User Guide
50 Chapter 3: Using ActionScript
Using the #include directive
The
#include directive is an ActionScript statement that copies the contents of the specified file
into your MXML file. The
#include directive uses the following syntax:
#include "file_name"
The following example includes the myfunctions.as file:
<mx:Script>
<![CDATA[
#include "myfunctions.as"
...
]]>
</mx:Script>
Note: The
#include directive is a special kind of ActionScript statement. Do not end the line with a
semicolon. If you do, you get a “Malformed
#include directive” error message. In addition, you must
surround the target file with quotation marks.
You can only specify a single file for each #include directive, but you can use any number of
#include directives. You can next #include directives; files with #include directives can include
files that have
#include directives.
The
#include directive supports only relative paths. For more information, see “Referring to
external files” on page 51.
You can only use the
#include where multiple statements are allowed. For example, the following
is not allowed:
if (expr)
#include "foo.as" // First statement is guarded by IF, but the rest are not.
...
The following is allowed:
if (expr) {
#include "foo.as" // All statements inside { } are guarded by IF.
}
The use of curly braces ({ }) allows multiple statements because you can add multiple statements
inside the braces.
Macromedia recommends against using the
#include directive if you use a large number of
included ActionScript files. You should try to break the code into separate class files where
appropriate and store them in logical package structures.