Actionscript3 clearInterval is not working on TouchEvent.TOUCH_BEGIN - actionscript-3

Question

I have called a setInterval on TouchEvent.TOUCH_END and I want to clear it when ever screen is touched.
Here is my code:
import fl.motion.MotionEvent;
import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.utils.*;
Multitouch.inputMode = MultitouchInputMode.TOUCH_POINT;
stage.addEventListener(TouchEvent.TOUCH_BEGIN, onTouchBegin);
stage.addEventListener(TouchEvent.TOUCH_END, onTouchEnd);
function onTouchBegin(evt:TouchEvent)
{
clearInterval(MovieClip(root).myInterval);
}
function onTouchEnd(evt:TouchEvent)
{
MovieClip(root).myInterval = setInterval(showTimer,1000);
}
function showTimer()
{
trace("interval working");
}

Answer 1

Your provided code doesn't really explain everything so there will be a fair bit of speculation in this answer:
Possiblity No. 1:
Your way of casting root to MovieClip is not working. Try changing to following:
function onTouchBegin(evt:TouchEvent)
{
var intervalRef:int = (root as MovieClip).myInterval;
clearInterval(intervalRef);
}
Possiblity No. 2:
It seems that your code is written in a frame. And although if you define something in a previous frame it should work, but if you have the code on a different (lower) layer on the same keyframe it could define the variable later and your MovieClip(root).myInterval variable is undefined or null is the value is not defined. So check if your variable even exists:
function onTouchBegin(evt:TouchEvent)
{
trace(MovieClip(root) == null); // see if the root is defined
trace(MovieClip(root).myInterval); // see if the myInterval is defined
}
Possiblity No. 3:
You're cycling through frames. When I had 2 frames: one blank and one with your code, the code didn't work properly. Tested in Flash CC.
Possibility No. 4:
You have a run-time error somewhere else and your whole frame's code is not being executed. Do you use the debug version of Flash Player?
Possible solution for less headache:
Use a Timer. It's easy to control, easy to manage and dispose of. I've edited your code to work with Timer and tested. Feel free to use it for your project.
import fl.motion.MotionEvent;
import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.utils.Timer;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;
import flash.events.TimerEvent;
Multitouch.inputMode = MultitouchInputMode.TOUCH_POINT;
var timer:Timer = (timer == null) ? new Timer(1000) : timer;
timer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, onTick);
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, onTouchBegin); // you can change back to TouchEvent, but since you're using TOUCH_POINT it's pointless so I'd just use MouseEvent
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, onTouchEnd);
function onTouchBegin(evt:Event)
{
timer.stop();
}
function onTouchEnd(evt:Event)
{
timer.start();
}
function showTimer()
{
trace("interval working");
}
function onTick(e:TimerEvent):void
{
showTimer();
}
I do want to note that your code works if I just copy-paste it in a single frame Flash file. But still, it's encouraged by Adobe to use Timer instead.