Introduction to ActionScript
In This Chapter
- What Is ActionScript?
- What Is ActionScript Good For?
- What ActionScript Can't Do
- Objects and Object-Oriented Scripting
- Object and Frame Actions
- Dot Syntax
- Events and Event Handlers
What Is ActionScript?
ActionScript is the scripting language Flash uses to control its movies and the objects within those movies. If you want to do anything interactive in Flash, you'll need to use ActionScript. It allows you to execute different actions in a movie depending on what a user does or on what frame of the movie is being played.
The biggest leap in the abilities of ActionScript occurred when Flash 5 was released. Flash 6 is the next version, and while the additions to ActionScript aren't as grand in this version, they do round out ActionScript into a full-fledged scripting language. Check out Chapter 2 to find out precisely what's new in Flash MX.