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Introduction to XML in Flash
by senocular
Finding Your Way Around An XML Object
Once you know (or think you know) what is what
in a Flash XML instance, it's time to figure
out how to extract that what so that you can
use it for your evil conquests of world domination...
and... other Flash needs too. Navigating an
XML object can be just as hard, if not harder,
than simply understanding its structure. Though
once you understand the structure, navigation
becomes a bit easier.
Because arrays are used heavily in storing
elements, looping will start to become your
favorite pastime when working with XML. Loops
(for and while) in Flash allow
you to easily cycle through all elements of
an array, or, in the case of XML, all the children
of an element, allowing you access each one
of those nodes individually within each iteration
of the loop. Depending on the structure of your
XML, for loops may need to be nested in order
to loop through elements within elements already
being looped through. That's always fun right?
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Note: Design XML for Accessibility |
If
you are in direct control of the
structure of your XML file, you
may want to try, if possible,
to minimize the number of levels
in the XML hierarchy. The fewer
nested loops you need to implement,
the better. There are other ways
around nested loops which will
be brought up later. But it's
important that if you are designing
XML to be used primarily in Flash
that you design it to be easily
navigable. |
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