Appendix A: Glossary

A-C

action(s)

a Flash term for a script or a part of a script

architecture

in the context of programming, architecture is the structure of an application's components, the organization of classes, methods and properties.

Array

a collection of values, each of which can be accessed (set or retrieved) by means of a numerical index

AS files

an ActionScript class file in the form of an external text file

ASDT

ActionScript Development Tool, a plugin for the Eclipse IDE available at sourceforge.net/projects/aseclipseplugin/

authoring environment

in the context of Flash, the application and respective tools that are used to create SWF files

binary numbers

numbers represented using only two symbols, typically 0 and 1

bit

one digit of a binary number

bitwise operators

operators used to set or manipulate the individual bits of a binary number

Boolean

a data type used to store a true or false (binary) value

byte code

a compact representation of a computer program that can be efficiently interpreted and executed on a variety of hardware platforms

class

a data type used to encapsulate (group) related data and functions. Classes can be instantiated, and the instances of a class are referred to as Objects.

class file

a text file that defines a class

code hint

a context-sensitive popup that provides reference information about selected code

collaboration

working together, simultaneously, on the source files of an application. Typically...