A Boolean in AS3 takes up four bytes of memory to store a single bit of information. It takes up 32x more memory than it needs. We can make better use of this memory and today’s article explains how.
Get More out of Four Bytes than a Boolean
When getSize() Lies
flash.sampler.getSize() is a handy tool for figuring out how much memory a class instance uses. However, it is often flat-out wrong. Today’s article tries it out on a variety of classes to find out which ones it works on and which ones it doesn’t.
How Big Is That Class?
When you instantiate one of your classes, how much memory does it use? Today’s article tries out a lot of combinations and counts the bytes used. The conclusion is easy to remember and will give you a solid understanding of how much memory your app is using.
The Goto Keyword
AS3 has a controversial new keyword: goto. It’s not documented, but this article will tell you how it works. It’ll also talk about why you might want to use it to improve performance or even make your code more readable (gasp!).
The Cost of If-Else
The if-else keyword is not free. So, how expensive is it? Today’s article finds out.
Bytecode Analysis: Why do-while Is so Slow
The do-while loop is slower than the for and while loops… at least in Flash. Why? Today’s article digs into the bytecode the compiler generates for a variety of these loops to find out why.
Saving Memory with BitmapData Tricks
Last week’s article showed a variety of tricks for saving memory with ByteArray. Today’s article explores some tricks to use with BitmapData to save even more memory.
ByteArray Secrets
The ByteArray class is not as straightforward as you might think. In certain situations, it has surprising, undocumented functionality. Today’s article goes into some of these strange behaviors so you’ll get a better handle on exactly what’s going on behind the scenes.
Optimize Algorithms and Data Structures First
Today’s article is both a reminder to optimize your algorithms and data structures before your code and a demonstration of the payoff you’ll get by doing so. By choosing the most effective algorithm and data structure to solve your problem you’ll reap huge rewards in performance. A 10x, 100x, or even bigger boost is easily attainable.
Four Ways to Clean Master Strings
When I first wrote about master strings I proposed a function that would help to trim them down and potentially save a lot of memory. However, that method still resulted in a string with a master string one longer than it. Ideally, we’d have no master string at all. Since then, three astute readers chimed in with alternate solutions to the problem. Today I put try all three out to see which method does the best job of cleaning master strings.