Essential ActionScript 3.0
Essential ActionScript 3.0 By Colin Moock
June 2007
Pages: 946

| Table of Contents | Index | Sample Chapter

Table of Contents

  1. ActionScript from the Ground Up

    1. Chapter 1 Core Concepts

      1. Tools for Writing ActionScript Code
      2. Flash Client Runtime Environments
      3. Compilation
      4. Quick Review
      5. Classes and Objects
      6. Creating a Program
      7. Packages
      8. Defining a Class
      9. Virtual Zoo Review
      10. Constructor Methods
      11. Creating Objects
      12. Variables and Values
      13. Constructor Parameters and Arguments
      14. Expressions
      15. Assigning One Variable's Value to Another
      16. An Instance Variable for Our Pet
      17. Instance Methods
      18. Members and Properties
      19. Virtual Zoo Review
      20. Break Time!

    2. Chapter 2 Conditionals and Loops

      1. Conditionals
      2. Loops
      3. Boolean Logic
      4. Back to Classes and Objects

    3. Chapter 3 Instance Methods Revisited

      1. Omitting the this Keyword
      2. Bound Methods
      3. Using Methods to Examine and Modify an Object's State
      4. Get and Set Methods
      5. Handling an Unknown Number of Parameters
      6. Up Next: Class-Level Information and Behavior

    4. Chapter 4 Static Variables and Static Methods

      1. Static Variables
      2. Constants
      3. Static Methods
      4. Class Objects
      5. C++ and Java Terminology Comparison
      6. On to Functions

    5. Chapter 5 Functions

      1. Package-Level Functions
      2. Nested Functions
      3. Source-File-Level Functions
      4. Accessing Definitions from Within a Function
      5. Functions as Values
      6. Function Literal Syntax
      7. Recursive Functions
      8. Using Functions in the Virtual Zoo Program
      9. Back to Classes

    6. Chapter 6 Inheritance

      1. A Primer on Inheritance
      2. Overriding Instance Methods
      3. Constructor Methods in Subclasses
      4. Preventing Classes from Being Extended and Methods from Being Overridden
      5. Subclassing Built-in Classes
      6. The Theory of Inheritance
      7. Abstract Not Supported
      8. Using Inheritance in the Virtual Zoo Program
      9. Virtual Zoo Program Code
      10. It's Runtime!

    7. Chapter 7 Compiling and Running a Program

      1. Compiling with the Flash Authoring Tool
      2. Compiling with Flex Builder 2
      3. Compiling with mxmlc
      4. Compiler Restrictions
      5. The Compilation Process and the Classpath
      6. Strict-Mode Versus Standard-Mode Compilation
      7. The Fun's Not Over

    8. Chapter 8 Datatypes and Type Checking

      1. Datatypes and Type Annotations
      2. Untyped Variables, Parameters, Return Values, and Expressions
      3. Strict Mode's Three Special Cases
      4. Warnings for Missing Type Annotations
      5. Detecting Reference Errors at Compile Time
      6. Casting
      7. Conversion to Primitive Types
      8. Default Variable Values
      9. null and undefined
      10. Datatypes in the Virtual Zoo
      11. More Datatype Study Coming Up

    9. Chapter 9 Interfaces

      1. The Case for Interfaces
      2. Interfaces and Multidatatype Classes
      3. Interface Syntax and Use
      4. Another Multiple-Type Example
      5. More Essentials Coming

    10. Chapter 10 Statements and Operators

      1. Statements
      2. Operators
      3. Up Next: Managing Lists of Information

    11. Chapter 11 Arrays

      1. What Is an Array?
      2. The Anatomy of an Array
      3. Creating Arrays
      4. Referencing Array Elements
      5. Determining the Size of an Array
      6. Adding Elements to an Array
      7. Removing Elements from an Array
      8. Checking the Contents of an Array with the toString( ) Method
      9. Multidimensional Arrays
      10. On to Events

    12. Chapter 12 Events and Event Handling

      1. ActionScript Event Basics
      2. Accessing the Target Object
      3. Accessing the Object That Registered the Listener
      4. Preventing Default Event Behavior
      5. Event Listener Priority
      6. Event Listeners and Memory Management
      7. Custom Events
      8. Type Weakness in ActionScript's Event Architecture
      9. Handling Events Across Security Boundaries
      10. What's Next?

    13. Chapter 13 Exceptions and Error Handling

      1. The Exception-Handling Cycle
      2. Handling Multiple Types of Exceptions
      3. Exception Bubbling
      4. The finally Block
      5. Nested Exceptions
      6. Control-Flow Changes in try/catch/finally
      7. Handling a Built-in Exception
      8. More Gritty Work Ahead

    14. Chapter 14 Garbage Collection

      1. Eligibility for Garbage Collection
      2. Incremental Mark and Sweep
      3. Disposing of Objects Intentionally
      4. Deactivating Objects
      5. Garbage Collection Demonstration
      6. On to ActionScript Backcountry

    15. Chapter 15 Dynamic ActionScript

      1. Dynamic Instance Variables
      2. Dynamically Adding New Behavior to an Instance
      3. Dynamic References to Variables and Methods
      4. Using Dynamic Instance Variables to Create Lookup Tables
      5. Using Functions to Create Objects
      6. Using Prototype Objects to Augment Classes
      7. The Prototype Chain
      8. Onward!

    16. Chapter 16 Scope

      1. Global Scope
      2. Class Scope
      3. Static Method Scope
      4. Instance Method Scope
      5. Function Scope
      6. Scope Summary
      7. The Internal Details
      8. Expanding the Scope Chain via the with Statement
      9. On to Namespaces

    17. Chapter 17 Namespaces

      1. Namespace Vocabulary
      2. ActionScript Namespaces
      3. Creating Namespaces
      4. Using a Namespace to Qualify Variable and Method Definitions
      5. Qualified Identifiers
      6. A Functional Namespace Example
      7. Namespace Accessibility
      8. Qualified-Identifier Visibility
      9. Comparing Qualified Identifiers
      10. Assigning and Passing Namespace Values
      11. Open Namespaces and the use namespace Directive
      12. Namespaces for Access-Control Modifiers
      13. Applied Namespace Examples
      14. Final Core Topics

    18. Chapter 18 XML and E4X

      1. Understanding XML Data as a Hierarchy
      2. Representing XML Data in E4X
      3. Creating XML Data with E4X
      4. Accessing XML Data
      5. Processing XML with for-each-in and for-in
      6. Accessing Descendants
      7. Filtering XML Data
      8. Traversing XML Trees
      9. Changing or Creating New XML Content
      10. Loading XML Data
      11. Working with XML Namespaces
      12. Converting XML and XMLList to a String
      13. Determining Equality in E4X
      14. More to Learn

    19. Chapter 19 Flash Player Security Restrictions

      1. What's Not in This Chapter
      2. The Local Realm, the Remote Realm, and Remote Regions
      3. Security-Sandbox-Types
      4. Security Generalizations Considered Harmful
      5. Restrictions on Loading Content, Accessing Content as Data, Cross-Scripting, and Loading Data
      6. Socket Security
      7. Example Security Scenarios
      8. Choosing a Local Security-Sandbox-Type
      9. Distributor Permissions (Policy Files)
      10. Creator Permissions (allowDomain( ))
      11. Import Loading
      12. Handling Security Violations
      13. Security Domains
      14. Two Common Security-Related Development Issues
      15. On to !

  2. Display and Interactivity

    1. Chapter 20 The Display API and the Display List

      1. Display API Overview
      2. The Display List
      3. Containment Events
      4. Custom Graphical Classes
      5. Go with the Event Flow

    2. Chapter 21 Events and Display Hierarchies

      1. Hierarchical Event Dispatch
      2. Event Dispatch Phases
      3. Event Listeners and the Event Flow
      4. Using the Event Flow to Centralize Code
      5. Determining the Current Event Phase
      6. Distinguishing Events Targeted at an Object from Events Targeted at That Object's Descendants
      7. Stopping an Event Dispatch
      8. Event Priority and the Event Flow
      9. Display-Hierarchy Mutation and the Event Flow
      10. Custom Events and the Event Flow
      11. On to Input Events

    3. Chapter 22 Interactivity

      1. Mouse-Input Events
      2. Focus Events
      3. Keyboard-Input Events
      4. Text-Input Events
      5. Flash Player-Level Input Events
      6. From the Program to the Screen

    4. Chapter 23 Screen Updates

      1. Scheduled Screen Updates
      2. Post-Event Screen Updates
      3. Redraw Region
      4. Optimization with the Event.RENDER Event
      5. Let's Make It Move!

    5. Chapter 24 Programmatic Animation

      1. No Loops
      2. Animating with the ENTER_FRAME Event
      3. Animating with the TimerEvent.TIMER Event
      4. Choosing Between Timer and Event.ENTER_FRAME
      5. A Generalized Animator
      6. Velocity-Based Animation
      7. Moving On to Strokes 'n' Fills

    6. Chapter 25 Drawing with Vectors

      1. Graphics Class Overview
      2. Drawing Lines
      3. Drawing Curves
      4. Drawing Shapes
      5. Removing Vector Content
      6. Example: An Object-Oriented Shape Library
      7. From Lines to Pixels

    7. Chapter 26 Bitmap Programming

      1. The BitmapData and Bitmap Classes
      2. Pixel Color Values
      3. Creating a New Bitmap Image
      4. Loading an External Bitmap Image
      5. Examining a Bitmap
      6. Modifying a Bitmap
      7. Copying Graphics to a BitmapData Object
      8. Applying Filters and Effects
      9. Freeing Memory Used by Bitmaps
      10. Words, Words, Words

    8. Chapter 27 Text Display and Input

      1. Creating and Displaying Text
      2. Modifying a Text Field's Content
      3. Formatting Text Fields
      4. Fonts and Text Rendering
      5. Missing Fonts and Glyphs
      6. Determining Font Availability
      7. Determining Glyph Availability
      8. Embedded-Text Rendering
      9. Text Field Input
      10. Text Fields and the Flash Authoring Tool
      11. Loading . . . Please Wait . . .

    9. Chapter 28 Loading External Display Assets

      1. Using Loader to Load Display Assets at Runtime
      2. Compile-Time Type-Checking for Runtime-Loaded Assets
      3. Accessing Assets in Multiframe .swf Files
      4. Instantiating a Runtime-Loaded Asset
      5. Using Socket to Load Display Assets at Runtime
      6. Removing Runtime Loaded .swf Assets
      7. Embedding Display Assets at Compile Time
      8. On to

  3. Applied ActionScript Topics

    1. Chapter 29 ActionScript and the Flash Authoring Tool

      1. The Flash Document
      2. Timelines and Frames
      3. Timeline Scripting
      4. The Document Class
      5. Symbols and Instances
      6. Linked Classes for Movie Clip Symbols
      7. Accessing Manually Created Symbol Instances
      8. Accessing Manually Created Text
      9. Programmatic Timeline Control
      10. Instantiating Flash Authoring Symbols via ActionScript
      11. Instance Names for Programmatically Created Display Objects
      12. Linking Multiple Symbols to a Single Superclass
      13. The Composition-Based Alternative to Linked Classes
      14. Preloading Classes
      15. Up Next: Using the Flex Framework

    2. Chapter 30 A Minimal MXML Application

      1. The General Approach
      2. A Real UI Component Example
      3. Sharing with Your Friends

    3. Chapter 31 Distributing a Class Library

      1. Sharing Class Source Files
      2. Distributing a Class Library as a .swc File
      3. Distributing a Class Library as a .swf File
      4. But Is It Really Over?

  1. Appendix A The Final Virtual Zoo

  2. Colophon

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