Confused with as2 vs as3

Question

hi
i am new at flash and have been following training i
purchased from total training and have been building my website in
flash using the action script 2 setting with some degree of
success. i have now however hit a brick wall. i am trying to make
several different videos play in a single window however it gives
me a warning that what i am trying to do requires action script 3.
but if i select action script 3 it breaks my entire website as it
uses behaviors for loading external swf's into a symbol for my
different pages of the site. (this was the method used by John
Ulliman) it would appear that action script 3 (the newer format) is
preventing me from completing my site. what gives. why does action
script 3 not support behaviours? what is the replacement method for
this?
cheers
Angus

Answer 1

Angus,
> i am trying to make several different videos play in a
single
> window however it gives me a warning that what i am
trying
> to do requires action script 3.
If your FLA file is already configured for AS2, I'm trying
to imagine
how you're seeing a warning about AS3. Maybe you started
typing
ActionScript 3.0 code, even though your publish settings are
configured for
AS2?
How are you playing your vidoes ... is this with the
FLVPlayback
component, or with NetConnection/NetStream?
> but if i select action script 3 it breaks my entire
website as it
> uses behaviors for loading external swf's into a symbol
for my
> different pages of the site.
Aha. Yes, Behaviors don't work in AS3 because they require
the on() or
onClipEvent() functions, which are no longer supported.
> it would appear that action script 3 (the newer format)
is
> preventing me from completing my site. what gives.
In this case (it sounds like), it's not so much AS3 blocking
you as it
is your attempt to mix AS3 with AS2. If you stick with AS2,
you can go
right on using Behaviors; it just means you'll have to learn
the AS2 way of
playing your numerous videos. If you choose to convert to
AS3, you'll have
to load your external SWFs without the assistance of
Behaviors.
> why does action script 3 not support behaviours?
Technically, it's because Behaviors rely on the on() or
onClipEvent()
functions, neither of which are supported in AS3. Why that's
so, I'm afraid
I can't explain. Lots of people miss Behaviors, but the
interesting thing
is, they're nothing more than automatically generated code --
code from a
canned set of templates. The Behaviors panel (at least, in
AS2 documents)
does nothing but write the code on your behalf. In a sense,
that's
convenient, because it helps you avoid typing; in another
sense, it's
problematic, because the feature shields you from learning
how to write code
yourself.
> what is the replacement method for this?
Because most of your site is already finished in AS2, my
hunch is that
it would take less effort to code up your video efforts in
AS2. What code
have you tried using so far?
David Stiller
Co-author, Foundation Flash CS4 for Designers
http://tinyurl.com/5j55cv
"Luck is the residue of good design."