Calling a variable from outside of a function - actionscript-3

I'm so stumped. I'm hoping someone can help me out here! I'm trying to call the variable named "time" from outside of a function.
Here is my code:
var myXML:XML = new XML();
var XML_URL:String = "time.xml";
var myXMLURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest(XML_URL);
var myLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader(myXMLURL);
myLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, xmlLoaded);
var time;
function xmlLoaded(event:Event):void
{
time = XML(myLoader.data);
}
trace(time);
Here is what my XML looks like
<time>10</time>
Every time I run the trace(time); outside of the function - I get an "undefined" message in the output window.
How can I access the variable "time" from outside of my function so I can assign it to another variable like this:
var VIDEOS_SECONDS = time;
Thank you so much for any help!
Timothy

Most of it looks correct, the issue is the xml file is loading asynchronously and you expect it to load synchronously.
If you move trace(time) right after time = XML(myLoader.data); you should see the expected value. You can call another function from that COMPLETE handler to setup the rest of your code that relies on data being loaded first:
var myXML:XML = new XML();
var XML_URL:String = "time.xml";
var myXMLURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest(XML_URL);
var myLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader(myXMLURL);
myLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, xmlLoaded);
var time;
function xmlLoaded(event:Event):void
{
time = XML(myLoader.data);
trace(time,new Date());
//time is ready here
}
//although time is global, xml hasn't loaded at this point yet, check timestamps
trace(time,new Date());

Related

Loading more than one child image AS3

I'm trying to load 2 images in to my flash file but getting an error - new to this AS3 malarkey any help would be appreciated!
Getting error: 5 1151: A conflict exists with definition request in namespace internal.
var myImage:String = dynamicContent.Profile[0].propImage.Url;
var myImage2:String = dynamicContent.Profile[0].prop2Image.Url;
var myImageLoader:StudioLoader = new StudioLoader();
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest(enabler.getUrl(myImage));
myImageLoader.load(request);
myImageLoader.x =17;
myImageLoader.y = 0;
var myImageLoader2:StudioLoader = new StudioLoader();
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest(enabler.getUrl(myImage2));
myImageLoader.load(request);
myImageLoader.x =17;
myImageLoader.y = 0;
if(this.currentFrame == 1) {
addChildAt(myImageLoader, 2);
}
if(this.currentFrame == 2) {
addChildAt(myImageLoader2, 2);
}
It's usually a good idea to move duplicate code into its own function instead of doing copy + paste:
function loadImage(file:String, x:Number, y:Number):StudioLoader{
var myImageLoader:StudioLoader = new StudioLoader();
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest(file);
myImageLoader.load(request);
myImageLoader.x = x;
myImageLoader.y = y;
return myImageLoader;
}
addChild(loadImage(enabler.getUrl(myImage1),17,0));
addChild(loadImage(enabler.getUrl(myImage2),17,0));
That's not just giving you better structured code but also fixes your duplicate variable definition issue because what's defined locally inside a function stays inside the function.
This might provide some insight:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/actionscript/learning/as3-fundamentals/functions.html
You can't create a new variable with the same name as an existing one, in your case I'm speaking about your URLRequest request, so to avoid this type of error you can do like this :
var myImageLoader2:StudioLoader = new StudioLoader();
// assing a new URLRequest to an existing var
request = new URLRequest(enabler.getUrl(myImage2));
// here you want use the myImageLoader2, not myImageLoader
myImageLoader2.load(request);
myImageLoader2.x =17;
myImageLoader2.y = 0;
Or :
var myImageLoader2:StudioLoader = new StudioLoader();
// create a new URLRequest var, so the name should be different
var request2:URLRequest = new URLRequest(enabler.getUrl(myImage2));
// here you want use the myImageLoader2, not myImageLoader
myImageLoader2.load(request2);
myImageLoader2.x =17;
myImageLoader2.y = 0;
Additionally, I notice in the second block that you declare myImageLoader2 but you then use the original myImageLoader to do the load request. So even if you do declare a new URLRequest, you wont get both images loaded.
Akmozo's solution has this corrected.

Running-order of nested function-calls delayed/altered due to URLloader in AS3?

First of all: English is not my first language. ;-)
I am compiling the following code:
var sqldata:String;
function sql(saveorload,sqlstring) {
var sqlloader = new URLLoader();
var sqlrequest = new URLRequest("http://***/sql.php");
sqlrequest.method = URLRequestMethod.POST;
sqlloader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, sqldonetrace);
var variables:URLVariables = new URLVariables();
variables.sqlm = saveorload;
variables.sqlq = sqlstring;
sqlrequest.data = variables;
sqlloader.load(sqlrequest);
}
function sqldonetrace(e:Event) {
sqldata = e.target.data;
}
sql("1","SELECT * FROM songs WHERE `flag2` LIKE '0'");
trace (sqldata);
So, here comes the problem:
"sqldata" is traced as "null". AS3 seems to run "sql", then "trace" and then "sqldone", but i would need sql -> sqldone -> trace...
I can't put the trace-command in the sqldone-function because it is stored as *.as and loaded at different points in my .swf and not always followed by only a trace-command.
Any Ideas/hints/flaws in script?
Actionscript is, by design, an event driven language. It also guarantees that the code executes in a single thread i.e. if a function call starts, no other(new call) actionscript code would execute until the first call finishes.
That being said, what you should have is to pass a complete handler to sql(...).
function sql(saveorload:String, sqlstring:String, completeHandler:Function):void
{
var sqlloader = new URLLoader();
var sqlrequest = new URLRequest("http://***/sql.php");
sqlrequest.method = URLRequestMethod.POST;
sqlloader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, completeHandler);//tell urlloader to use the complete handler passed in parameters
var variables:URLVariables = new URLVariables();
variables.sqlm = saveorload;
variables.sqlq = sqlstring;
sqlrequest.data = variables;
sqlloader.load(sqlrequest);
}
And then use it from some other place like:
sql("1","SELECT * FROM songs WHERE `flag2` LIKE '0'", sqldonetrace);
function sqldonetrace(e:Event)
{
var sqldata:String = e.target.data;
trace (sqldata);
}
Also, I think you should check for error events from urlloader. Pass another parameter to sql as errorHandler

as3 loop loading urls - continue loop on complete

I am trying to load a bunch of files in order. I want the other to start downloading once the previous has downloaded. I thought the best way to do this would be thru a for loop.
TheURL = is a bunch of urls in a ARRAY
for(var i:int=0;i<TheURL.length;i++)
{
var urlString:String = TheURL[i];
var urlReq:URLRequest = new URLRequest(urlString);
var urlStream:URLStream = new URLStream();
var fileData:ByteArray = new ByteArray();
urlStream.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, loaded);
urlStream.load(urlReq);
function loaded(event:Event):void
{
/// code to continue loop
}
}
It is important that the others do not start downloading until the previous has completed. Any suggestions on how to do that? Thanks
function downloadFiles():void
{
downloadNextFile();
}
function downloadNextFile():void
{
var urlString:String = TheURL.shift();
var urlReq:URLRequest = new URLRequest(urlString);
var urlStream:URLStream = new URLStream();
var fileData:ByteArray = new ByteArray();
urlStream.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, loaded);
urlStream.load(urlReq);
}
function loaded(event:Event):void
{
downloadNextFile();
}
Using a for-loop does not solve what you want to do.
In my opinion the easiest way should be to use the array of URLs as a queue. This can be done by using Array.shift(). But you should make a copy of your array if you need the original set of URLs when finished, because shift() makes an inline modification of the array.
The solution could be the following:
function loadQueue(urlQueue:Array):void
{
var url:String = urlQueue.shift();
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest(url);
var stream:URLStream = new URLStream();
var data:ByteArray = new ByteArray();
var completeHandler:Function = function(event:Event)
{
// remove listener from stream to be a clean coder ;)
stream.removeEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, completeHandler);
// handle completion in the way you need ...
// continue with the next element
if (urlQueue.length > 0)
loadQueue(urls);
}
urlStream.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, loaded);
urlStream.load(urlReq);
}
Loading your queue will then look like:
loadQueue(TheURL.concat()); // concat() will clone your array
You should use a library like greensock LoaderMax http://www.greensock.com/loadermax/.
It's much more difficult than it seems to create your own loading queue. There are plenty of bugs, traps and special cases to deal with. It seems to work fine, and one day a customer call you back because of a bug on this particular flash version on this computer behind this firewall... I've started to do mine library, but finally I used LoadManager.

What is wrong with my JPGEncoder

Here is my code
if (event.target.content is Bitmap)
{
infotext.text = "got something";
var image:Bitmap = Bitmap(event.target.content);
var bitmapData:BitmapData = image.bitmapData;
this.addChild(image);
var j:JPGEncoder = new JPGEncoder(100);
var bytes:ByteArray = new ByteArray();
bytes=j.encode(bitmapData);
}
else
{
throw new Error("What the heck bob?");
}
When I run a debug session everything works fine till it reaches to the line
bytes=j.encode(bitmapData);
after that nothing happens and my program just goes into limbo Please help
I made changes to the code as per your suggestion
var myImage:Bitmap =Bitmap(e.target.content);
var bitmapData:BitmapData = new BitmapData(myImage.width,myImage.height,true,0xffffffff);
bitmapData.draw(myImage);
var encoder:JPGEncoder = new JPGEncoder();
var bytes:ByteArray = encoder.encode(bitmapData);
this.addChild(myImage);
but it gets stuck again after
var bytes:ByteArray = encoder.encode(bitmapData);
What am i doing wrong here?
Pretty sure I ran into this same issue a long time ago so I pulled up my code from then that I got to work.
After reviewing the code the only thing I see different is I construct the bitMapData first and assign the image via the load function.
So I think your issue is with the construction of the bitmapData var.
The following code block was cut down from a function I created that did a lot of other image manipulation.
So basically it is a cut down version and untested but it should work.
var myImage:Image = new Image();
myImage.load( Bitmap(event.target.content) );
var bitmapData:BitmapData = new BitmapData(myImage.width, myImage.height, true, 0xffffffff );
bitmapData.draw(myImage);
var encoder:JPEGEncoder = new JPEGEncoder();
var data:ByteArray = encoder.encode(bitmapData);
this.addChild(myImage);
Just in case anyone runs into this, Make sure you are using the bytearray JPEGEncoder class, it's faster: http://www.bytearray.org/?p=775
the as3core is JPGEncoder not JPEGEncoder. JPG vs JPEG... this got me also.

How can I use addEventListener and return something that's changed from it in Actionscript?

private function getTitle(src:String):String{
var urlLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
var rssURLRequest:URLRequest = new URLRequest(src);
var rss:XML = new XML;
var t:String = src;
urlLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE,
function(event:Event):void{
rss = XML(urlLoader.data);
t = rss.channel.title.toString();
});
return t;
}
I'm aware that this code doesn't work because the anonymous function doesn't work until after t is returned. How would I make it so that it works?
You won't be able to return the loaded data from this method. The reason for this is because the loading is asynchronous and doesn't not block the execution of subsequent code. Your best option is to move the vars out of the scope of the function and to write a second function to handle the COMPLETE event.
Something like the following should work:
var rss:XML;
var t:String;
var path:String = "some path";
var urlLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
private function getTitle(src:String):String
{
urlLoader.load( new URLRequest( src ) );
urlLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, onComplete );
}
private function onComplete(event:Event):void
{
rss = XML(urlLoader.data);
t = path + rss.channel.title.toString();
}
I realize that this doesn't really answer the question directly, though it is the best practice for handling data loading. If you really want to stop any code from executing before the data is loaded, it may be possible use a while loop after the addEventListener line to halt the player from until the data is loaded. This should probably be considered a not so elegant hack though.
private function getTitle(src:String):String
{
var urlLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
var rssURLRequest:URLRequest = new URLRequest(src);
var rss:XML = new XML;
var t:String = src;
var complete:Boolean;
urlLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE,
function(event:Event):void
{
rss = XML(urlLoader.data);
t = rss.channel.title.toString();
complete = true;
});
while( !complete ) { /* sleep hack */ }
return t;
}
I haven't tested this, but it seems like it could work. The first example is recommended.