Action Script3

Working with arrays in ActionScript3

2008-06-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

In programming languages we store values in variables i.e. we allocate a memory location for this value. The variable name identifies the location of the value in memory.
This method proves to be good until we need to store four to five variables. Think of the situation where we need to store ten to twenty values. Storing in variable will increase the length of the program also it is difficult to remember all the variable names. In such situations arrays come to rescue. An array is data structure where we can store multiple values. Each value is given a unique non-negative index number. This index number starts with 0 and increments by 1 for each subsequent vale in the array.

Using StartDrag Method In ActionScript 3

2008-05-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

The startDrag method makes a specified sprite draggable. The sprite remains draggable until it is explicitly stopped by the sprite.startDrag() method or until some other sprite is made draggable. We can make only one sprite draggable at a time.

The following example demonstrates the use of startDrag method

import flash.display.Sprite
import flash.events.MouseEvent
var circle:Sprite=new Sprite();
circle.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle.graphics.drawCircle(225,225,20);
addChild(circle);
circle.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN,dragmethod);

function dragmethod(Event:MouseEvent):void{
circle.startDrag();
}

The first line imports the class Sprite from the disply package. The second line then imports
the mouseEvent class from event package. Then we create circle sprite.
We have use the graphics property of the sprite in the next line to draw and fill the circle .
The beginFill graphic method takes octal color value as an argument and the draw circle takes three arguments which are x postion, y postion and the radius of circle respectively.
Then we add this circle sprite on the stage by using the addChild method.

The addEventListner method is used to register the listner function(dragmethod)
with the target of the event(circle sprite). we can name this listnerfunction withany valid identifier.
Then we create the listner function(dragmethod) which contains the statement circle.startDrag()
which makes the circle draggable when user clicks the circle.

Sprite in ActionScript 3

2008-05-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

A sprite is a new feature introduced in Action Script 3 but unlike MovieClip, Sprite does not contain Timeline. As in Action Script 2, a MovieClip can contain another MoviClip, same is true for Sprite i.e. sprite can contain a children.

Example:
Import flash.display.Sprite
var circle:Sprite=new Sprite();
circle.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle.graphics.drawCircle(200,200,20);
addChild(circle);

In the above example we have imported the class Sprite. In the next line we have declared a new class circle. By using the graphics property we draw a circle of radius 20 at the location 200 & 200. We fill this circle by the yellow color using the beginfill() Method. Finally, the addChild method adds circle instance on the stage.

Package in ActionScript 3

2008-05-27T04:43:00.000-07:00

Syntax:

Package{
Class classname
{
…………
}
}

Package allows grouping of the code so that it can be imported by some other script. We use Package keyword to show that class belongs to that package.
The Flash Player API classes are in the flash.* package. For example Flash API contains package flash.net package for transmitting data to and from the server. The package flash.* contains the following classes:

1) The action Script Component Classes which are included in the Packages: fl.accessibility, fl.conatiners, fl.controls, fl.core, fl.data, fl.events, fl.livepreview and fl.managers.
2) FLV playback component classes are included in the Package fla.video
3) Local class for Multilanguage classes are in the Package: fl.lang
4) The Motion classes are included in the Package: fl.motion
5) The Tween and Transition classes are included in the Package: fl.transitions

Containers Package contains ScrollPane Class

Difference In Event Handling Between ActionScript 2 and ActionScript 3

2008-05-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

In the previous versions there were several methods of event handling like on() method which could be placed directly on movie clip or button instances, onClipEvent() method which could be used directly on movie clip instances. These method has disadvantages. As the code is placed directly on the movie clip or button, it becomes difficult to find out the code for the big projects.
To overcome these problem Single Event Handling system is developed which is based on DOM (Document Object Model) level 3 specifications.

Object In Action Script 3

2008-05-06T03:20:00.000-07:00

Action Script is an OOP(Object Oriented Programming) language in which code is well organized. In OOP the primary focus is on object. Earlier programming was seen as mehod in which user gives some input, computer process it and the gives output. The whole process involves series of instructions where the code may repeat many times. Object can be a flower which has the properties like color, smell etc. Where as class is the collection of all the flowers in the world which have the same properties. In action script there are any class can have the following characterestics :

Properties
Methods
Events

Properties are the group of data binded togather with object. As explained above a flower object might have the properties like smell, color, shape etc. Similarly the movie clip class has the properties like rotation, alpha, scale etc. In the following example the code scales the movie clip fly to the double of its existing size.

fly.scaleY=2;

The syntax can be: object.property=value

This whole structure is taken as a single variable and stored in a memory as a single value.

Method is an action that instructs object to do a perticular task. Suppose we have a movieclip named fly which has its separate timeline and contains some animation on it. Then we can instruct this movie clip to play by using the following code:

fly.play() where the fly is a movie clip object and play is the method.

As we know that Action Script is a programming language which is used with flash for creating interactive application and websites. This interaction involves event. When user click on some element we can set how it will respond on thhat event.

Compatibility of Action Script with earlier versions

2008-05-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

There are some compatibility issue with the Flash Player 9. These compatibility issue includes the following:

We can not combine Action Script 1.0 or 2.0 code with 3.0 code in a single SWF file.
Action Script 3 can load SWF file that is programmed in 1.0 or 2.0 but can not access its variables or functions.
SWF that is written by using Action Script 1.0 or 2.0 cant load SWF that is written using Action Script3.

Event Handling in action script 3

2008-05-05T23:54:00.000-07:00

Many people ask what is event handling, the answer is that it is the technique in which we specify action that should performed on the occurrence of particular event. In Action Script 3 the event handling contains the following three elements:
Event Source: It is the element which actually receives the event. For example a button could be event source which may receive the event click. It is also called as event target as it is targeted by Flash Player and where the event actually occurs.
The Event: Event is the action, to which you want to respond to. It may be rollover, rollout etc...
Event response: Event response are the list of actions which are performed in response to the above mention event.
The Model could be like this:
function The_response( eventObject:EventType)
{
// list of actions
}
eventSource.addEventListener(EventType:EVENT_NAME, The_response);
The code has two sections: The first is the function which we have defined to contain series of actions that are to be performed in response to the event. Here The_response is the function name. This function has the parameter. Specifying the parameters is just like declaring variable. Here we have declared the parameter. There is always a class associated with the events. These classes work as a data type for the parameters of function. In between the opening and closing braces we write code which is the series of actions that are to be performed in response to the event.
After defining the function we can now evoke this function by using event source( may be a button) on the occurrence particular event. We accomplish this by defining addEventListener() method. We have to use events name as the first parameter and the method name without parenthesis as the second parameter.

Data Types In Action Script

2008-05-03T00:06:00.000-07:00

Action Script in a Object Oriented Programming language that comes with Flash Software. Every programming language has data types. Data types, as the name suggests are the types of data used in the code. The type of data may be string of characters, numbers or boolian. In Action Script data types can be divided into two main categories:

1) Primitive Data Type

2) Complex Data Type

The primitive Data type variables are stored at lower level of abstraction which means operations on this types of data type is faster. Primitive data type includes null, undefined, boolean, string and number. In contrast to the Primitive data type, complex data type is slower in the operation. This data type includes array, functions, Date, Movie Clip, void, Error and XML.

The Boolean data type has two values -true and false. The default value of a boolean variable is false. Null data types means the variable has the value null which means no value. void is a complex data Type and is generally used for the functions which returnes no value.

Classes In Flash Action Script

2008-05-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

Flash is a software for creating high end web application. Action Script is a Object Oriented Programming Language packed with Flash. Classes are the main feature of any OOP language. A class contains data(properties) and methods(behaviours). After defining a class we create an object of that class. This oject hass all the properties in the class. The defined object is said to be of that class's data type. In action Script class can be built in or custom. There are 65 built in classes in action script. In the example below employee is a class. This class contains the variables age, name and salary and a class function info. The variables age, name and salary are said to be the properties of the class employee and info is the method or behaviour in the class.

class employee

{

public var age:number;

public var name:string;

private var salary:number;

public function info():string

{

// method

}

Flash CS3 Professional

2008-05-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

Flash CS3 Professional is software for developing interactive websites, games, mobile applications etc.CS3 is the latest iteration of the flash software launch by Adobe after acquiring Macromedia. Flash creates graphics in vector format, means the graphics can be scaled to any size without the loss of quality. It can also work with raster graphics. SWF(Shock Wave File) is the output version of the Flash File(FLA). The swf file can be viewable in web browser as an object if flash player plug-in is installed. The Flash Player is a run time environment. Flash has a programming language known as ActionScript. ActionScript is executed by AVM(ActionScript Virtual Machine). The AVM is a part of flash player. The current version is ActionScript 3. We can create interactive applications, games etc by using action script.