ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition

Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

6

|

Chapter 1: A Gentle Introduction for Nonprogrammers

The Toolbox pane’s book-like hierarchical menus can be used to create ActionScript

code. However, in order to learn the syntax, principles, and structural makeup of

ActionScript, we’ll be entering all our code manually.

So-called Actions are more than just Actions—they include various fundamental pro-

gramming-language tools: variables, conditionals, loops, comments, function calls,

and so forth. Although many of these are lumped together in one menu, the generic

name Action obscures the programming structures’ significance. We’ll be breaking

Actions down to give you a programmer’s perspective on those structures. Through-

out the book, I use the appropriate programming term to describe the Action at

hand. For example, instead of writing, “Add a while Action,” I’ll write, “Create a

while loop.” Instead of writing, “Add an if Action,” I’ll write, “Add a new condi-

tional.” Instead of writing, “Add a play Action,” I’ll write, “Invoke the play() func-

tion (or method).” These distinctions are an important part of learning to speak

ActionScript.

Ready to get your hands dirty? Let’s say hello to Flash.

Say Hi to Flash

Before you can type code into the Actions panel, you must disengage the Action-

Script autopilot. From the pop-up menu