User Guide

200 Chapter 7: Using the Built-In Classes
Classes specific to Flash Player
The following sections list the classes that are specific to Flash Player and the Flash runtime
model. For the purposes of understanding ActionScript, these classes are typically grouped into
four categories:
• “Media classes” on page 201 for working with sound and video
• “Movie classes” on page 202, which provide overall control over most visual elements in SWF
files and over Flash Player
• “Client-server classes” on page 203 for working with XML and other external data sources
• “Authoring classes” on page 204, which provide control for SWF files used in the Flash
authoring environment
This categorization affects the locations of the classes in the Actions toolbox but not how you use
the classes.
Math The Math class provides convenient access to common mathematical
constants and provides several common mathematical functions. All the
properties and methods of the Math class are static and must be called with
the syntax
Math.method(parameter) or Math.constant. See “Math class”in
Flash ActionScript Language Reference.
Number The Number class is a wrapper for the primitive number data type. See
“Number class”in Flash ActionScript Language Reference.
Object The Object class is at the root of the ActionScript class hierarchy; all other
classes inherit its methods and properties. See “Object class”in Flash
ActionScript Language Reference.
String The String class is a wrapper for the string primitive data type, which lets you
use the methods and properties of the String object to manipulate primitive
string value types. See “String class”in Flash ActionScript Language
Reference.
System The System class provides information about Flash Player and the system on
which Flash Player is running (for example, screen resolution and current
system language). It also lets you show or hide the Flash Player Settings
panel and modify SWF file security settings. See “System class”in Flash
ActionScript Language Reference.
Class Description