Is actionscript hard to learn?

Depends, really. HTML and CSS aren't programming languages - they're markup and formatting languages. Javascript and Actionscript are functional so you introduce logical clauses for the various outcomes you need to handle.

That said, there are an awful lot of tutorials on the 'net. Try some of the examples over at w3schools.com and see how you get on.

Oleg, you have several challenges here.

You've never learned a programming language before. HTML and CSS are declarative markup tags, rather than step by step procedural instructions for the computer to take action and make choices.

So you have the challenge of learning all the basics of how to program; learning about data types, conditionals, variables, loops, data structures, algorithms, modularity. These are things you would have to learn about whether you started with assembler, COBOL, or ActionScript. Just as no matter what car you use to learn to drive, you have to understand the basics of how brakes work and how to use them early enough; and how to put gas in the tank.

Beyond these basics, there are the unique opportunities and pitfalls of working with a high level, dynamic scripting language. Type safety, bounds checks and garbage collection are provided automatically. If you understand how they work you can write faster and more efficient scripts.

To continue the driving analogy, if you know a little about how automatic transmissions work, you can understand when to manually shift into low gear.

Some powerful features are available in ActionScript, such as object oriented design using prototypes and functional programming with closures and continuations. Switching metaphors to the kitchen, as with any big knife, your results depend on how skillfully you chop and whether you are paying attention!

You might not intend to use all these features. As a beginner, you might copy and paste examples, tutorials or code you find elsewhere. You can make a mess if you incorporate features you don't understand.

A nice thing about ActionScript is that the same underlying language (ECMAScript/JavaScript) is also used for scripting in the browser. What you learn will carry over. PHP uses less powerful versions of many of the same concepts for scripting in the web server.

Beyond the language, you also need to learn the object model for the Flash runtime. Have you already used Flash enough to understand paths, fonts, color choices, animation and so on? If not, you have all that to learn as well.

What are your purposes for learning to program Flash? One concern I have is whether it will last the next few years. It could be replaced by HTML 5 and/or Silverlight as "the next big thing" for dynamic web sites.

Also, how deep do you want to get into programming? Do you just want to add some shine to Flash doodads, or do you want to get more sophisticated and write other types of programs eventually?

Chris

Actionscript is fun. Just take it slow and you will get it. If you know javascript it should make it easier. If you know any, it will just be a matter of getting down the basics.

There's no obsession... it's just an image representing a warrior.

and if you cant see that this is a genuine
offer for help and assistance then dont worry about.

All the best in all your endeavors.

Oleg, for web development JavaScript/ActionScript is a great choice.

You can use the same language for code in Web pages, in Flash animations, and (with the right tools) in server and desktop apps.

If you find out you can't stand coding, at least you'll have an exposure to up to date programming concepts. Perhaps you'll ultimately decide you want to come up with cool ideas for other programmers to implement. At least you'll have a feel for what it takes to make software these days.

If you find out that you love coding, you can use JavaScript to learn many modern techniques that apply to other languages.

The only real challenge here is that JavaScript was designed to be powerful and versatile, but not to be an easy to learn first programming language. Its concepts were transplanted from a variety of other programming languages. They make more sense if you've had exposure to those other languages. You'll just need to find some good tutorials and have some patience with the learning curve.

Hi! Nice thing that somebody asked this. I'm a newbie but I learned that there are a lot of scripting languages out there aside from javascript like Ruby, Python, etc. My queston is, are they interchangeable? I mean can a Ruby code replace a javascript entirely to achieve the same function?

Ruby and Python cannot exchange Javascript since they both work on the server and not on the clinet. Python can replace PHP for example, but not javascript as it is run in browsers.