The deep end
It could be a mistake, but I am attempting to construct my new website home page using Flash and ActionScript 3. Unlike the more accessible ActionScript 2, AS3 is a real programming language. I am not a real programmer. This could be a difficult project.
The difficulties begin with the documentation. I think the authors of the Flash Help pages assumed the readers would be programmers. Learning AS3 means learning to understand the terms used to describe the various objects, parameters, and methods provided for by the language.
Testing is also difficult. Some of the actions I want to enable are simple: button states, status checks. Some are more difficult. I have become a fan using interactions between Flash and HTML and the things that jQuery can facilitate. When I start incorporating AJAX requests, the points of failure in the test of any feature multiples. Is there a problem with my ActionScript, the JavaScript, or with the resource I am requesting through AJAX?
A starting point for solving these problems might be the development of a better error tracking scheme. Within the Flash authoring environment, I can use trace actions. Flash will also generate error message when something is wrong. JavaScript errors can be tracked using Firebug (something I have learned I cannot live without). But when a SWF file is being run within an HTML page, there is no easy error checking. Any error messages must be tracked with event listeners. The output needs to be displayed on the animation stage. Perhaps I should create a reusable widget that can be applied to any Flash file for tracking this information.
I am also struggling with justification for using Flash. Most (but not all) of the actions I’d like to enable with Flash could be done using HTML/CSS/jQuery. Why go through the pain of developing all or parts of my website using Flash? The answer I come back to is “so I can learn to swim.” Sometimes, the best way to learn something is to jump into the deep end. The knowledge could be valuable.