folder hierarchy in flash cs5.5 - flash-cs5

Question

I'm trying to create a folder hierarchy in flash, the folders i have are
C:\uk\ac\uwe\webgames\math
in the math folder i have the following file called GameMath.as
package uk.ac.uwe.webgames.math{
public class GameMath {
// ------- Constructor -------
public function GameMath() {
}
// ------- Properties -------
const PI:Number = Math.PI;
// ------- Methods -------
public function areaOfCircle(radius:Number):Number {
var area:Number;
area = PI * radius * radius;
return area;
}
}
}
In the webgames folder i have a file called webgames_driver.fla
import uk.ac.uwe.webgames.math.GameMath;
import flash.text.TextField;
// Create a GameMath instance
var output:TextField = new TextField();
var aGameMathInstance:GameMath = new GameMath();
// you will need to create a dynamic textfield called
// output on the stage to display method return value
output.text=aGameMathInstance.areaOfCircle(5).toString();
addChild(output);
//trace(aGameMathInstance.areaOfCircle(1))
however i am getting the following errors
Scene 1, Layer 'Layer 1', Frame 1, Line 1 1172: Definition
uk.ac.uwe.webgames.math:GameMath could not be found.
Scene 1, Layer 'Layer 1', Frame 1, Line 1 1172: Definition
uk.ac.uwe.webgames.math:GameMath could not be found.
Scene 1, Layer 'Layer 1', Frame 1, Line 5 1046: Type was not found or
was not a compile-time constant: GameMath.
Scene 1, Layer 'Layer 1', Frame 1, Line 5 1180: Call to a possibly
undefined method GameMath.
Could anyone help coz i am just stuck, and i'm really new to flash

Answer 1

I'll put this in as basic and detailed terms as possible, not just for your benefit, but for anyone else reading this who isn't terribly experienced with custom classes. Better to get it all out there now and avoid confusion. (I know I wish some people had given me this level of detail on some of my early questions...)
The import code is for importing an .as class. As you know, the top of a class, you'd have code something like this (except from my own custom class, Trailcrest).
package trailcrest
{
public class sonus
{
Then, in my .fla or an .as file, I can use
import trailcrest.sonus;
I will mention that your .fla must be in the main directory that contains all the custom classes you want to import. My file layout is something like this (folders in parenthesis):
MyProject.fla
MyDocumentClass.as
(trailcrest)
sonus.as
Note that my package name corresponds with the folder structure, with the folder containing the .fla being assumed as the starting place by the code. If I wanted to use a package name like trailcrest.v1, the folders would have to be like this:
MyProject.fla
MyDocumentClass.as
(trailcrest)
(v1)
sonus.as
Then, I'd refer to my custom class using
import trailcrest.v1.sonus;
Note that MyProject.fla MUST be at the main directory of that folder structure. This is because Flash cannot search backwards through the folders, only forwards. So if I had a structure like...
(project)
MyProject.fla
MyDocumentClass.as
(trailcrest)
sonus.as
...then, the line of code...
import trailcrest.sonus;
...would search for the path "\project\trailcrest\sonus.as", which as you can see, doesn't exist. Flash isn't able to go to the parent folder of "\project\".
Your line of code...
import uk.ac.uwe.webgames.math.GameMath;
...is looking for the path "webgames\uk\ac\use\webgames\math\GameMath.as". (Remember, the code assumes the folder containing the .fla as the starting place, so the code is literally trying to go to "C:\uk\ac\uwe\webgames\uk\ac\use\webgames\math\GameMath.as")
To fix this, you'll need to change the package for GameMath.as:.
package math{
...and the import statement in your code:
import math.GameMath;
This will point everything to the literal path "C:\uk\ac\uwe\webgames\math\GameMath.as"
I hope this answers your question!