compiling actionscript from command line using MXMLC

flash actionscript-3 actionscript command-line mxmlc
I. J. Kennedy picture I. J. Kennedy · May 20, 2009 · Viewed 17.1k times · Source

I have a tiny actionscript "project" consisting of two files, call them foo.as and bar.as. For reasons I won't go into, I really really want to build the .SWF from the command line, without setting up a formal project of any kind. Every compiler I've ever used lets you do this, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to coerce MXMLC into compiling these two files and linking them into a SWF.

Naively, I try

MXMLC foo.as bar.as

but I'm informed that only one source file is allowed.

Ok, supposing I compiled these two files separately, how would I link them together to get the final SWF?

NOTE: The only reason I have two files instead of one is the requirement of only one class per file. I tried putting both classes in one file and making one of the classes private or internal but neither of these ideas worked. I would be ecstatic to find out I can put more than one class in a file (with only one being public).

Answer

Adam Harte picture Adam Harte · May 20, 2009

This is a two part question, so I will answer both separately.

Compiling two class files into one SWF

MXMLC will automagiclly compile all classes it finds from the entry point you give it (your main class). It finds classes from your import statements, and full class path definitions.

Here is a really good guide for using MXMLC command line to compile your AS3 projects. The article is a bit dated, but the information is still good. He goes into detail about the things you need to know when using the command line compiler, including the MXMLC options, writing BAT scripts, and a bit about AS3 that you can probably skip if you know what your doing.

Having more than one class in a file

AS3 allows you to have one class per file, plus as much "helper" classes as you like. It does not support protected and private classes like Java does. Helper classes are only visible in the file they are defined.

Helper classes sit outside the package declaration (which is a little weird to me). Here is an example:

package com.mynamespace
{
     public class Foo 
     {
          private var _fooHelper:FooHelper = new FooHelper();
     }
}

// helper class imports also go outside the package.
import com.example.xml.SaxHandler;
class FooHelper
{
     private var bar:Number = Math.random();
}

Related questions

Understanding Array::splice in ActionScript 3

I am trying to remove an object from an array, but for some reason it's not working. I am under the impression that a splice accepts 2 parameters: first, the position in the array to begin at. And for parameter 2, how …

Read More
For VS Foreach on Array performance (in AS3/Flex)

Which one is faster? Why? var messages:Array = [.....] // 1 - for var len:int = messages.length; for (var i:int = 0; i < len; i++) { var o:Object = messages[i]; // ... } // 2 - foreach for each (var o:Object in messages) { // ... }

Read More
Flash AS3 Global Variables?

HI i have a main class //main.as package { public class main { public var testGlobal:string = "testValue"; } } //pop.as package { public class pop { function pop():void { trace("testGloabl from main.as" + testGlobal); } } } How can i get the testGlobal value on …

Read More