Why Use ActionScript 3.0 in Flash Based eLearning Development?

Why Use ActionScript 3.0 in Flash Based eLearning Development? Adobe Flash Professional is undoubtedly the most popular tool for custom eLearning development. With the help of its inbuilt programming language ActionScript developers can code interactions, communicate with servers, program animations etc. The latest version of ActionScript- ActionScript 3.0 [AS 3.0] was released in 2006. It has many new APIs and better performance which were not available in the previous versions of ActionScript [AS 1.0 & AS 2.0] and is well backed by a great Flash developer community that has contributed in developing many open source frameworks/classes/APIs.

Here are some of the advantages of using AS 3.0 over AS 1.0 or AS 2.0 –

Organized code – it has better object-oriented structure which includes things like runtime typing, sealed classes, packages, namespaces, and an improved event model.
Easier troubleshooting and debugging – AS 3.0 has strict error checking which means less chances for bugs and errors. Tools like Flash/Flex Builder built over Eclipse platform provide advance debugging features by adding breakpoints, step-in, step-over and other such features. Flash Builder 4 will have better integration with Flash Professional which will make things easier for developers.
New APIs and Frameworks – Adobe has developed many new capabilities in Flash Player, AS 3.0 can take advantage of all these new capabilities using the new APIs and Frameworks. Here are some of them –
1. Sound APIs – AS 3.0 has improved sound APIs which can now tell the sound level of the audio playing in Flash Player. This can be used to control the lip movements of an on screen character by finding out the sound-level. The sound API also has the capability to generate sound dynamically.
2. 3D support – with this the developers can reposition, rotate, and transform 2D Flash objects in 3D space. This can help in creating some really cool animations and effects which were not possible in previous versions.
3. Better XML rendering – XML parsing is a hassle with AS 1.0 and AS 2.0 as we have to access the XML using its native methods like firstChild, childNodes etc. AS 3.0 has full implementation of ECMAScript for XML (E4X). With the help of this new API developers can now access the nodes within the XML objects by referring the name of the nodes with simple dot notation in XML hierarchy. It also has some new features for searching the value of attributes and nodes.
4. Text layout framework – it’s a framework built on new text engine in Flash player 10 which can be used with AS 3.0. It supports bidirectional, vertical text which helps working with most of the popular languages used in world. It also supports multi column text, inline images etc.

There are a few more classes/frameworks developed like Squiggly – a spell check engine, OSMF [Open Source Media Framework] – a video media player for Flash and AIR which work with AS 3.0.

Backward compatibility – AS 3.0 can load and play the files developed in AS 1.0 and AS 2.0 with very few constraints (find them documented here). This would allow AS 1.0 or AS 2.0 files created using rapid eLearning tools [like Raptivity etc.] to play within AS 3.0 player which is not the case otherwise.
Open source classes and frameworks – the real strength using AS 3.0 comes from using open source libraries/classes which help developers not reinvent the wheel. Some of these libraries/classes are even backed by Adobe. Using the libraries like Papervision and Tweener we can create complex 3D interactions which are not possible in AS 2.0. There are also a few Social media libraries/classes.
Access to byte level data – with AS 3.0 developers have access to the binary data, allowing them to render any file format in Flash Player. So file formats like wav format, bmp [image format], and animated gif [image format] can now be rendered and displayed/played in Flash Player which was not possible with earlier versions. There are many free AS 3.0 libraries available to achieve all this. The eLearning developers can make use of these libraries to load common audio [wav] and image [bmp] formats.
Desktop publishing – Adobe AIR which allows developing cross platform applications for desktop, uses AS 3.0 as one of its programming language. The eLearning applications developed in AIR enable learner to take the courses offline and publish the various updates like scores or completion status when they are online again.
Performance – The part of Flash player that renders AS 3.0 content has been written from scratch to provide better performance resulting in AS 3.0 code to runs 10 times faster than its predecessors. This means the content runs much smoother with AS 3.0.
Multiplatform support – we have earlier mentioned in one of our posts about the open screen project in which Adobe is working with various computer, mobile and TV vendors to deliver singular experience across multiple devices using Flash and AIR. AS 3.0 is going to be the standard language for all this development.

One issue you may face while developing the content in AS 3.0 is that some of the popular rapid eLearning tools [like Articualte, Content Point, Quarbon’s Viewlet Builder6] support AS 1.0 or AS 2.0 only, and can’t play the files developed using AS 3.0. So while developing the stand alone AS 3.0 Flash files make sure that it’s targeted eLearning content player supports that. Another issue could be the steep learning curve for AS 3.0 as it is completely different from AS 1.0 or AS 2.0.

Do share any other reasons you may have for using AS 3.0 in eLearning development.

Comments ( 9 comments )

Lee Graham March 22, 2010 at 10:11 pm

The BIGGEST reason is because of Adobe’s coming improvements with Flash CS5 and AIR 2. People will be able to take their AS3 skills and develop apps that run on the iPhone, Android OS, webOS, desktops & on the web.
Mark March 22, 2010 at 11:19 pm

The biggest problem for me with using AS3 is that Adobe Connect Pro (both the Meeting and Training modules) do not work with AS3-based swf files, since Connect Pro itself is an AS2 swf. It’s really holding a lot of people back since they use Connect Pro as their primary content delivery system.
Yogesh March 23, 2010 at 3:01 pm

@Lee – yes I agree multiplatform support would be the biggest advantage. But we still have to wait for the release of Flash professional CS5 and Flash player 10.1 versions for mobile devices to find out the constraints and issues.
@Mark – yes you are right it would be holding back some organizations to use AS 3.0 in eLearning development. Connect pro iPhone app has been developed using Flash CS5 [with AS 3.0], so I am sure that Adobe will upgrade the desktop version also to AS 3.0.
Lee Graham March 23, 2010 at 5:52 pm

@Yogesh – very true. I’m actually in the beta program, so sometimes I forget there no public beta yet. They’ve publically promised not only the ability to build iPhone app, but now iPad apps. And if you look at the majority of the Android OS tablets (WePad, Moby, ADAM, etc…) they have built in support for AIR.
We live in some very exciting times!
Mark March 23, 2010 at 6:15 pm

@Yogesh – I wish they could but it will be a long time before Adobe Connect Pro is converted to AS3. The entire app (communication protocols, pods, authentication, xml api, etc.) is written in AS2.
At this point they have not hinted at an AS3-based version. The desktop-based add-in is not the problem, it’s the server-based application itself. It runs in the AVM1 runtime, and the AVM1 runtime simply cannot be made to work with AVM2-based content. They would have to convert the entire codebase to AS3, and that would be a huge undertaking and a big risk given the resources they’d have to throw at it. On top of that, all of the problems associated with running AS2-based content in a new AS3-based Connect would be a nightmare for the majority of users who are perfectly content with AS2 as they don’t do much coding. : (
elmo April 28, 2010 at 10:29 pm

Does anyone know of a good online course I can take or a mentor I could pay for lessons in Action Script? I have an edtech degree but I need to freshen up on Flash and Action Script. As I would like to find someone that could teach me lessons throughout the summer. Please contact me if you know of anyone that would like to do thgis.
God Bless,
Mark “ELMO” Ellis
Lee Graham April 29, 2010 at 7:19 am

I highly recommend either: Lynda.com & http://www.amazon.com/Essential-ActionScript-3-0-Colin-Moock/dp/0596526946/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272507575&sr=8-1
mark April 29, 2010 at 7:26 am

For a beginner the best book I’ve (and many others) have found is Learning ActionScript 3.0 by Rich Shupe. It’s a great book and worth buying. Even has color pages.
rockyroberts007 February 24, 2011 at 7:15 pm

can a flash AS3 programmer in e learning industry earn well? and does a flash programmer play a major role in e learning?
what are d industries where flash programmers have great scope?
many say that flash is dying, is that true?
flash programming not available in many mnc companies like java or c#..why?

Why Use ActionScript 3.0 in Flash Based eLearning Development?

Yogesh Agarwal | March 22, 2010 | eLearning Development