The new Adobe ActionScript 3 SDK for Facebook Platform API, fully supported by Facebook and Adobe, makes it really easy to build applications that combine the strengths of the Flash Platform and the Facebook Platform. Millions of people use Facebook every day and it’s the ideal platform to build interactive and social applications for. This new library is developed by the very talented team at gskinner.com and facilitates the development of Flash Platform applications that communicate with Facebook using the OpenGraph API.

In addition to this new SDK we’ve also added a bunch of tutorials to help you get started with this new library on the Adobe Developer Connection.

What will you build with it?

In the summer it’s usually a little quieter at work so why not use this quiet time to learn something new? ActionScript 3.0 for instance. Doug Winnie, Adobe’s group manager for designer/developer workflows, just started a new series on Adobe TV titled: “ActionScript 1:1″.

ActionScript 1:1 is a free training resource that combines video tutorials, documentation and sample files to teach you the basics of ActionScript 3.0 using Flash Professional CS4. The course is specifically designed for Flash designers and animators who want to add some custom interaction using ActionScript 3.0 but need a little bit of help getting started. Doug starts off with the very basics and then gradually explains more ActionScript that will make your designs and animations interactive and dynamic. He makes it very easy to understand and I’m sure you’ll be coding ActionScript 3.0 in no time.

ActionScript 1:1 is available on Adobe, through RSS and on iTunes. See Doug’s blog for the links to the videos and the sample projects.

Flash on!

There are a couple of ways you can use Flex and Flash together. I’ve already showed you a couple of those in previous tutorials. In this video, I’ll show you how to use the SWC files created by a Flex library project in Flash CS4. That way, you can have an ActionScript developer work in Flex who can then hand off compiled SWC files to a Flash designer.

First of all an apology. I didn’t check my YouTube inbox for a while and only just saw there are some messages in there. This one by Matt Maxwell is one you have to see:

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihjgt7N3PtM]

I really love it when people get creative even if it’s only to rant a bit. Don’t worry Matt… AS3.0 is not going to kill you ;-) To get you started, check out this article which has some helpful links to help you with your migration to AS3.0 but deep down I actually hope you get stuck even more ’cause I really enjoyed your videos! ;-)

ActionScript 3.0 has been out there for quite some time now. While most of you have already moved on to AS3.0, we are aware that some people in the community haven’t yet made the switch. Lee Brimelow just published an excellent article on Devnet that talks about the 6 best reasons to use AS3.0.

I’m certain that you will be convinced about the power of AS3.0 after reading this article and that you’ll be eager to learn more about AS3.0. The links below will help you take your first steps in AS3.0 and help you understand the differences between AS2.0 and AS3.0:

• Tips for learning ActionScript 3.0 (Emmy Huang – Devnet)
• ActionScript 2.0 migration table (Language reference)
• ActionScript 3.0 with Flash CS3 (Senocular)
• ActionScript 3.0 workshop slides (Grant Skinner)