Loading XML in AS3

Question

OK, so I think I have the basics of loading XML in AS3. But I
can't seem to access the info once it is loaded. I'm using the to
load the .xml file:
var myXML:XML = new XML();
var XML_URL:String = "music.xml";
var myXMLURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest(XML_URL);
var myLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader(myXMLURL);
myLoader.addEventListener("complete", xmlLoaded);
function xmlLoaded(event:Event):void
myXML = XML(myLoader.data);
trace("Data loaded.");
But when I go to trace the .xml file with this:
trace(myXML.toXMLString());
I get nothing. However, if I place this trace inside the
xmlLoaded function it traces it out. My problem is I want access to
the info outside of that function. What am I doing wrong? Any
advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

backpages,
> But when I go to trace the .xml file with this:
>
> trace(myXML.toXMLString());
>
> I get nothing.
This looks like a matter of timing. Your first five lines
are
encountered one after the other, starting with var myXML
through
myLoader.addEventListener(), which calls a function defined
immediately
below that. The function is called when the "complete" event
is dispatched,
which may take longer or shorter depending on the size of the
XML document
and network traffic. If you put a trace() statement
immediately below that,
Flash will execute that too -- and at the moment it does,
your XML document
hasn't loaded yet.
> However, if I place this trace inside the xmlLoaded
function it
> traces it out. My problem is I want access to the info
outside
> of that function. What am I doing wrong?
I copy/pasted your code exactly, then followed it with this:
var t:Timer = new Timer(5000);
t.addEventListener(
TimerEvent.TIMER,
function():void {
trace(myXML);
t.start();
... which waits five seconds, then runs that trace(). Sure
enough, it
outputs the XML contents.
If you want to use the myXML variable elsewhere in your
movie, you just
have to make sure those other locations don't reference the
variable until
it has a value (or account for a lack of value in the logic
they use). You
might, for example, put a stop() action in frame one, along
with the
existing code (and instead of my timer), then have the
"complete" event
handler issue a play() action. In later frames, the myXML
variable would
have the data you need, because the playhead won't advance
until the data
have been loaded.
David Stiller
Co-author, Foundation Flash CS3 for Designers
http://tinyurl.com/2k29mj
"Luck is the residue of good design."