Chapter 14. Visual Programming with the Display List
FEATURED CLASSES
flash.display.DisplayObjectflash.display.DisplayObjectContainerflash.display.InteractiveObjectflash.display.Shapeflash.display.Spriteflash.display.MovieClipflash.display.Stageflash.display.*flash.geom.Pointflash.geom.Rectangle
The display list is the system Flash Player uses to create and manipulate graphics. Flash is and always has been a visual tool, so the display list is at the heart of Flash Player. You've come a long way in the first two parts and gained a good handle on ActionScript 3.0, but once you get your hands on the display list, you have the power to create anything you can imagine on-screen.
In this chapter, you'll learn what the display list is, how it's structured, what classes it contains, and how to use it to create and manipulate graphics. You'll use this knowledge throughout the remainder of the book and often come back to topics in more depth that are touched on here. So don't worry if you see a topic mentioned briefly here, and feel free to jump ahead if it strikes your fancy. For example, vector graphics and the Shape object are mentioned briefly here, but they're covered in their entirety in Chapter 35, "Programming Vector Graphics."
The display list is one area of Flash Player that has been completely redone for ActionScript 3.0. It doesn't bear much resemblance to the way things were done in ActionScript 2.0 and Flash Player 8 and earlier. If you're new to AS3, this is a vital chapter to ...
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