Movie clip example: RuntimeAssetsExplorer

In order for the explorer to properly interact with a SWF library, the structure of the run-time asset libraries must be formalized. We will accomplish this by creating an interface, which is similar to a class in that it’s a blueprint of methods that demarcate an expected structure, but unlike a class it includes no method bodies. The interface provides a way for both the run-time library and the explorer to communicate to one another. Each SWF of run-time assets that is loaded in our browser will implement this interface. For more information about interfaces and how they can be useful, see Interfaces in Learning ActionScript 3.0 .

The RuntimeLibrary interface will be very simple—we merely require a function that can provide the explorer with an array of classpaths for the symbols to be exported and available in the run-time library. To this end, the interface has a single method: getAssets() .

package com.example.programmingas3.runtimeassetexplorer 
{ 
    public interface RuntimeLibrary 
    { 
        function getAssets():Array; 
    } 
}

By defining the RuntimeLibrary interface, it’s possible to create multiple asset library SWF files that can be loaded into another SWF file. Making an individual SWF library of assets involves four tasks:

• Creating a class for the asset library SWF file

• Creating classes for individual assets contained in the library

• Creating the actual graphic assets

• Associating graphic elements with classes and publishing the library SWF

package 
{ 
    import flash.display.Sprite; 
    import com.example.programmingas3.runtimeassetexplorer.RuntimeLibrary; 
     
    public class GeometricAssets extends Sprite implements RuntimeLibrary  
    { 
        public function GeometricAssets() { 
             
        } 
        public function getAssets():Array { 
            return [ "com.example.programmingas3.runtimeassetexplorer.AnimatingBox", 
                     "com.example.programmingas3.runtimeassetexplorer.AnimatingStar" ];     
        } 
    } 
}

package com.example.programmingas3.runtimeassetexplorer 
{ 
    import flash.display.MovieClip; 
     
    public class AnimatingStar extends MovieClip 
    { 
        public function AnimatingStar() { 
        } 
    } 
}

The last functional piece to deal with is the user interface for the asset explorer. In this example, the path to the run-time library is hard-coded as a variable named ASSETS_PATH . Alternatively, you could use the FileReference class—for example, to create an interface that browses for a particular SWF file on your hard drive.

When the run-time library is successfully loaded, Flash Player calls the runtimeAssetsLoadComplete() method:

private function runtimeAssetsLoadComplete(event:Event):void 
{ 
    var rl:* = event.target.content; 
    var assetList:Array = rl.getAssets(); 
    populateDropdown(assetList); 
    stage.frameRate = 60; 
}

In this method, the variable rl represents the loaded SWF file. The code calls the getAssets() method of the loaded SWF file, obtaining the list of assets that are available, and uses them to populate a ComboBox component with a list of available assets by calling the populateDropDown() method. That method in turn stores the full classpath of each asset. Clicking the Add button on the user interface triggers the addAsset() method:

private function addAsset():void 
{ 
    var className:String = assetNameCbo.selectedItem.data; 
    var AssetClass:Class = getDefinitionByName(className) as Class; 
    var mc:MovieClip = new AssetClass(); 
    ... 
}

which gets the classpath of whichever asset is currently selected in the ComboBox ( assetNameCbo.selectedItem.data ), and uses the getDefinitionByName() function (from the flash.utils package) to obtain an actual reference to the asset’s class in order to create a new instance of that asset.