How can mc_instance listen for MouseEvent?

Question

hello;
my_mc_instance.addEventListener( MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN ,
a_function ) ;
I do not understand why my_mc_instance even knows what a
mouseevent is; for instance, I have to know what a "knock on the
door" is before I can listen for it;
movieclips DO NOT inherit from: Mouse or MouseEvent or even
Event;
movieclips inherit from:
MovieClip --> Sprite --> DisplayObjectContainer -->
InteractiveObject --> DisplayObject --> EventDispatcher
--> Object
so how do they even know what a MouseEvent is?
it would seem to me that trying to add a mouseevent listener
to my_mc_instance would never fire since movieclips do not inherit
any mouse-related stuff;
furthermore, according to MovieClip.as, MovieClip class
already has methods that are apparently firing for the mouseevents:
ActionScript Code:
function onMouseDown():Void;
function onMouseMove():Void;
function onMouseUp():Void;
function onPress():Void;
function onRelease():Void;
function onReleaseOutside():Void;
function onRollOut():Void;
function onRollOver():Void; ...
which makes me wonder why it is even necessary to add
mouse-related listeners to an mc;
any thoughts?
thanks
dsdsdsdsd

Answer 1

Hey,
The reason movie clips dispatch mouse events is because movie
clips inherit from InteractiveObject. All InteractiveObjects
dispatch mouse events, so naturally, movie clips dispatch mouse
events.
For an object to be able to dispatch events, it doesn't have
to inherit from the specific event class (MouseEvent class), just
another class that dispatches those events (InteractiveObject).
The script you included contains methods from AS2. You can't
use them in AS3, so the only way to trigger anything with the mouse
is to add event listeners.