Developers and designers talk about migrating to ActionScript 3

Three years after Adobe released ActionScript 3, many designers and developers still hang onto its predecessor. Is migrating from ActionScript 2 really all that difficult? We tracked down several long-time Adobe Flash users at FITC Amsterdam 2009 to get a real-world perspective on how they approached learning ActionScript 3, what the main challenges were, and whether it was worth it for them to invest the time to learn the language.

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"ActionScript 3 was everything I had wanted ActionScript 2 to be, but even more so... There's no reason not to learn ActionScript 3." — Branden Hall

Branden Hall had developed a bullet-proof workflow, but it didn't make sense in ActionScript 3. After reinventing the way he builds applications in Adobe Flash, he realized how much more efficient he could be. (Running time: 3:22)

• Site: Automata Studios
• Blog: waxpraxis.org
• Twitter: waxpraxis

Branden Hall is a programmer, small business owner, tinkerer, and father of two living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. He has two great passions: creating and teaching. When he became involved with Flash in 1998, he brought both passions to bear and quickly became known for both his award-winning work and deep ties to the developer community. Branden has spent the last 10 years pushing the limits of the web and teaching others how to do the same. His love for programming started at age 11. Conveniently enough, this was also when he became friends with Keenan Keeling, with whom he founded Automata Studios, a software development consultancy, in 2006. Since then they have enjoyed working on some amazing projects for clients such as Adobe Systems, PBS, Chanel, The Washington Post, and Lionsgate Films.

"In the beginning, I found ActionScript 3 difficult to learn, but then it [got] astonishingly easy very quickly." – Mario Klingemann

Mario Klingemann was resistant at first about migrating to ActionScript 3. In fact, he waited a year before he made the move. His biggest regret about ActionScript 3? "Not learning it sooner." (Running time: 2:14)

• Blog: quasimondo.com
• Twitter: Quasimondo

Mario Klingemann aka Quasimondo is what you get when you cross the analytic mind of a coder with the creative fervor of an artist and add a little bit of mad scientist mentality to the mix. In his aim to surprise himself, he constantly tries to explore uncharted territories in order to discover unseen beauty and unthought ideas. A key factor in his work is the drive to overcome limitations by creatively repurposing and recombining objects—thereby revealing their hidden qualities. His creations have been exhibited in international art shows and won acclaim among critics as exemplary pieces of net art.

"If you don't know any ActionScript at all, then it's better to jump into ActionScript 3 because it's so much more structured and so much more consistent." – Stacey Mulcahey

Stacy Mulcahey learned ActionScript when it was first released with Adobe Flex. She spent two or three weeks learning the language, and "it was absolute pain." But it was time well spent; she says she became a better developer as a result. (Running time: 2:37)

• Sites: Teknision, InsideRIA
• Blog: bitchwhocodes.com
• Twitter: bitchwhocodes

Stacey Mulcahy is a Flex and Flash developer who once had a torrid love affair with Macromedia Director. When she's not building rich Internet applications that even designers like, she can be found showing others how to do the same thing as a Flash instructor. She currently works as a technical architect for Teknision Inc. and is a regular contributor to InsideRIA. She rants more than raves on her Flash-centric blog, bitchwhocodes.com. Read more about Stacey in the Flash: Ten years, ten perspectives series.

"If you're coding a large application, you're doing yourself a disservice by trying to stay in ActionScript 2... It wasn't a big deal to switch over." – Keith Peters

Keith Peters was already using the object-oriented features of ActionScript 2, so it wasn't all that difficult for him to make the switch to ActionScript 3. (Running time: 2:08)

• Blog: bit-101.com/blog/
• Twitter: bit101

Keith Peters began playing with Flash in 1999. After a couple of years making really horrible Flash websites and huge intros, he discovered ActionScript, and has not looked back. Keith's award-winning personal experimental website, bit-101.com, features over 500 cutting-edge Flash experiments, with source available. It also has a series of tutorials on ActionScript which have been downloaded countless times and translated into many languages. Keith has contributed to eight books on Flash and written several magazine articles on various Flash subjects. Keith lives near Boston, Mass., in the USA and is the engineering guru at Infrared5.

"In the long run, your job will be easier [with ActionScript 3]. You will spend less time at 2 AM pulling your hair out debugging in ActionScript 3 than you would in any other version of ActionScript." – Robert Reinhardt

Robert Reinhardt thought ActionScript 3 would be difficult to learn, and more of a challenge because it was first released with
Adobe Flex. (Running time: 1:57)

• Blog: blogs.flashsupport.com/robert
• Twitter: flashfreaker

Robert Reinhardt is a highly respected authority on Adobe Flash and video integration with Flash. He was authored or coauthored numerous books on Flash, including Flash Bible and Flash ActionScript Bible. His blog and other online articles draw a wide audience. He is a former vice president of the Multimedia Platforms Group at Schematic and now works with a wide range of clients from his base in Portland, Oregon. A frequent presenter at conferences such as Flashforward, FITC, Flashbelt, and NAB, he is also a contributor at DesignProVideo.com. Read more about Robert in the Flash: Ten years, ten perspectives series.

"For the average developer, there's a perception that it's going to be really hard to learn ActionScript 3, but it's not as bad as people think it is." – Grant Skinner

Grant Skinner easily transitioned to ActionScript 3 because of his prior experience with Java, and quickly reaped the benefits:
better modularity and code reuse, easier debugging, and major performance improvements. (Running time: 1:29)

• Blog: gskinner.com/blog/
• Twitter: gskinner

Grant Skinner is the CEO and chief architect of gskinner.com, a creative technology company with a focus on the Flash platform. He works with leading new media agencies and progressive corporate clients to create cutting-edge applications, campaigns, and multimedia pieces. His expertise in fusing coding with interface design, usability, marketing, and business logic has garnered international acclaim and resulted in a number of prestigious industry awards. Grant maintains an active blog at gskinner.com/blog/ and an exhibit of his experimental work at incomplet.org. Read more about Grant in the Flash: Ten years, ten perspectives series.