So, I’m not a formally trained programmer. I started using BASIC on my Commodore Amiga back in the 80’s, and repeatedly bashed my head into C/C++ throughout the 90’s til I found Flash. I’ve gotten pretty damn good at making Flash do what I want it to do via code, and have progressed from hobbyist, through experienced user, author, freelancer/contractor, and a few months ago became “Senior Media Developer” at a Boston design firm.
I generally don’t have a problem making Flash do what people want it to do. In fact, I’ve gotten pretty good at making it do things beyond what people expected. So everyone is pretty happy, including me.
But now I find myself in the position of developing some pretty large scale projects. Gone are the days when simply making a cool effect is good enough. Now I have to make sure that a few thousand lines of code all works together, and is clear and well documented, so I can find something a month or several later. I’m still the sole “Flash guy” here, but eventually I’ll have to make sure others can understand my code as well. And then there is versioning – prototype, alpha, beta, gold, version 2, etc.
In short, I’ve got to get myself organazized.
AS2.0 classes and components are a big help. I think I need to get more info on design patterns and versioning techniques and general development organization practices.
Any input, links, books, resources, etc. would be great, not only for me, but anyone else who may find themselves in a similar situation.