Essential ActionScript 2.0

by Moock, Colin

• ISBN13: 9780596006525
• ISBN10: 0596006527
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-18
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

In his new book, Flash programming luminary Colin Moock covers everything there is to know about the Flash MX 2004's new language and methodologies for producing movies, animation, and applications on the Web. Moock takes readers through this important new territory with his trademark easy-to-understand style and expertise. Experienced Flash developers, and programmers coming from other languages, will love the sheer depth of Moock's coverage. Novice programmers will appreciate the low- jargon explanations of basic concepts that are glossed over in advanced programming books.

Author Biography

Colin Moock is an independent web guru with a passion for networked creativity and expression. He is author of the world-renowned guide to Flash programming, ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide (O Reilly & Associates, 2003). A web professional since 1995, Moock runs one of the Web s most venerable Flash developer sites, http://www.moock.org. He spends most of his time pursuing his cardinal interest, multiuser application development, and working on Unity (http://www.moock.org/unity), moock.org s complete commercial framework for creating and deploying multiuser applications for Macromedia Flash.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Preface	xv
Part I. The ActionScript 2.0 Language
ActionScript 2.0 Overview	3	(10)
ActionScript 2.0 Features	3	(2)
Features Introduced by Flash Player 7	5	(1)
Flash MX 2004 Version 2 Components	6	(2)
ActionScript 1.0 and 2.0 in Flash Player 6 and 7	8	(4)
Let's Go OOP	12	(1)
Object-Oriented ActionScript	13	(11)
Procedural Programming and Object-Oriented Programming	13	(1)
Key Object-Oriented Programming Concepts	14	(5)
But How Do I Apply OOP?	19	(4)
On with the Show!	23	(1)
Datatypes and Type Checking	24	(35)
Why Static Typing?	30	(1)
Type Syntax	31	(5)
Compatible Types	36	(4)
Built-in Dynamic Classes	40	(1)
Circumventing Type Checking	41	(4)
Casting	45	(9)
Datatype Information for Built-in Classes	54	(1)
ActionScript 2.0 Type Checking Gotchas	55	(3)
Up Next: Creating Classes---Your Own Datatypes!	58	(1)
Classes	59	(65)
Defining Classes	59	(5)
Constructor Functions (Take 1)	64	(1)
Properties	65	(16)
Methods	81	(31)
Constructor Functions (Take 2)	112	(7)
Completing the Box Class	119	(4)
Putting Theory into Practice	123	(1)
Authoring an ActionScript 2.0 Class	124	(34)
Class Authoring Quick Start	124	(1)
Designing the ImageViewer Class	125	(4)
ImageViewer Implementation (Take 1)	129	(5)
Using ImageViewer in a Movie	134	(4)
ImageViewer Implementation (Take 2)	138	(8)
ImageViewer Implementation (Take 3)	146	(11)
Back to the Classroom	157	(1)
Inheritance	158	(57)
A Primer on Inheritance	158	(4)
Subclasses as Subtypes	162	(1)
An OOP Chat Example	163	(3)
Overriding Methods and Properties	166	(27)
Constructor Functions in Subclasses	193	(5)
Subclassing Built-in Classes	198	(3)
Augmenting Built-in Classes and Objects	201	(1)
The Theory of Inheritance	202	(11)
Abstract and Final Classes Not Supported	213	(1)
Let's Try Inheritance	214	(1)
Authoring an ActionScript 2.0 Subclass	215	(9)
Extending ImageViewer's Capabilities	215	(1)
The ImageViewerDeluxe Skeleton	216	(1)
Adding setPosition() and setSize() Methods	217	(1)
Autosizing the Image Viewer	218	(5)
Using ImageViewerDeluxe	223	(1)
Moving Right Along	223	(1)
Interfaces	224	(14)
The Case for Interfaces	224	(2)
Interfaces and Multidatatype Classes	226	(1)
Interface Syntax and Use	227	(5)
Multiple Type Inheritance with Interfaces	232	(4)
Up Next, Packages	236	(2)
Packages	238	(11)
Package Syntax	239	(5)
Defining Packages	244	(1)
Package Access and the Classpath	245	(3)
Simulating Packages in ActionScript 1.0	248	(1)
Just a Little More Theory	248	(1)
Exceptions	249	(34)
The Exception-Handling Cycle	250	(5)
Handling Multiple Types of Exceptions	255	(9)
Exception Bubbling	264	(4)
The finally Block	268	(3)
Nested Exceptions	271	(4)
Control Flow Changes in try/catch/finally	275	(2)
Limitations of Exception Handling in ActionScript 2.0	277	(3)
From Concepts to Code	280	(3)
Part II. Application Development
An OOP Application Framework	283	(8)
The Basic Directory Structure	284	(1)
The Flash Document (.fla file)	284	(1)
The Classes	285	(2)
The Document Timeline	287	(2)
The Exported Flash Movie (.swf file)	289	(1)
Projects in Flash MX Professional 2004	290	(1)
Let's See It in Action!	290	(1)
Using Components with ActionScript 2.0	291	(25)
Currency Converter Application Overview	291	(1)
Preparing the Flash Document	292	(3)
The CurrencyConverter Class	295	(13)
Handling Component Events	308	(7)
Components Complete	315	(1)
MovieClip Subclasses	316	(16)
The Duality of MovieClip Subclasses	317	(1)
Avatar: A MovieClip Subclass Example	318	(8)
Avatar: The Composition Version	326	(1)
Issues with Nested Assets	327	(3)
A Note on MovieClip Sub-subclasses	330	(1)
Curiouser and Curiouser	331	(1)
Distributing Class Libraries	332	(17)
Sharing Class Source Files	332	(6)
Sharing Classes Without Sharing Source Files	338	(8)
Solving Real OOP Problems	346	(3)
Part III. Design Pattern Examples in ActionScript 2.0
Introduction to Design Patterns	349	(3)
Bring on the Patterns	351	(1)
The Observer Design Pattern	352	(29)
Implementing Observer in ActionScript 2.0	354	(6)
Logger: A Complete Observer Example	360	(18)
Memory Management Issues with Observer	378	(2)
Beyond Observer	380	(1)
The Singleton Design Pattern	381	(5)
Implementing Singleton in ActionScript 2.0	381	(2)
The Singleton Pattern in the Logger Class	383	(1)
Singleton Versus Class Methods and Class Properties	384	(1)
A Warning Against Singletons as Globals	385	(1)
On to User Interfaces	385	(1)
The Model-View-Controller Design Pattern	386	(37)
The General Architecture of MVC	388	(4)
A Generalized MVC Implementation	392	(6)
An MVC Clock	398	(23)
Further Exploration	421	(2)
The Delegation Event Model	423	(58)
Structure and Participants	423	(4)
The Flow of Logic	427	(1)
Core Implementation	427	(5)
NightSky: A Delegation Event Model Example	432	(10)
Other Event Architectures in ActionScript	442	(1)
From Some Place to Some OtherPlace	443	(4)
Part IV. Appendixes
A. ActionScript 2.0 Language Quick Reference	447	(31)
B. Differences from ECMAScript Edition 4	478	(3)
Index	481