Data types
ActionScript primarily consists of “fundamental” or “simple” data types which are used to create other data types. These data types are very similar to Java data types. Since ActionScript 3 was a complete rewrite of ActionScript 2, the data types and their inheritances have changed
ActionScript 2 top level data types
- String – A list of characters such as “Hello World”
- Number – Any Numeric value
- Boolean – A simple binary storage that can only be “true” or “false”.
- Object – Object is the data type all complex data types inherit from. It allows for the grouping of methods, functions, parameters, and other objects.
ActionScript 2 complex data types
There are additional “complex” data types. These are more processor and memory intensive and consist of many “simple” data types. For AS2, some these data types are:
- MovieClip – An ActionScript creation that allows easy usage of visible objects.
- TextField – A simple dynamic or input text field. Inherits the Movieclip type.
- Button – A simple button with 4 frames (states): Up, Over, Down and Hit. Inherits the MovieClip type.
- Date – Allows access to information about a specific point in time.
- Array – Allows linear storage of data.
- XML – An XML object
- XMLNode – An XML node
- LoadVars – A Load Variables object allows for the storing and send of HTTP POST and HTTP GET variables
- Sound
- NetStream
- NetConnection
- MovieClipLoader
- EventListener
ActionScript 3 top level data types (see Data type descriptions)
- Boolean – The Boolean data type has only two possible values: true and false. No other values are valid.
- int – The int data type is a 32-bit integer between -2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647.
- Null – The Null data type contains only one value, null. This is the default value for the String data type and all classes that define complex data types, including the Object class.
- Number – The Number data type can represent integers, unsigned integers, and floating-point numbers. The Number data type uses the 64-bit double-precision format as specified by the IEEE Standard for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic (IEEE-754).
- String – The String data type represents a sequence of 16-bit characters. Strings are stored internally as Unicode characters, using the UTF-16 format. Previous versions of flash used the UTF-8 format.
- uint – The uint (Unsigned Integer) data type is a 32-bit unsigned integer between 0 and 4,294,967,295.
- void – The void data type contains only one value, undefined. In previous versions of ActionScript, undefined was the default value for instances of the Object class. In ActionScript 3.0, the default value for Object instances is null.
ActionScript 3 complex data types (see Data type descriptions)
- Object – The Object data type is defined by the Object class. The Object class serves as the base class for all class definitions in ActionScript.
- Array – Contains a list of data. Though ActionScript 3 is a strongly-typed language, it does not support typed Arrays. Thus the contents of an Array may be of any type.
- Date
- Error
- Function
- RegExp
- XML
- XMLList
