How are you meant to use ActionScript to introduce yourself to programming? Your options are to buy or pirate Flash (CS4 is around $699US) or Flex Builder (from $249US).<p>There's a few open-source tools for ActionScript but I doubt that <i>any</i> of the people posting on those forums are using those tools.<p>My opinion is that most of the people using ActionScript <i>aren't programmers</i>. People using Flash tend to be designers (or artists, cartoonists, etc.) that <i>need code</i> to get their jobs done.