Category: class

Random number without repeat as3

We’re using the random object for many things, by its nature it may repeat a number, but sometimes we don’t want to get the same number more than once, for example when showing a random image out of an array of images, or jumping to a random frame in a MovieClip. Currently there is no ‘unique’ function in Actionscript, you have to write your own solution.

Here is my class for generating random numbers:

randomPlus



Download: RandomPlus.as.

Usage:
Create an instance of RandomPlus, defining the numbers scope (start & end numbers), including negative values. in case only one parameter is passed the RandomPlus object will assume it is the end number and that the start number is zero:
var rp:RandomPlus = new RandomPlus( end:Number, start:Number = 0 );

After that you can use ‘getNum’ public function that will return a random number within the scope:
rp.getNum(); // returns a Number

You can use public var ‘len’ to retrieve the length of the scope in case you want to use it for your function:
rp.len; // returns a Number

*The object will return unlimited amount of numbers, each time the entire scope was returned it will reshuffle the items so it will continue to return random numbers within the scope, in an ever-changing order.

Let me know if you liked it (or if you have suggestions), enjoy :)

Pure code AS3 spinning loading animation

While working on the video player, I wanted to show spinning loading animation while buffering, and since I decided that the whole thing will be pure code, with no library assets, I had to code this animation – just the kind of things I like.
It didn’t take long, and I decided to share it – why not?

So here it is:

loader animation with action script 3 code

What you need to do in order to use it is add two functions:


import LoadAnim;
...
private var myAnim :LoadAnim;
...

public function showAnim():void
{
myAnim = new LoadAnim(0x333333); // animation color
myAnim.x = stage.stageWidth / 2;
myAnim.y = stage.stageHeight / 2;
addChild(myAnim);
}

public function hideAnim():void
{
myAnim.stopAnim();
removeChildAt(1);
}

Download the class here, enjoy : )

Glossy buttons in pure as3 code


I’ve been playing with the drawing classes, experimenting gradients and blending modes, and so I put together a small (basic) as3 class that generates a glossy button with pure code – no library assets.

You can download the class here.

The class constructor expects only 3 parameters:
@param rad = Width of button
@param darkColor = The color in top area, more dominant
@param lightColor = The color in the bottom area

* you can then place it anywhere, and use method setCaption(cap:String) to place a label on the button, though this is a very basic implementation of text handling, I focused on drawing..

Let me know if you liked it : )

ResizeManager – simple scaling engine for MovieClips

Flash objects (SWF) can fill the entire Html body, and scale along with browser window as you resize it (it’s done by setting width and height attributes to 100% in the embed tags). However unless scaleMode is properly defined as well, the outcome may look surprisingly bad, the flash content may loose proportions and distort, images quality drops and texts loose readability.. oh man.

Only specific contents should be scaled when the stage is resized, the same way apps handles resizing: an app will redistribute its panels without scaling them, will scale panel background but not the buttons and the controls in it. When the entire stage is simply scaled, the interface balance is disturbed.. and we don’t want that.

So I decided to share: ResizeManager (download) is a very simple scaling engine, a single AS2 class that can easily be modified or extended for your needs.
The manger can control scaling and some basic align options of MovieClips you register to it, so you can scale a background MovieClip to cover the entire stage, and keep another MovieClip centered without scaling. It also adds default definitions for the Stage behavior (scaleMode: noScale, stageAlign: TL), though you can change those.
In order to use it, simply import the class and create an instance of the ResizeManager:

import com.adifeiwel.custom_ui.ResizeManager;

var rm = new ResizeManager();

Then, use method registerMC() to register each MovieClip you want to control (including MovieClips nested within MovieClips, make sure parent MC is x:0, y:0), the registerMC method expects the following parameters:
_parentName:MovieClip (the name of the MoviClip)
_widthUpdate:Number (scaling in percentage from Stage.width, 0 for no-scale)
_heightUpdate:Number (scaling in percentage from Stage.height, 0 for no-scale)
_centerUpdate:Boolean (align MovieClip to center of stage)
_middleUpdate:Boolean (vertical-align MovieClip to middle of stage)

for example (see it here):

rm.registerMC(portMC.mainBG, 100, 100, false, false);
// will scale to cover all Stage

rm.registerMC(portMC.middleMC.middleBG, 100, 0, false, false);
// will scale to take 100% of Stage.width

rm.registerMC(portMC.middleMC.middleContentMC, 0, 0, true, false);
// aligned to center

rm.registerMC(portMC.transMC, 0, 0, true, true);
// aligned to center, vertical-align to middle.

rm.registerMC(portMC.vClip, 0, 80, false, false);
// will scale to take 80% of Stage.height

enjoy : )

Update: You can download the example FLA here.

Hunting swf memory issues – take ‘em down!

In one of my current projects I’m experiencing a ‘memory waste’ issue, after a basic efficiency re-writing did not solve the problem, I began reading about how flash handles scope chains and memory, and found this very interesting article ‘Scope Chain and Memory waste in Flash MX‘ by Timothée Groleau.Now I am going to re-attack the issue with better understanding of what to look for. thanks Timothée.Another good resource to refine your coding practice is Adobe’s AS2 best practice article.Be ware, avoid driving after reading these two : )