User:Kelvinzioki

Part I: Building Dynamic Sites

Chapter 1. What Is a Dynamic Site? Dynamic Sites Defined

Dynamic Site Tools

The Skills

Team Management

Asset Management

Summary

Chapter 2. The Architecture of Dynamic Sites

The Pancake Principle of Dynamic Site Architecture

Let the Software Do the Work

Complexity vs. Simplicity

Summary

Chapter 3. Planning a Dynamic Site

Want vs. Need

The Creative Brief

The Technical Brief

The Communication Process

Creating a Chat Room in Flash MX 2004

Summary

Chapter 4. Planning the Data for a Dynamic Site

Planning the Data

Flowcharting the Logic

Planning the Community Center Site

Getting Ready to Work

Summary

Chapter 5. Planning the Look

Creating the Site Model

Wireframing

Comprehensive Designs

Prototyping

Summary

Part II: Building the Interactive Tour

Chapter 6. Creating the Tour Assets

The Plan

Imaging in Fireworks MX 2004

The Studio MX 2004 Workflow

Creating the Oakbridge Community Center Masthead

Batch Process is a Developer's Best Friend

Summary

Chapter 7. The Elements of the Dynamic Page

Dreamweaver MX 2004 and Dynamic Data

Building Templates in Dreamweaver MX 2004

Creating Cascading Style Sheets in Dreamweaver MX 2004

Summary

Chapter 8. Building the Data

Databases and Studio MX 2004

A ColdFusion MX Overview

Building a Simple Back-End

Summary

Chapter 9. Flash Remoting

What It Is

Flash/ColdFusion

Summary

Chapter 10. Assembling the Tour

Choosing Fonts

Designing the Look for the Applications

Assembling the Dreamweaver MX 2004 Pages

Summary

Part III: Building the Booking Facility

Chapter 11. Creating the Booking Facility Assets

Director vs. Flash

The Plan

Imaging in Fireworks MX 2004

The Fireworks MX 2004/Director MX Connection

The Flash MX 2004/Director MX Connection

Summary

Chapter 12. Flash Communication Server MX: Moving Dynamic Data Through Director MX and Flash MX 2004

The Movement of Dynamic Data Through and Out of Director MX and Flash MX 2004

Interface Issues

Summary

Chapter 13. Assembling the Booking Application in Flash MX 2004

Planning the Project

Creating the Booking Facility Database

Creating an ActionScript Document in Dreamweaver MX 2004

Building the Booking Facility in Flash MX 2004

Building the Calendar

Summary

Chapter 14. Assembling the Booking Application in Director MX

A 'Dispassionate' Look at the Differences

Wrapping the Booking Facility in Director MX

Summary

Part IV: Building the Online Meeting Facility

Chapter 15. Embedding and Streaming Video in Flash MX 2004

Digital Video Overview

Incorporating Video into Flash MX 2004

Streaming Video Through the Flash Communication Server MX

Summary

Chapter 16. Building the Chat Room

Chat Issues

Designing the Room

Building the Chat Room

Summary

Chapter 17. Flash MX 2004 and Real-Time, Two-Way Communication

Streaming and How We Got from 'There' to 'Here'

Design Issues

Building the Streaming Audio Communicator in Flash MX 2004

Summary

Chapter 18. Building the Meeting Application

The Competitive Advantage of Flash MX 2004

Jordan's Epiphany

The 'Story' Behind the Meeting Room

The Technologies That Make the Meeting Room Work

Constructing the Meeting Room

Summary

Part V: Pulling It All Together

Chapter 19. Debugging and Testing

Debugging Issues

Using ColdFusion MX's Debugging Options

Optimizing Dreamweaver MX 2004 Code

Director MX Debugging Tools

Debugging in Flash MX 2004

Usability/Functionality

Accessibility

The Testing Team and Its Responsibilities

Summary

Chapter 20. Deployment

Ensuring Dynamic Components Are Working

Uploading to the Remote Server

Summary

Chapter1. What Is a Dynamic Site? To hear the experts tell it, building dynamic sites should be left to them. They will point you to Amazon.com, CNN.com, or sites that feature interactive chats and live video feeds, and they will point out just how complex it can be to deliver a site of this genre. The average web developer, whose client list includes a large number of local businesses, will listen to the expert's explanation of the technologies involved and the skills required and will have the following, understandable reaction: "Not for me, dude." We beg to differ. Our response is quite the opposite: "Cool. Bring it on." Before you start accusing us of being some sort of collection of "techno dweebs" or "tekkie elites," understand that a couple of us were in your shoes a few years ago. We saw it coming and said, "Nope, not for me…too complex…too technical. We'll never go there!" The way we got to the point in our careers where this chapter came about is a fairly typical story. Our clients started asking about building dynamic sites, which left us in the position of either getting dynamic or getting dead.

Dynamic Site Tools Macromedia Studio MX 2004 features a full complement of tools that enable you to go right to work. Freehand MX is a powerful vector-drawing tool that integrates workflow with not only Flash MX 2004 but also Fireworks MX 2004. Flash MX 2004 is able to talk to the Flash Communication Server MX and have content fed into it through ColdFusion MX, and Flash files can be used in Director MX presentations and, of course, be embedded in a Dreamweaver MX 2004 page. Dreamweaver MX 2004 is the hub of the Studio. Content created elsewhere can be easily added to Dreamweaver MX 2004 pages, and, if the content is Flash MX 2004- or Fireworks MX 2004-produced, it can be edited in those applications with a single mouse click in Dreamweaver MX 2004. Dreamweaver is easily configured to communicate with ColdFusion MX, allowing you to preview your data in real time. It ships with an abundance of ready-made templates and can even be used as an ActionScript editor. Fireworks MX 2004 is the imaging application with the capability to accommodate slicing, gif animation creation, pull-down menus, buttons, and a host of other features. The following is a listing of many of the tools and a short list of their major features: •	Dreamweaver MX 2004 o	Rapid development and management of HTML and XHTML pages. o	Code and design views accommodate all skill levels. o	Capability to create template-driven sites for a uniform look and feel. o	Capability to integrate content from Flash MX 2004, Freehand MX, Fireworks MX 2004, and Director MX. o	Live data preview. o	Full CSS support. •	Flash MX 2004 o	Streaming vector-based multimedia means rapid downloads to browsers. o	Online Internet Application development tool (also known as Rich Internet Applications). o	Hundreds of third-party components available. o	Superb integration with Freehand MX. o	Capability to add video and audio to Flash presentations. o	Capability to easily create dynamic Flash presentations and sites. •	Fireworks MX 2004 o	One of the best web image optimization tools on the market. o	GIF animations, buttons, rollovers, and pop-down menus are simple to create. o	Slicing and hotspot features for large pages or image maps. o	Full complement of special effects features ranging from Drop Shadows to code-driven special effects. o	Works with vectors, bitmaps, and images composed of both vectors and bitmaps. o	Seamless Flash MX 2004 integration. o	One-click access to Fireworks MX 2004 from Dreamweaver MX 2004 and Freehand MX. •	Freehand MX o	Freehand MX symbols move seamlessly into Fireworks MX 2004 and Flash MX 2004. o	Connector tool for rapid creation of site maps. o	Action tool for creation of prototype clickthrus. o	Multiple page feature allows for site comp creation in one, not several, documents. o	Master pages can be applied to different pages of a multipage Freehand document. o	One-click bitmap editing with Fireworks MX 2004. o	The most robust collection of typographic tools in the Studio. o	Libraries can be shared among members of the team. •	Director MX o	Industrial strength multimedia development tool. o	Capability to integrate content from various sources. o	Full-featured programming language. o	Capability to call content on demand rather than waiting for the entire movie to stream. o	Access to Flash Communication Server. •	ColdFusion MX o	Tag-based language. o	Integrates databases with web pages or Flash movies. o	Built-in search engine and scheduler. o	Rapid application development. •	Flash Communication Server o	Streaming communications between Flash players. o	Integrates with various middleware. o	Capability to share objects between connected Flash players.