If you want to learn Flex 3, this is the best book I have read so far. This book will give you the basics so you can continue your learning through practice. I doubt there is a single book out there that will teach you everything there is about Flex 3 and ActionScript 3. This book will walk you through each exercise holding your hand in the process. The best part...there is a CD with all of the files included!

The best way to learn any language to is write code. You will do a lot of code writing with this book. The step-by-step approach is fantastic. While there are some errors, you can quickly figure out what it should be and fix it.

You will not learn all about ActionScript in this book. You do learn some, but you will need an book devoted to ActionScript 3 to get all you will need. This goes for all Flex 3 book written.

Overall, this book was extremely well written and laid out. I have always enjoyed the series "Training from the Source" and this book delivers. This is easily the best Flex 3 book on the market today.

Adobe Flex 3: Training from the Source is an update to the extremely popular Adobe Flex 2: Training from the Source. Authors of the book not only revised the earlier version of the book but also added a few chapters on features such modules, the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), and the advanced DataGrid component.

If you are new to Flex 3, this book will guide you through the process of developing a complete application (an online grocery store) using Adobe Flex Builder 3. This book provides you with all the tools you need to get started. But be aware that to make the most of this book, you should at the very least understand basic web terminology. This book is written assuming that you are comfortable working with other programming languages such as Java, .Net, PHP or ColdFusion. This knowledge let you better understand many comparisons and analogies made to server-side web programming.

If you are more advanced Flex developer you can still find this book compelling. You will especially like to focus on new Flex 3 topics which are discussed in this book. There are many places inside "old chapters" which were updated or extended to reflect changes and improvements available in Adobe Flex 3.

I am a Flex Developer. Although I have read the Adobe Flex 2: Training from the Source book I have also read Adobe Flex 3 version of the book and I do not regret it. It has been worth spending my time on reading. I especially liked new parts on creating modular applications and profiling Flex applications.

If you learn best by doing, this is the book you need. I definitely recommend this book.

Adobe Flex 3 Training from the Source is a kick-start guide to learning the revolutionary "web 2.0" capabilities this present and ever-growing technology provides. Authors Jeff Tapper, Michael Labriola, and Matthew Boles establish clear, step-by-step tutorials and application development that are clear and easy to absorb no matter the scope or scale of coding.

What's best in the 26 lessons is the gradual build-up of skills--each lesson carefully stretching previous chapter's elements and taking them to a new level of programming and extension. This build-up and repetition of skills helps to solidify concepts, syntax, and best practices while never becoming redundant.

Whether readers come from an existing Flash/ActionScript background, an application designer needing additional coding skills, or as a total newcomer to OOP concepts and Rich Internet Application development, Training from the Source is the finest start.

Without a doubt, this book steps up to the challenge of introducing and showcasing the amazing capabilities Flex 3 has to offer and opens a door to endless possibilities for all involved in the design, development and deployment of Internet-base applications.

this book is the best for learning adobe flex 3 ,because it's learn you how to architect your application and it's a project based tutorial

Considering that Adobe created Flex to capitalize on application programmers more comfortable with XML than animation, it amazes me that they have created a reference that teaches little that could not be learned from five minutes on google or just educated guesses. While their concept of creating a whole application as a training device is alluring in concept, the reality is that you end up good at making THEIR application, but have little basis for creating your own.

No concepts are expanded beyond the basics, or even beyond the use of them in their application. Hoping to get a better understanding of how and why things work in Flex? Then look elsewhere; this book focuses on the code you would have to type to make things happen for their application alone.

Most annoying is the code snippits that appear as examples. Never in the book is a complete code listing available. Instead, snippits are given to insert into code developed chapters earlier, followed by instructions (not code) about how to make edits, sometimes across multiple file. What that makes for is a book where there is no one place to turn to for answers. Understanding a complete concept becomes an adventure where one must piece together clues to form a complete picture.

While a few good concepts are in the book, someone looking to have a reference that will allow them to learn and build upon Flex should look elsewhere. In all cases where I found a useful or needed concept in the book, I had to search for the same concept on Adobe LiveDocs or Google so I could find an article that would actually explain it to me. I can find no reason to purchase this book, as any other book will illustrate the same concepts, and hopefully do so better and more effectively.

I bought this book thinking that from Adobe - it would have some tips and tricks that would help.

Well - they start something - and you're working it - just to find out that they say that is not the way to do it - do it another way. What? Yep.

You are supposed to be able to go to a chapter- load that chapter start project. Well, they don't work.

They have you doing 'rote' stuff - and you have no idea what you are trying to accomplish.

I've been programming for quite some time. I get the distinct feeling that these authors do not understand Flex.

Totally worthless book. You can buy mine used. Better yet, I'll save you grief - and use this book as a fire starter in my fireplace.

My only complaint about the book is that the entire thing is Adobe centric, which was expected since it's published by Adobe. By "Adobe centric" I mean that whenever there is an option about how to do something the authors do it the Adobe way. So when you connect to an application server of some kind they mention that you can use various server types and then use ColdFusion. In order to use other types (like J2EE) you have to find information elsewhere.

Overall the book is great. I am new to Flex development and was able to use this to dive right in and learn a lot of good "best practices" about using Flex. There are some small typos and errors here and there, but nothing that's too difficult to figure out.

One thing that did bother me was that the authors state in the beginning that they expect you to be an experienced programmer, but then proceed to present some mind-numbingly basic programming concepts every so often. Again, not that big of a deal since you can quickly jump over those areas, but a little annoying to be reading along and suddenly find yourself in a discussion about sending parameters to a function call as if you've never heard of those things before.

Its a big book but it covers quite a bit, i trust Adobe to create good books.

This book is the perfect option for those curious about Flex and in need of an engaging hand holding session. While completion of this book will not ready the reader for the growing market of high paying flex gigs, it will provide the occasional developer with enough knowledge to start tinkering, and most importantly, feel comfortable in the development environment.

My best advice to the reader completing this course, is to ease through the exercises and realize that with the breadth of flex, there are concepts that you won't understand till later lessons. Simply read, follow instructions, and enjoy the hands on in depth tour of this product.

It would be impossible to cover all of Flex, MXML, and ActionScript in one text, let alone attempt to teach best practices and application design. Given broad subject matter though, it does a great job tapping into many areas. While the book lacks in depth, it gives a good enough overview for doors to open for the curious.

Most of the text is accurate providing clean examples that take the watchful reader from code to compile with no errors. Halfway into the book (starting around Chapter 11), small glitches creep into the material from missing semi-colons to missing starter lesson files. For the apt student, these are overcome with a little active thinking.

I would recommend this book to any entry level RIA developers and would even consider it as a text for intern programs and in-house training.

I am presently working my way through this book and am not quite ready to do a full review. However, I came across a link that beginners (like me) will find very useful, as the book assumes that readers already are familiar with the basic concepts of an application platform such as Flex Builder.

When you have questions, google "adobe livedocs flex 3 help" (sorry amazon won't let me post a link), pick the first hit and poke around. You'll find everything the authors didn't feel like explaining, ie basic definitions, explanations of concepts, video tutorials and more.

I found the book to be a bit frustrating. Suffice it to say the book is written for experienced programmers already familiar with OOP/Java/XML/etc.

In my search for a book for beginners, I've seen this one strongly recommended: "The Essential Guide to Flex 2 with ActionScript 3.0". I like it so far.

Update: Better yet, try the new book The Essential Guide to Flex 3 (Essential Guide)

I love Adobe "Training from the Source" series and has been following them since earlier versions of Flex. It include an easy to follow project and covers many areas of RIA development that I use at work. A great book for anyone interested in developing RIA using Adobe Flex!

Excellent book and a great ongoing reference. What it didn't tell me, I've been able to find pretty easily on the web

Only a couple of things could have made this better
1) COLOUR ... I'm willing to pay more for colour text, especially when graphical coding is in place
2) More on AIR Controls
3) More on AS3 Flash libraries

I'm a programmer who has been tasked with learning ActionScript and Flex for a new project. I first picked up Foundation ActionScript 3.0 with Flash CS3 and Flex (Foundation) in an effort to learn both. I found that book difficult to digest as someone who didn't have previous experience w/ Flash. I then purchased this book, and it has been immensely helpful. It has lots of concrete examples to aid your understanding of the concepts being taught.

The book is upfront about it not being an intro to ActionScript, however some understanding of ActionScript is helpful. ActionScript and Flex more even more closely linked then ActionScript and Flash, and I don't know that the book would be as helpful to me if I hadn't picked up AS before picking up this book. All of the examples require some use of AS, so if you don't have clue 1 regarding AS, you might be in the dark.

The book can move a bit slow at times, as there is a lot of material to cover. Personally, I didn't mind this because everything that is covered is absolutely relevant to developing Flex applications. The book also indirectly teaches good design methodologies as a result of the order in which the lessons run. This book is an excellent tool.

I just finished the book from cover to cover. It took me about 3 weeks with some evenings and a couple of full days.

To grasp everything, I commented all the code as I was going. I mean, comments that explain in detail my perception of what was happening. I thought that this allowed me to actually think about what I was doing rather than just taking a typing test.

Indeed, that is the trouble with this book, it is easy to not "pay attention" as everything you learn is by example with little up front theory. You could find yourself typing 100 lines of code and not actually realizing what you were typing.

If you get this book for learning Flex rather than looking up quick examples, you'll be happy.

There were a few code example problems (errors) that were easy to figure out and correct in lieu of any errata that I could find. There are times when they are a little short on explanation as well.

I still find myself having just a couple of basic questions about some of the examples.

Flex 3 Training from the source. Is a great book. It offers a very in depth walk through of the inner workings of Flex. The book is based on a continuous project that is added too from chapter to chapter. While this method is great if you plan on following the book straight through it can make the book hard to use as a reference. This means that even though the advanced examples are superior in nature to similar books there is so much underlying code you have to look at first that you cannot quickly get a grasp on the advanced techniques. This book is also a little cumbersome to get setup. The advanced chapters in the book are based on Coldfusion and the book requires that you setup a standalone development server. While this is not a big deal it can just be a pain when all you want to do is get into the book and start writing some code. On the up side the authors of this book know there stuff and have an advanced understanding of how flex applications should be assembled and it shows again and again in Flex 3 Training from the Source.

This is a big book, but very easy to read quickly. It is a step by step instruction book, for total beginners to Flex and guides you through using the Flex Builder GUI designer in Eclipse.

Unlike a lot of GUI step-by-steppers it manages to pack a fair bit of information in its 500 odd pages because it doesn't pack itself with just screenshots. You don't have to do the lessons systematically - I didn't. But if you want to fire up Eclipse and look at some particular aspect of their code or work through a chapter, they have, very thoughtfully, included the before and after code of _each_ lesson on the CD. Despite being stripped down to the essentials I found the examples to be informative and good showcases for Flex capabilities - they are neither trivial, nor needlessly complex.

It's not very strong on ActionScript theory as it concentrates mostly on Flex. And it doesn't talk about databases. So you may want to pick up another book to supplement it.

FWIW I am quite impressed with Flex and its Eclipse designer.

If you like to learn by doing, then this is the book for you. They take you through just about every part of Flex and leave the details to the reference manuals. Be forewarned though, doing all the lessons could take at least 30 -40 hours. So if you're low on time, this is not the book for you.
I've also used this book as a reference, but am waiting for something better to be published. I know O'Reilly and Manning are coming out with new books soon.

I found this book very helpful with great examples that allow you to absorb the concepts and see them in action.

Adobe Flex 3 Training from the source is a good book for beginners and has something that advance user could use. I am not a fan of tech books, but this does not read like one. The information is solid and covers a breath of knowledge. The authors use a grocery store website as their example. The design of the website is not inspiring, but this is a manual about programming not design. I found that the code is readable and the examples are focused. This is helpful when I am looking for examples for a perticular purpose. The index is well done so my searches are quick. The length is a little overwelming, but it is no differnt then any other tech book. I gave it four out of five stars.

I found this book very easy to digest. It covers all necessary ground with very good examples so that could get you up to speed in a week. Book suggests 40+ hours. But, It even took me less than that.