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actionscript-3actionscriptactionscript-2
Gilbert Jacob
Gilbert Jacob

Reputation: 133

What is the limitation of Actionscript 2.0?

I would like to know if you have ideas about the LIMITATION of AS2.0? I've done some research about the difference of AS2.0 and AS3.0 but I need to have a clear understanding about the limitation of AS2.0 in order for me to confirm that AS3.0 is superior than its predecessor before I continue my study in AS3.0. Thank you.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 883

Answers (3)

Marty
Marty

Reputation: 39456

I used to develop games in ActionScript 2. I was very resistant to ActionScript 3 when it came out - I didn't even touch it until about 2 years after it was released.

When I finally did make the effort to learn it, I became frustrated with myself for not learning it sooner. It was so much cleaner and more powerful. I was able to create actual libraries for future projects as I worked, and download libraries for things that I didn't have the brain to develop myself, like physics.

It is extremely beneficial for you to learn ActionScript 3 - first off, lets look at what's happening with the two:

  • AS2 is being removed from future releases of Flash.
  • AS3 is still being worked on. A noteworthy example of this is the recently developed Stage3D API, which grants extremely efficient rendering for Flash.

Here are some core advantages of AS3 vs AS2:

  • It's object oriented. This is almost mandatory when working with large applications or games.
  • Because of this, there are hundreds of libraries available for AS3 that cover things like physics, particles, animation, MVC concepts, rendering improvements, etc.
  • Much nicer to use.
  • Easier to extend your knowledge once you get a grasp of the basics of object oriented programming.
  • It performs a lot better.
  • Easier to recycle code for future projects.
  • Learning ActionScript 3 will greatly improve your chances of being able to pick up additional popular languages like C#, Java, PHP and so on.
  • Much easier to find support - take a look at the quality of answers on Stack Overflow between AS2 and AS3.
  • You can create AIR applications, which can be built for iOS and Android devices.

Upvotes: 2

Pier
Pier

Reputation: 10837

The only reason you need to care about is that it's an obsolete language. Don't waste your time with AS2. There's a quantum leap from AS2 to AS3, not only in terms of what you can do, but in terms of the quality of the language itself.

As someone who made the transition in 2007 to AS3 (after using AS2 since 2000) here are the main advantages:

  1. Speed. When it was released, AS3 was 10 times faster than AS2. Today considering all the new features Adobe is introducing like Native Extensions, it's a lot faster than that.
  2. Publishing to mobile or dekstop apps. Face it: browser Flash is slowly dying.
  3. New features such as Stage3d or StageVideo.
  4. Learning AS3 will make you a better coder

Upvotes: 1

felwithe
felwithe

Reputation: 2744

AS2 is no longer supported in Flash Professional, so if Flash Pro is part of your design cycle or you ever want it to be, that's obviously a big limitation. (Adobe has said that the Flash Player will continue to support AS2, though, so if you don't use Flash Pro to develop you can still get by).

In terms of functions/behaviors that exist in AS3 but not AS2, Stage3D is one. I'll leave it to someone else to make a list, but basically, AS3 is the better (and definitely faster) choice for any situation I can think of.

Upvotes: 0

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