Actionscript 3.0 Cookbook

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ISBN: 9780596526955 | 0596526954
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 10/1/2006

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ActionScript 3 Cookbook helps developers work with the language right away. Rather than focus on ActionScript in the abstract, the book puts theory into practice with ready- made answers to common problems. Readers will find more than 300 worked-out scripts they can use to solve a wide range of coding dilemmas, while learning practical techniques for resolving similar issues in the future. Each recipe includes a discussion that explains how it works and why. The Cookbook progresses from short recipes for small problems to longer, more complex scripts for thornier riddles. Developers can even learn to link modular ActionScript pieces together to create rock-solid solutions for Flash applications. This is the first ActionScript 3 title for developers that will include Learning ActionScript 3, ActionScript 3: The Definitive Guide, and Essential ActionScript 3. All four books will feature cross references as appropriate, so users can easily find more extensive discussions of tangential topics.

Preface

xvii

ActionScript Basics

(42)

Creating an ActionScript Project

(1)

Customizing the Properties of an Application

(1)

Where to Place ActionScript Code

(4)

How to Trace a Message

(2)

Handling Events

(2)

Responding to Mouse and Key Events

(2)

Using Mathematical Operators

(2)

Checking Equality or Comparing Values

(3)

Performing Actions Conditionally

(5)

Performing Complex Conditional Testing

(2)

Repeating an Operation Many Times

(4)

Repeating a Task over Time

(2)

Creating Reusable Code

(2)

Generalizing a Method to Enhance Reusability

(2)

Exiting a Method

(1)

Obtaining the Result of a Method

(1)

Handling Errors

(5)

Custom Classes

(15)

Creating a Custom Class

(5)

Determining Where to Save a Class

(1)

Creating Properties That Behave As Methods

(2)

Creating Static Methods and Properties

(1)

Creating Subclasses

(2)

Implementing Subclass Versions of Superclass Methods

(2)

Creating Constants

(1)

Dispatching Events

(1)

Runtime Environment

(16)

Detecting the Player Version

(2)

Detecting the Operating System

(1)

Checking the Player Type

(1)

Checking the System Language

(2)

Detecting Display Settings

(2)

Scaling the Movie

(1)

Changing the Alignment

(1)

Hiding the Flash Player's Menu Items

(1)

Detecting the Device's Audio Capabilities

(1)

Detecting the Device's Video Capabilities

(1)

Prompting the User to Change Player Settings

(1)

Dealing with System Security

(3)

Numbers and Math

(29)

Representing Numbers in Different Bases

(1)

Converting Between Different Number Systems

(2)

Rounding Numbers

(2)

Inserting Leading or Trailing Zeros or Spaces

(4)

Formatting Numbers for Display Without a Mask

(1)

Formatting Currency Amounts

(2)

Generating a Random Number

(2)

Simulating a Coin Toss

(3)

Simulating Dice

(2)

Simulating Playing Cards

(2)

Generating a Unique Number

(1)

Converting Angle Measurements

(1)

Calculating the Distance Between Two Points

(1)

Determining Points Along a Circle

(3)

Converting Between Units of Measurement

101

(2)

Arrays

103

(34)

Adding Elements to the Start or End of an Array

104

(2)

Looping Through an Array

106

(1)

Searching for Matching Elements in an Array

107

(4)

Removing Elements

111

(2)

Inserting Elements in the Middle of an Array

113

(1)

Converting a String to an Array

114

(1)

Converting an Array to a String

115

(1)

Creating a Separate Copy of an Array

116

(4)

Storing Complex or Multidimensional Data

120

(3)

Sorting or Reversing an Array

123

(4)

Implementing a Custom Sort

127

(2)

Randomizing the Elements of an Array

129

(2)

Getting the Minimum or Maximum Element

131

(1)

Comparing Arrays

131

(2)

Creating an Associative Array

133

(2)

Reading Elements of an Associative Array

135

(2)

Display List

137

(44)

Adding an Item to the Display List

141

(5)

Removing an Item from the Display List

146

(3)

Moving Objects Forward and Backward

149

(4)

Creating Custom Visual Classes

153

(3)

Creating Simple Buttons

156

(5)

Loading External Images at Runtime

161

(4)

Loading and Interacting with External Movies

165

(3)

Creating Mouse Interactions

168

(5)

Dragging and Dropping Objects with the Mouse

173

(8)

Drawing and Masking

181

(19)

Setting a Line Style

182

(1)

Setting Gradient Line Styles

183

(1)

Drawing a Line

184

(2)

Drawing a Curve

186

(1)

Drawing an Arc

187

(1)

Drawing a Rectangle

187

(2)

Drawing a Circle

189

(1)

Drawing an Ellipse

190

(1)

Drawing a Triangle

191

(1)

Drawing Regular Polygons

192

(1)

Drawing a Star

193

(1)

Filling a Shape with a Solid or Translucent Color

194

(1)

Filling a Shape with a Gradient

195

(2)

Filling a Shape with a Bitmap

197

(1)

Scripting Masks

198

(2)

Bitmaps

200

(29)

Creating a BitmapData Object

201

(1)

Adding a Bitmap to the Display List

202

(1)

Drawing a Display Object to a Bitmap

203

(1)

Loading an External Image into a Bitmap

204

(1)

Manipulating Pixels

205

(2)

Creating Rectangular Fills

207

(1)

Creating a Flood Fill

208

(1)

Copying Pixels

209

(2)

Copying Channels

211

(1)

Creating Noise

212

(2)

Creating Perlin Noise

214

(4)

Using Threshold

218

(3)

Applying a Filter to a Bitmap

221

(3)

Dissolving Between Two Bitmaps

224

(3)

Scrolling a Bitmap

227

(2)

Text

229

(37)

Creating an Outline Around a Text Field

230

(1)

Creating a Background for a Text Field

230

(1)

Making a User Input Field

231

(1)

Making a Password Input Field

232

(1)

Filtering Text Input

233

(1)

Setting a Field's Maximum Length

234

(1)

Displaying Text

235

(1)

Displaying HTML-Formatted Text

235

(1)

Condensing Whitespace

236

(1)

Sizing Text Fields to Fit Contents

237

(1)

Scrolling Text Programmatically

238

(3)

Responding to Scroll Events

241

(1)

Formatting Text

242

(5)

Formatting User-Input Text

247

(1)

Formatting a Portion of Existing Text

248

(1)

Setting a Text Field's Font

249

(1)

Embedding Fonts

250

(2)

Creating Text That Can Be Rotated

252

(1)

Displaying Unicode Text

252

(1)

Assigning Focus to a Text Field

253

(1)

Selecting Text with ActionScript

254

(1)

Setting the Insertion Point in a Text Field

255

(1)

Responding When Text Is Selected or Deselected

256

(1)

Responding to User Text Entry

257

(1)

Adding a Hyperlink to Text

258

(2)

Calling ActionScript from Hyperlinks

260

(1)

Working with Advanced Text Layout

261

(3)

Applying Advanced Anti-Aliasing

264

(1)

Replacing Text

265

(1)

Retrieving a List of System Fonts

265

(1)

Filters and Transforms

266

(15)

Applying Color Changes

266

(1)

Applying Color Tints

267

(1)

Resetting Color

268

(1)

Shearing

269

(1)

Applying Basic Filters

269

(3)

Applying Advanced Filter Effects (Emboss, etc.)

272

(2)

Embossing

274

(1)

Detecting Edges

275

(1)

Sharpening

276

(1)

Making a Digital Negative

276

(1)

Applying Grayscale

277

(1)

Changing Saturation

278

(1)

Changing Brightness

278

(1)

Changing Contrast

279

(2)

Programmatic Animation

281

(17)

Moving an Object

282

(1)

Moving an Object in a Specific Direction

283

(2)

Easing

285

(2)

Acceleration

287

(2)

Springs

289

(2)

Using Trigonometry

291

(3)

Applying Animation Techniques to Other Properties

294

(4)

Strings

298

(29)

Joining Strings

298

(4)

Using Quotes and Apostrophes in Strings

302

(1)

Inserting Special Whitespace Characters

303

(1)

Searching for a Substring

304

(4)

Extracting a Substring

308

(3)

Parsing a String into Words

311

(4)

Removing and Replacing Characters and Words

315

(2)

Retrieving One Character at a Time

317

(2)

Converting Case

319

(1)

Trimming Whitespace

320

(2)

Reversing a String by Word or by Character

322

(1)

Converting Between Strings and Unicode or ASCII

323

(4)

Regular Expressions

327

(21)

Understanding Regular Expression Patterns

328

(5)

Testing Regular Expressions

333

(3)

Looking for Pattern Matches

336

(2)

Removing and Replacing Characters and Words Using Patterns

338

(3)

Creating a Nongreedy Pattern

341

(2)

Validating User Input with Common Patterns

343

(5)

Dates and Times

348

(17)

Finding the Current Date and Time

348

(3)

Retrieving the Date Values

351

(1)

Retrieving the Day or Month Name

352

(1)

Formatting the Date and Time

353

(2)

Formatting Seconds or Milliseconds as Minutes and Seconds

355

(1)

Converting Between DMYHMSM and Epoch Milliseconds

356

(1)

Using Timers

357

(1)

Calculating Elapsed Time or Intervals Between Dates

358

(5)

Parsing a Date from a String

363

(2)

Programming Sound

365

(27)

Creating a Sound Object and Loading a Sound

365

(2)

Starting and Stopping a Sound

367

(1)

Setting the Buffer for a Sound

368

(1)

Offsetting the Start of a Sound

369

(1)

Playing a Sound Multiple Times (Looping)

370

(1)

Getting the Size of a Sound File

371

(2)

Reading the ID3 Tag of a Sound File

373

(2)

Find Out When a Sound Finishes Playing

375

(2)

Tracking the Progress of a Playing Sound

377

(2)

Pausing and Restarting a Sound

379

(2)

Reading the Level of a Sound

381

(1)

Stopping All Sounds

382

(1)

Reading the Sound Spectrum

383

(2)

Changing the Volume or Pan of a Sound

385

(1)

Creating a Sound Application

386

(6)

Video

392

(17)

Loading and Playing Back Video

392

(2)

Controlling Video Sound

394

(1)

Reading Playback Time

394

(1)

Reading Video Duration

395

(2)

Controlling Playback Time

397

(1)

Scaling Video

398

(1)

Managing and Monitoring Buffering and Loading

399

(1)

Listening for Cue Points

400

(1)

Applying Filters to Video

401

(1)

Pausing and Resuming Video

402

(1)

Stopping Video

402

(1)

Scrubbing Video

403

(2)

Clearing the Video Display

405

(1)

Determining User Bandwidth

405

(4)

Storing Persistent Data

409

(13)

Creating and Opening a Local Shared Object

409

(2)

Writing Data to a Shared Object

411

(1)

Saving a Local Shared Object

411

(3)

Reading Data from a Shared Object

414

(1)

Removing Data from a Shared Object

415

(1)

Serializing Custom Classes

416

(2)

Sharing Data Between Flash Applications

418

(2)

Controlling the Size of Local Shared Objects

420

(2)

Communicating with Other Movies

422

(13)

Creating Local Connections

423

(4)

Sending Data

427

(3)

Validating Receipt of Communication over Local Connections

430

(2)

Accepting Local Communications from Other Domains

432

(3)

Sending and Loading Data

435

(17)

Loading Variables from a Text File

436

(4)

Loading Variables from a Server-Side Script

440

(2)

Loading a Block of Text (Including HTML and XML)

442

(2)

Checking Load Progress

444

(2)

Accessing Data Being Downloaded

446

(1)

Sending Data to a Server-Side Script

447

(2)

Sending Variables and Handling a Returned Result

449

(3)

XML

452

(35)

Understanding XML Structure (Reading and Writing XML)

454

(2)

Creating an XML Object

456

(2)

Adding Elements to an XML Object

458

(3)

Adding Text Nodes to an XML Object

461

(2)

Adding Attributes to an XML Element

463

(1)

Reading Elements in an XML Tree

464

(1)

Finding Elements by Name

465

(3)

Reading Text Nodes and Their Values

468

(2)

Reading an Element's Attributes

470

(3)

Removing Elements, Text Nodes, and Attributes

473

(1)

Loading XML

474

(1)

Loading XML from Different Domains

475

(1)

Sending XML

476

(6)

Searching XML

482

(3)

Using HTML and Special Characters in XML

485

(2)

Web Services and Flash Remoting

487

(7)

Calling Web Services Methods

488

(1)

Handling Web Services Responses

489

(1)

Handling Web Services Errors

490

(1)

Calling Flash Remoting Methods

490

(2)

Handling Flash Remoting Responses

492

(2)

Building Integrated Applications

494

(5)

Calling JavaScript Functions

494

(1)

Calling ActionScript Functions

495

(2)

Passing Parameters from HTML

497

(2)

File Management

499

(10)

Downloading Files

499

(3)

Detecting When a User Selects a File to Upload

502

(1)

Monitoring Download Progress

503

(1)

Browsing for Files

503

(1)

Filtering Files That Display in the Browser Window

504

(2)

Detecting When the User Has Selected a File to Upload

506

(1)

Uploading Files

506

(1)

Monitoring File Upload Progress

507

(2)

Socket Programming

509

(18)

Connecting to a Socket Server

510

(3)

Sending Data

513

(2)

Receiving Data

515

(4)

Handshaking with a Socket Server

519

(4)

Disconnecting from a Socket Server

523

(1)

Handling Socket Errors

524

(3)

Appendix. Unicode Escape Sequences for Latin 1 Characters

527

(6)

Index

533

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Actionscript 3.0 Cookbook

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials