I want to pass an object to a function by value so that I can make modifications to that object. I don't want the original object to be updated. However, all the function parameters are passed by reference.
I've tried to copy an object ( var new_object:Object = original_object; ) This just creates a pointer to original_object.
Is there a way I can pass parameter by value?
update One workaround I see is to make deep copy of an object by using ByteArray as described here. Not sure how efficient it is. Maybe there is a better solution out there.
You will have to make a copy of the object before passing it to the function :
public function copy(value:Object):Object
{
var buffer:ByteArray = new ByteArray();
buffer.writeObject(value);
buffer.position = 0;
var result:Object = buffer.readObject();
return result;
}
public function testFunction(obj:Object):void
{
//do something with obj
}
public function test():void
{
var obj:Object = {};
testFunction(copy(obj));
}
Related
I'm really not familiar with Action Script 3 at all but I am with other languages.
I'm hoping someone could help me.
I'm attempting to make a modification to JWplayer so that an rtmp stream is retrieved via a PHP script rather than it being supplied in the HTML.
The code I currently have is below:
function useData(event:Event):void {
var data:String = event.target.data.toString();
}
/** Load content. **/
override public function load(itm:PlaylistItem):void {
_item = itm;
_position = 0;
var loader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
loader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, useData);
loader.load(new URLRequest("http://192.168.0.12/phpauth/play1.php"));
// Set Video or StageVideo
if(!_video) {
_video = new Video(320, 240);
_video.smoothing = true;
_video.addEventListener('renderState', renderHandler);
// Use stageVideo when available
if (_stageEnabled && RootReference.stage['stageVideos'].length > 0) {
_stage = RootReference.stage['stageVideos'][0];
_stage.viewPort = new Rectangle(0,0,320,240);
_stage.addEventListener('renderState', renderHandler);
}
attachNetStream(_stream);
}
// Load either file, streamer or manifest
if (_item.file.substr(0,4) == 'rtmp') {
// Split application and stream
var definst:Number = _item.file.indexOf('_definst_');
In the load function the file name to play is held in _item.file. I'm trying to make a call to a php script which then overwrites the value in _item.file. I've confirmed that the php is being called but I don't know how to get the data from the data string in the useData function into the _item.file string.
Any help would be really appreciated - I suspect this is a simple one but my lack of AS3 knowledge is making it really difficult.
Thanks,
Your problem basically about how to access a local variable in an event handler. A quick and dirty way can be to have an anonymous function used as a handler like:
loader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, function(event:Event):void {
var data:String = event.target.data.toString();
_item.file = data;
});
This approach would work, because this anonymous function has access to the local variables inside load function as is. But, you need to be cautious that the anonymous function uses the variable exactly as the calling function is using. So, let's say there is a loop in load function and _item changes in every iteration of the loop. For that scenario, when load handler gets called, its _item would also have changed to the object which was last assigned to _item.
A far cleaner and OO approach can be to have a handler class like:
package {
public class LoadHandler {
private var _item:PlaylistItem;
public function LoadHandler(item:PlaylistItem) {
_item = item;
}
public function loadHandler(event:Event):void {
var data:String = event.target.data.toString();
_item.file = data;
}
}
and then have loader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, (new LoadHandler(_item)).loadHandler). Hope that helps. BTW, LoadHandler could be made more generic to take and array of objects to be used and a callback function. loadHandler function, then could just call callback function with that array of objects.
If you are returning a simple string from PHP you should be able to use
event.target.data;
e.g. from PHP... echo "hello";
var data:String = event.target.data
You could try tracing the response to ensure you are getting something back from PHP.
You can either test this from within the IDE or install the Debug version of the Flash Player browser plugin.
trace("Response from PHP: "+event.target.data);
_item.file = event.target.data;
trace("_item.file: "+_item.file);
I'm trying to modify an Object in another class. So I have something like this:
MainClass.as:
..
var myObject:Object = new Object();
Class2_Instance.get_JSON(myObject);
trace(myObject.id); // output: undefined. whereas it should be 42. see below.
..
Class2.as
public function get_JSON(url:String , the_object:Object)
{
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest(url);
var variables:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
variables.dataFormat = URLLoaderDataFormat.TEXT;
variables.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, Complete_Handler_JSON(the_object));
try
{
variables.load(request);
}
catch (error:Error)
{
trace("Unable to load URL: " + error);
}
}
function Complete_Handler_JSON(the_object:Object):Function
{
return function(event:Event):void
{
var loader:URLLoader = URLLoader(event.target);
the_object = JSON.parse(loader.data);
trace(the_object.id); //returns 42.
};
}
So the JSON operation performs correctly within Class2, and it assigns the .parse() value to the_object, but I think there is something I don't understand with AS's pass-by-reference logic. Since I was expecting myObject in MainClass.as would change, too.
What should I do to modify the value of the function argument (myObject) directly ?
Thanks !
The issue is in this line in your event handler:
the_object = JSON.parse(loader.data);
The minute you do this, you're no longer dealing with the object which you passed in to the method. You're assigning a new value to the local variable named the_object. It's important to understand that objects are not passed by reference - object references are passed by value. So the_object in your method is a copy of the reference. When you assign a new value, that copy is overwritten with a different reference.
The solution is to pass the reference by reference - this is related to the concept of double pointers in languages such as C++, also known as double indirection. I'm not certain that this is even possible in ActionScript.
A better solution, just return the deserialized object as a return value.
Objects are passed by reference.
But as i see in your code you are overwriting the_object by another one on the line : the_object=JSON.parse(loader.data).
You can create a new variable and then copy the values in the_object:
var json:Object = JSON.parse(loader.data);
for (var k:String in json) {
the_object[k]=json[k];
}
I know that AS3 does not have pointer or reference. Every object is pass by reference already. (I supposed?)
What should I do if I want to do with pointer?
e.g. all object point to one target, I only need to change target's value, then all other object will access different value.
You can effectively get the same behavior by using a helper object to simulate a pointer -- in other words using it to carry the target reference. For instance:
public class PseudoPointer
{
private var obj:Object;
private var prop:String;
public function PseudoPointer(obj:Object, prop:String)
{
// Point to property with name 'prop' on object 'obj'.
this.obj = obj;
this.prop = prop;
}
public function get value():* {
return obj[prop];
}
public function set value(value:*):void {
obj[prop] = value;
}
}
Then you could do this -- assume there's a magicNumber property on an object named target:
var numberPtr = new PseudoPointer(target, "magicNumber");
myDynamicObjectA.numberPtr = numberPtr;
myDynamicObjectB.numberPtr = numberPtr;
myDynamicObjectC.numberPtr = numberPtr;
Now any object that has a reference to the pseudo-pointer can read and write the target property:
numberPtr.value = 42;
You could create a function and in which you give it the value and then subsequently assign it to all of those other variables.
Something like below:
var objectA:Number;
var objectB:Number;
...
function myFunction(newValue:Number):void
{
objectA = newValue;
objectB = newValue;
...
}
You could try setting a variable reference to a function. Then if you update that reference, it would return a different function.
var myFunc:Function;
function funcOne():int {
return 1;
}
function funcTwo():int {
return 2;
}
function getFunc():Function {
return myFunc;
}
myFunc = funcOne;
var myObjOne:Object = new Object();
myObjOne.objFunc = getFunc;
var myObjTwo:Object = new Object();
myObjTwo.objFunc = getFunc;
trace(myObjOne.objFunc.call().call()); // 1
trace(myObjTwo.objFunc.call().call()); // 1
myFunc = funcTwo;
trace(myObjOne.objFunc.call().call()); // 2
trace(myObjTwo.objFunc.call().call()); // 2
This allows any object to point at a single function and have what that returns be updateable for all of them simultaneously. It's not the prettiest code and it's not as type-safe as if ActionScript had delegates to enforce the signatures of what's set for myFunc, but it is still a pretty flexible model if you get creative with it.
Have those pointers point to something that contains the object or has the object as a property on it.
So
var myArr:Array = [new YourObject()];
var client1:ArrayClient = new ArrayClient();
client1.array = myArr;
var client2:ArrayClient = new ArrayClient();
client2.array = myArr;
myArr[0] = new YourObject();
//client1.array[0]==client2.array[0]==the new object
However, this seems to be a great way to get yourself into a lot of trouble really quickly. What's the use case?
public function create():ArrayCollection{
var index:int = 0;
var data:ArrayCollection = new ArrayCollection();
var length:int = originalData.length;
for(index; index < length; index++){
data.addItem(originalData[index]);
}
return data;
}
originalData is the original state of my data from database.
data is a copy of originalData used to be manipulated as the provider for my List component.
There's a button I use to call the create() function above, that
would mean, I want to revert all changes in data, and go back to
everything I have in originalData.
But when I debug my function, originalData has all the changes made in data.
When I use
list.selectedItem.thing = "new string";
is supposed to modify data[index].thing, because data is my List.dataprovider. but it changes originalData[index].thing also and this collection wasn't used for anything, except for creating a copy of itself!
I don't know why this happens. I didn't know how to phrase this behaviour as a google query.
Please, if you don't understand the question, comment it so I can try and make it clearer. This has consumed more time than its functionality is worth.
EDIT:
I've also tried this, but it doesn't work:
public function create():ArrayCollection{
var index:int = 0;
var data:ArrayCollection = new ArrayCollection();
var length:int = originalData.length;
for(index; index < length; index++){
// initializing a Item object.
var dataItem:Item = new Item();
dataItem = originalData[index] as Item;
data.addItem(dataItem);
}
return data;
}
EDIT 2:
Based on your answers and some research I came up with this generic function to copy arrayCollections made of custom objects.
public static function copy(objectClassName:String, objectClass:Class, arrayCollection:ArrayCollection):ArrayCollection{
var index:int = 0;
var length:int = arrayCollection.length;
var copy:ArrayCollection = new ArrayCollection();
for(index; index < length; index++){
registerClassAlias(objectClassName,objectClass);
copy.addItemAt(ObjectUtil.copy(arrayCollection.getItemAt(index)) as objectClass,index);
}
return copy;
}
As Tom says, this is because AS3 passes by reference. If you don't want to modify the original values then you should, again as Tom says, create copies of them.
Fortunately, AS3 has a utility to do this -- ObjectUtils.copy. Try this code instead of your original:
public function create():ArrayCollection{
var index:int = 0;
var data:ArrayCollection = new ArrayCollection();
var length:int = originalData.length;
for(index; index < length; index++){
data.addItem(mx.utils.ObjectUtil.copy(originalData[index]));
}
return data;
}
Do take note that copy() returns a generic Object. If you want to access any of its properties in a type-safe manner you'll have to cast it to its type.
A bit more about the pass-by-reference deal. Let's say we have items a, b, and c floating around in memory. You put them into an array(originalData). originalData now contains references to a, b, and c. You then create an ArrayCollection and insert (again) references to a, b, c. Objects a, b, and c aren't what's being stored in either the array or the ArrayCollection. So when you update originalData[0] you're getting a reference to an object (a), and updating it.
Likewise when you update ArrayCollection.getItemAt(0) you're getting the same reference and updating the underlying object which is why you're getting the behavior you're getting. Making a copy and inserting it means you're referencing an entirely new object.
I am not used to actionscript, but it looks to me like you are putting references to objects from one arrayCollection to another arrayCollection. So if you change those objects, this will be reflected in both arrayCollections since they refer to the same objects.
To avoid this you should make copies from the original objects to put in the new arrayCollection.
To create a deep copy of an array and keep the type, use the following method:
public static function clone(source:Object):*
{
var myBA:ByteArray = new ByteArray();
myBA.writeObject(source);
myBA.position = 0;
return(myBA.readObject());
}
This is the way proposed by Adobe.
Update: idea for a type safe copy function
public static function copyTypeSafe( ac:ArrayCollection ):ArrayCollection
{
var cloneAc:ArrayCollection = new ArrayCollection();
if( ac.length == 0 ) {
return cloneAc;
}
var className:String = getQualifiedClassName( ac.getItemAt(0) );
registerClassAlias( className, (getDefinitionByName( className ) as Class ) );
for each (var obj:Object in ac)
{
cloneAc.addItem( ObjectUtil.copy( obj ) );
}
return cloneAc;
}
You need to do a registerClassAlias call for each of the classes inside of your collection, then just use the function clone with the ByteArray suggested above and it will work fine. The key is to do a registerClassAlias call for each type inside of the ArrayCollection which you want to maintain. In my case:
var productGroupClassName:String = getQualifiedClassName(ProductGroup);
registerClassAlias( productGroupClassName, ProductGroup );
var productClassName:String = getQualifiedClassName(Product);
registerClassAlias( productClassName, Product );
//Need to create a copy so the original values will not be altered
dataProvider = copyTypeSafe(EnalityData.productsInfo);
I have to assume I am missing something simple, or I am not understanding something, but I can't seem to figure this.
I have a list of strings that I add to an array, then attempt to set those values in a for-loop using data that I read in. The array gets updated, but the values the array contains do not. I also have an array of buttons that I update this same way that works great, but strings don't seem to work the same way. I have tried moving the string array to give it full scope, and still nothing... What am I missing?
public class test extends Sprite
{
// Declare a list of strings
protected var title0:String = undefined;
protected var title1:String = undefined;
protected var title2:String = undefined;
protected function onDataLoad(evt:Event):void{
var titleArray:Array = new Array(title0,title1,title2); // Array of strings
for(i=0; i<=evt.target.data.count; i++){
titleArray[i] = evt.target.data["title"+i]; // attempt to set the title values
}
}
protected function function0(e:Event):void {
trace("My title is: " + title0); // title0 is null
}
}
It has to do with how AS3 stores Array elements. You would need to explicitly set both the instance property (title1, title2, title3) and the associated array element (array[0], array[1], array[2]) to achieve what you want. Or, you could drop the instance properties (title0, title1, title2) completely and just use the array to store your values. Something like:
public class test extends Sprite
{
protected var _titleArray:Array = [];
protected function onDataLoad(evt:Event):void{
for(i=0; i<=evt.target.data.count; i++){
// set the title values
_titleArray[i] = evt.target.data["title"+i];
}
}
protected function function0(e:Event):void {
trace("My title is: " + _titleArray[0]);
}
}