information designer

The DIGG API for AS3 is set up for use in Flex, not the Flash CS3 IDE (which seems to be a bad trend). Even though you can make it work without Flex, it’s not exactly straight forward. It also does not include any examples to help a developer get started. Unlike the AS2 version of the API, which includes three semi-useful examples.

In my quest to become Actionscript 3.0 / OOP proficient I put together this simple example using the DIGG API to pull the last 10 popular stories. Right now it’s only using the TextField to display and handle the events so there is no useHandCursor option unless you attach it to a Sprite or SimpleButton. But I added a rollover color and these are linked to the articles on DIGG.

Flash Content

Source Code

Note: The source code includes the entire set of Flex 2 classes, as the Digg API requires it and I wasn’t sure how to strip out the unused classes. I wanted to include everything necessary to publish from the Flash IDE.

ProximityManager for AS3 is a new class released by Grant Skinner who has recently updated it from his AS2 version. This is a great resource for graphing data or creating an interface based on proximity. Looking forward to playing with this one.

Flare Visualization Toolkit is a collection of ActionScript 3 classes for building a wide variety of interactive visualizations. The Demo page shows off some very interesting interactive graphing effects, I especially like the Distortion > Fisheye XY demo. Includes an API set up for Flex and documentation with tutorial.

BulkLoader for AS3 is a minimal library written in Actionscript 3 (AS3) that aims to make loading and managing complex loading requirements easier and faster. BulkLoader takes a more dynamic, less architecture heavy aproach. Few imports and making heavy use of AS3’s dynamic capabilities, BulkLoader has a one-liner feel that doesn’t get your way.

Google Code: http://code.google.com/p/bulk-loader/

ScaleBitmap : 9-slice bitmap class is a simple (AS3) class which allows you to resize dynamically any Bitmap (just like the MovieClip.scale9Grid feature)