ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook

Chapter 4. Numbers and Math

Introduction

Although numbers aren’t always in the spotlight, don’t overlook their power and importance in your code. Numbers come in all shapes and sizes—from binary to decimal to hexadecimal. Each type of representation has its own particular niche in which it is most valuable. For example, hexadecimal numbers are often used to represent RGB color values because they make it easy to discern each of the three color components. (See Recipe 4.2 to learn how to convert between different number bases.)

Closely related to numbers is the subject of mathematics. Without mathematical operations, your Flash movies would be rather dull. Simple operations such as addition and subtraction are essential to even the most basic ActionScript applications, and more advanced math, such as random number generation and trigonometric calculations, is equally essential to advanced applications.

ActionScript 3.0 has three basic numeric types: number, int, and uint. number is for any floating-point numbers, whereas int and uint are for integers (whole numbers). The distinction between int and uint is that int is the set of negative and non-negative integers, while uint is the set of non-negative integers (unsigned integers).

Representing Numbers in Different Bases

Problem

You want to specify a value in binary, octal, or hexadecimal.

Solution

Hexadecimal literals start with 0x (where the first character is a zero, not an “oh”), and octal literals start with 0 (again, zero, not ...