Giving instance names to movieclips added using forEach loop - actionscript-3

Question

I am using a forEach loop that adds movieclips to the stage for each node in my XML. How does one give these movieclips unique instance names as their being added in the loop?
Here is my parseList function which contains the forEach loop mentioned and the syntax I'm using which isn't working for me.
private function parseList():void {
//use Number variables to keep track of current x and y properties as list display is generated
var titleField:TextField = TextField(listItem);
var itemY:Number = 503;
var itemX:Number = 0;
var artistTracker:String = Playmaster_Jukebox.currArtist;
var artID = 0;
var albID = 0;
var itemID:Number=0;
for each (var listItemData:XML in mainXML.artist[artID].album[albID].track) {
var listItem:MovieClip = new ListItem(itemTitle);
listContainer.addChild(listItem);
listItem.name = "itemID" + " " + albID + " " + itemID;
itemID++;
listItem.y = itemY;
listItem.x = itemX;
TextField(listItem.listItemTitleField);
itemY += listItem.height + 10;
}
}
I am a beginner with the forEach loop and don't understand it yet so comments are appreciated!

Answer 1

If I understand your question correctly; then you're asking how to store the "listItem" MovieClips as you read them from the XML document.
To do this you're probably going to want to use either an Array or a Map:
Using an Array ie:
var listItemArray:Array = new Array();
for each (var listItemData:XML in mainXML.artist[artID].album[albID].track) {
var listItem:MovieClip = new ListItem(itemTitle);
listContainer.addChild(listItem);
listItemArray.push(listItem);// adds the item to the array
}
Using a Map ie:
var listItemMap:Object = {};
for each (var listItemData:XML in mainXML.artist[artID].album[albID].track) {
var listItem:MovieClip = new ListItem(itemTitle);
listContainer.addChild(listItem);
listItem.name = "itemID" + " " + albID + " " + itemID;
listItemMap[listItem.name];// adds an item by the .name you created for it.
}
The map will allow you too look up the items by the names you've given the different items. ie: listItemMap["name"] would find the element with named "name".
The array will allow you to loop through them in order. ie: listItemArray[0] would find the first element.
It's up to you to decide which would be better for your purposes.