ActionScript: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:12, 11 March 2004

Revision as of 08:08, 12 March 2004

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'''ActionScript''' is an [[ECMAScript]]-based programming language used for building [[Macromedia Flash]] movies and applications. Since both ActionScript and [[JavaScript]] are based on the same ECMAScript syntax, fluency in one easily translates to the other. However, the client model is dramatically different: while JavaScript deals with Windows[[Window]]s, Documents[[Document]]s and Forms[[Form]]s, ActionScript deals with MovieClips[[MovieClip]]s, TextFields[[TextField]]s and Sounds[[Sound]]s.

ActionScript achieved something resembling it's current syntax (retroactively named ActionScript 1.0) in Flash 5, the first version of Flash to be thoroughly programmable. Flash 6 broadened the power of the [[programming environment]] by adding many more built-in functions and allowing more programatic control of movie elements. Flash 7 introduced ActionScript 2.0, which adds strong typing and explicit [[class declarationsdeclaration]]s. ActionScript 1.0 and 2.0 share the same compiled form within Flash SWFs.

Features of the Flash ActionScript implementation that JavaScript programmers may find interesting:

* Everything is designed to be asynchronous; callbacks[[callback]]s are ubiquitous, but [[Event]] objects do not exist.

* The [[XML]] implementation has been solid since Flash 5. Flash can send and receive XML asynchronously.

* Everything is designed to be asynchronous; callbacks are ubiquitous, but Event objects do not exist.

* The XML implementation has been solid since Flash 5. Flash can send and receive XML asynchronously.