Just in case you can’t remember:
In part two:
1) name the infoBox movieclip on the stage to “iClip”
2) right click on your image button in the library, select “linkage”. Click “export for actionscript”. Name the class “nextb”.
Here is the actions for lab 6:
This has been a rather big week in web technologies. First google chrome, now our friend Cappuccino. It is yet another way to create RIAs. This takes the power of javascript and the DOM and moves it to insane levels.
Not relevant to this class, but keep your eyes out.
In the past few years, the internet landscape has changed tremendously in terms of interactive multimedia technologies. Only two years ago, Flash was king, and Youtube was just beginning to become the smash hit that it is now. Broadband wasn’t new, but it was just coming to its full promenince; it was in this state the term Rich Internet Application was born. Today a RIA culture is not new and exciting, its the standard. Many technologies are able to produce the RIA effect, and flash has some real competitors that must be taken into account when choosing the right technology to RIA implementation.
1) Silverlight
Introduced last year, Silverlight is Microsoft’s Flash. Sparsely used currently, Microsoft is refining the technology to press its strongpoints overflash, and shore up its current weaknesses, in hopes that it will become a real player soon. Instead of a full IDE such as we have with Adobe Flash CS3, Silverlight is a combination of .NET programming combined with integration to Microsoft’s Expression Studio.
Strengths: video streaming, advertising, .NET integration
2) Unity
Unity is a efficient 3D gaming platform for the web. It can do everything you expect a standard videogame to do, only within a browser setting, and accross platforms. It is however one of the most difficult to get started using, costs a fee to use, and has a low install base currently ( although with quality games like Jetpack Brontosaurus leading the way, that is soon to change ).
Strengths: A full broswer-based 3D game engine, cross-platform.
3) AJAX
Codename for Asynchronous Javascript And XML, it actually means for us: using javascript to controll the XML DOM in useful and interactive ways. This is best accomplished with a Javascript library such as jQuery or scriptaculous. Interactions can be rather complex, but animation, options, and perfromance will be the lowest of the three.
Strengths: No plugin required, loads up inline with the HTML page served.
While you may not be learning these technologies in class, many of the principles you learn will apply to them. Keep them in mind as you move on; developing an expertise with one of these technologies may help you as much, or more, than one in flash.
Flash is frustrating, easy, and fun. All at the same time. The next few lectures should explain just what and why we did what we did in more depth. To add to your grasp of animation in Flash, I found a good starting point for learning flash animation: a wonderful blog/tutotial website called Keyframer. I’d advise checking the website out, and paying close attention to what is on that right column.
Labs are due at 5pm this Friday, so make sure you have them done and in the G-drive by then.
This is the wonderful, introductory post for the CGT 353 class blog. In the coming days it will be filled with helpful tips and tricks, news, and other nuggets of knowledge that will help you succeed in class and beyond.
Recommended: get an RSS reader, subscribe to this feed, and keep updated. Interaction on the blog, and with our guest writers is also highly encouraged.
About me: I am Travis Faas, just recently gaduated from Purdue with a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Graphics Technology. I have worked on multiple flash and multimedia projects previously, and have run the gauntlets of CGT 353 and CGT 451.