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5 reasons why ActionScript2 is still useful

ActionScript3 is without a doubt more advanced language than ActionScript2 and each day more and more programmers move to work with it, however this doesn't mean ActionScript2 should stop existing - I mean, there must be a reason why Adobe haven't kill it yet. Here are 5 reasons why ActionScript2 can still be useful:

5. Easier to learn.
For people only just started their journey with Flash and have not decided yet about their language of choice, AS2 is a great introduction into programming. Not only does it avoid complex programming concepts (for example, type casting), it also does everything in its power to keep the application running.

4. Focused purpose.
With ActionScript3 you can achieve much more than with ActionScript2, but this in exchange requires more involvement from the programmer, sometimes even requiring knowledge outside of the standard documentation (Socket communication, hardware acceleration, 3D graphics). ActionScript does less, but usually it is enough.

3. In basic usage the speed is not a problem.
This has to be the most popular argument in the "AS2 vs AS3" debate, however the truth is, the fastest way to encumber the application is to use complex graphics, rather than the older code. If you aren't sure that you need the speed, chances are you don't.

2. The basic stuff requires less time to create.
Lets say we want to create a simple button that will open a desired website.
In ActionScript2 this will be enough:
on(press) {
	getURL("http://4as.pl");
}
ActionScript3 requires a bit more:
import flash.events.MouseEvent;
import flash.net.navigateToURL;
import flash.net.URLRequest;
buttonMode = true;
addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK,onMouseClick);
function onMouseClick(e:MouseEvent):void {
	navigateToURL(new URLRequest("http://4as.pl"));
}
And not to mention stuff like MovieClip duplication

1. Better compatibility
Often it is easy to forget that Flash isn't exclusive to the PCs - With ActionScript2 there is a bigger potential for wider audience, especially with mobile devices where working with newer versions of Flash Player might be a bit... troublesome.

But all in all ActionScript3 is without a doubt a superior language and is ‘a must’ if we are serious about programming in Flash, especially in more advanced topics like game design.


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