1. B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring Introduction to ActionScript 3.0

2. Agenda Simple Types Variables Assignment Boolean Comparisons Control Structures Branching and Looping Introduction to Arrays B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

3. Why Learn ActionScript ? More control over movie clips and their properties Animate elements independently of the timeline Import and export data dynamically Dynamic control of sound and video Create objects that have physics-driven behaviors Personalize the user’s experience B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

4. Structure and Syntax Semicolons ; Curly Braces {} Code Blocks Dot Syntax ( for functions “methods”) Parenthesis Style Script Spacing and Layout Comments B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

5. ActionScript 3.0 Typing Strict data typing aVariable = 5; // no type given, compiler error aVariable:Number = 5 // declare as being a number type Case sensitive myValue not the same as myvalue Class structures for custom objects B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

6. Comments // this is a comment on one line /* these are comments spanning more than one line */ /* a script to calculate the area of a circle */ var area : Number; // holds the value of the area var PI : Number = 3.142: // sets the value of PI var radius :Number = 5 ; // sets the value of PI area = PI * radius * radius // calculates the area and assigns it to the variable B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

7. Semicolons ; and Braces {} Semicolons separate statements statementOne; statementTwo; statementThree; Curly braces define code blocks { statementOne; stateMentTwo statementThree } B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

8. Operators Binary + - * / Logical AND && (5 1) is False Logical OR || (5 1) is True Equalty, = Assignment a = 5 B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

9. Equality == a = ‘5’ x = 5 if (a == x) is True a = 5 x = ‘6’ if (a == x) is False B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

10. if statements if(condition) { statement(s); } e.g. var firstNumber:int = 25; var secondNumber:int = 39; if(firstNumber==secondNumber){ trace("Snap!"); } B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

11. if..else B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring var firstNumber:int = 25; var secondNumber:int = 39; if(firstNumber==secondNumber){ trace("Snap!"); } else { trace("Not a match"); }

12. switch B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring var thisMonth:int = new Date().getMonth(); switch (thisMonth) { case 0 : trace( "January"); break; case 1 : trace("February"); break; case 2 : trace( "March"); break; default: trace(“Some other month”); } // endSwitch

13. Looping: while index = 4; while (index > 0){ // do something here index = index -1; // shorthand index -- } B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

14. Looping: do while int:index = 4; do { // do something here index = index -1; // shorthand index -- } while (index > 0); B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

15. B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring Using Arrays in Flash

16. How to Store Five Numbers Use individual variables for each number stored: var numberOne:number var numberTwo:number var numberThree:number var numberFour:number var numberFive:number messy - have to process as individual items rather than as a collection of grouped items. Solution - use an Array - contiguous data storage B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring

17. Arrays and Data Storage B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring 15 95 14 70 23 Elements Size of the array is 5 The value stored at array element number 2 is 14 Array element numbering starts at 0 0 3 2 4 1

18. Arrays and Data Storage B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring 15 23 14 70 5 Array of numbers (integers) Gibson Fender Punk Martin Array of strings Les Paul

19. Declaring Arrays in Flash B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring // create a new array var numberArray:Array = new Array(); // store the numbers into the array // 15 95 14 70 23 numberArray[0] = 15; numberArray[1] = 95; numberArray[2] = 14; numberArray[3] = 70; numberArray[4] = 23;

20. Looping through an Array B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring // total the numbers stored in the number array var index:Number; var sum:Number; sum = 0; for (index = 0; index <= 4; index = index + 1){ sum = sum + numberArray[index] } trace("The sum of the numbers in the array is " + sum)

21. Looping through an Array 2 B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring // total the numbers stored in the number array using array length method var index:Number; var sum:Number; sum = 0; for (index = 0; index < numberArray.length; index++){ sum = sum + numberArray[index] } trace("The sum of the numbers in the array is " + sum)

22. References ActionScript 3.0 Language Reference Adobe Livedocs B.Sc. Multimedia ComputingMultimedia Authoring