Archive for category AS3

Everything’s a Function

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The function call operator () is one of the most straightforward, well-understood, and universal operators in all of programming. Let’s see how AS3 can butcher it:

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Details of toString()

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When an object is converted to a String, it is first checked for a toString() method. But there are subtleties to this that you may not have considered.

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The Type-Safety of Vectors

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I really want to like Vectors, the new typed array functionality in Flash 10. In fact, I use it as often as I can. But there are some really awkward things about it that make it a pain. Here are some gotchas:

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Spot The Problem

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You could probably do this in most languages and it might be hard to spot. See for yourself.

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Null and Undefined

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Usually languages just have one way to specify “no value”. Call it null or nil or whatever you’d like, but AS3 and JavaScript have two: null and undefined. Here’s a little bit to help you understand when and why you’ll come across the two as well as some tricky differences between them.

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The Magic of is

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By now you’ve certainly heard of the is operator in AS3. It’s the replacement for instanceof in AS2. But the two are not the same! Don’t make this mistake…

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The Truth of Strings

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What strings are true? The answer may surprise you.

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Fancy Or

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The lowly || operator in the hands of AS3 and JavaScript is not so lowly. Here’s a quick time saver.

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Triple Equals

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Anyone coming from a language like C that doesn’t have a === operator seems shocked when they encounter such a ludicrous operator. For them, and for anyone being a bit careless, simple usage of === can really bite you.

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Missing Array Elements

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As a sane programmer, you probably wouldn’t ever think to do this. But It’s perfectly legal to do so.

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