A short introduction to Adobe Flash technology

1. Development with Adobe Flash
Ignite OÜ

2. Content
• Development tools
• About ActionScript
• What is a FLA file and what do you eat it with?
• ActionScript + FLA file
• Some magic: animations
• Compilation and output

3. Development tools
• Coding: Flash Develop
• Graphics: Adobe Flash CreativeSuite 4
• Flash Player 10.1 (Debug version)
• Flash Tracer (Firefox plugin)

4. ActionScript
• Use ActionScript 3.0!
• From Java world to ActionScript
o Syntax
o Semantics
• Data types

5. Java vs ActionScript syntax
• Variable definition:
o Java
String bar = "foo";
o AS
var bar:String = "foo";
• Method definition
o Java
void baz(int i) {}
o AS
function baz(i:int):void {}

6. Java vs ActionScript syntax (2)
Collections:
• Java -> Map
o HashMap: HashMap.put(...),HashMap.get(...)
• AS -> Associative Arrays
o var friends:Array = new Array();
o friends["best"] = "Bill";
o var bestFriend:String=friends["best"];

7. FLA file
• What is a FLA file?
• Structure of FLA
• Rich set of designer tools
• Basic visual objects

8. Actionscript + FLA file
• Do not embed code into FLA!
• Classpaths
• Stage exported to document root class
• FLA visuals exported to ActionScript classes
• Objects on stage - instantiated
• Output binary - .swf file
• Embedding binary to HTML

9. Some magic: animations
• Timeline animations
• Tweener animations

10. Some magic: animations
• Timeline animations
• Tweener animations