Flash CS3 Documentation 
Flash CS3 Documentation |
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| Programming ActionScript 3.0 > Getting started with ActionScript > Building applications with ActionScript > Choosing the right tool | |||
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Depending on the needs of your project and the resources you have available to you, you may want to use one of several tools (or multiple tools in conjunction with each other) for writing and editing your ActionScript code.
In addition to its graphics and animation creation capabilities, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional includes tools for working with ActionScript code, either attached to elements in a FLA file or in external ActionScript-only files. The Flash authoring tool is ideal for projects that involve significant animation or video or where you want to create most of the graphic assets yourself, particularly projects with minimal user interaction or functionality requiring ActionScript. Another reason you may choose to use the Flash authoring tool to develop your ActionScript project is if you prefer to create visual assets and write code in the same application. You may also want to use Flash authoring if you want to use pre-built user interface components, but smaller SWF size or easier visual skinning are key priorities for your project.
Adobe Flash CS3 Professional includes two tools for writing ActionScript code:
Adobe Flex Builder is the premier tool for creating projects with the Flex framework. In addition to its visual layout and MXML editing tools, Flex Builder also includes a full-featured ActionScript editor, so it can be used to create Flex or ActionScript-only projects. Flex applications have several benefits, including a rich set of pre-built user interface controls, flexible dynamic layout controls, and built-in mechanisms for working with external data sources and linking external data to user interface elements. However, because of the additional code required to provide these features, Flex applications can have a larger SWF file size and can't be completely re-skinned as easily as their Flash counterparts.
Use Flex Builder if you are creating full-featured, data-driven rich Internet applications with Flex, and you want to edit ActionScript code, edit MXML code, and lay out your application visually, all within a single tool.
Because ActionScript (.as) files are stored as simple text files, any program that is capable of editing plain text files can be used to write ActionScript files. In addition to Adobe's ActionScript products, several third-party text editing programs with ActionScript-specific capabilities have been created. You can write an MXML file or ActionScript classes using any text editor program. You can then create a SWF application (either a Flex or an ActionScript-only application) from those files using the Flex SDK, which includes the Flex framework classes as well as the Flex compiler. Alternatively, many developers use a third-party ActionScript editor for writing ActionScript classes, in combination with the Flash authoring tool for creating graphical content.
You might choose to use a third-party ActionScript editor if:
Some of the notable code editors providing ActionScript-specific support include:
Flash CS3
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