Thanks again for these EXCELLENT tutorials. I have learnt SO MUCH from them.

In the above example that started this post, our two classes are Main and ImageGallery. In Image Gallery you have a variable numberOfImagesICanDisplay:int = 5.

When the ImageGallery Class is instantiated inside Main the Main Class can trace out the value of numberOfImagesICanDisplay showing that we can pass the value of the variable inside the ImageGallery Class to the Main Class which is instantiating it.

I tried to change the value of numberOfImagesICanDisplay fromm inside the Main Class by using (as you suggested)

imageGallery.numberOfImagesICanDisplay:int = 8;

Allthough I used a more reasonable number.

However it keeps throwing up the error;

Main.as, Line 17 1078: Label must be a simple identifier.

My code is as follows;

Inside Main.as

public class Main extends MovieClip
{
public function Main()
{
var imageGallery:ImageGallery = new ImageGallery();
addChild(imageGallery);

}

function Change ()
{

imageGallery.numberOfImagesICanDisplay:int = 8;
}
}
}

Inside ImageGallery.as

package
{
import flash.display.MovieClip;

public class ImageGallery extends MovieClip
{
public var numberOfImagesICanDisplay:int = 5;
public function ImageGallery()
{
trace(numberOfImagesICanDisplay);
}
}
}

Any idea what the problem is ?

Thanks

Paul

you can shorten your code even shorter by combining the custom event and passing of the variable into one line.

dispatchEvent(new VendingMachineEvent(VendingMachineEvent.RETURN_SNACK, snack));

for others wanting to know what the VendingMachineEvent class would look like:


package
{
import flash.events.Event;

public function VendingMachineEvent(type:String, snack:*)
{
this.snack = snack;
super(type);
}
}
}


and then like Andres mentioned, your receiver method:


private function getASnack(e:VendingMachineEvent):void
{
var mySnack:[what type] = e.snack;
}


Your style of writing resembles that of the Head First book series. The series boasts a philosophy of trying to make the reader “care about the material like it was a tiger charging him.” (Something like that)

Thanks for helping me get to grips with classes. ^^

But yeah, in general I agree. I don’t like to spend extra time on code organization and housekeeping when I could be actually making the game… I’m still working on getting that balance right.

Also, not sure if you saw this but I included your Understanding Classes in AS3 series as one of three tutorials I recommend for getting started with AS3 game programming. (click my name for the article) Let me know if there are any other tutorials you think I should include. :)

You create a custom Event Class for your vending machine that extends from flash.events.Event (say, VendingMachineEvent), set the constant for the event (like your RETURN_SNACK), and add a public variable with the info you want to pass (snack).

Your return snack method would look like this:

var event : VendingMachineEvent = new VendingMachineEvent(VendingMachineEvent.RETURN_SNACK);
event.snack = mySnack;
dispatchEvent(event);

Your receiver method getASnack would have (event : VendingMachineEvent ) as the parameter instead. And voila, you can call event.snack and both you and us eggheads are happy :)

You can re-use this custom event every time you need to send the same variables around. Egghead supremus would say that if the variables you want to send change, you should create a new custom event class. While I advocate that, at times it might get ridiculous (tons and TONS of slightly different events)…and truth be told, we eggheads are pragmatic, too. I’ve sent that convention to hell myself a few times.

I hope that was clear enough!

Custom events can be a pain, but when I finally buckle down and use them I find I see the benefits quickly more often than not.

Please share the series with people who are a month behind you. Let’s save each other the torment!

I do everything via the cheaterpants method, mainly because I hate as3 events with a passion