use the flash ide, then you are sorted. please please do not code in the flash ide however