Adobe FLEX 2-PROGRAMMING ACTIONSCRIPT 3.0 Manual page 162

Core display classes
The ActionScript 3.0 flash.display package includes classes for visual objects that can appear
in Flash Player. The following illustration shows the subclass relationships of these core
display object classes.
AVM1Movie Bitmap
DisplayObjectContainer
Loader Sprite
MovieClip
The illustration shows the class inheritance of display object classes. Note that some of these
classes, specifically StaticText, TextField, and Video, are not in the flash.display package, but
they still inherit from the DisplayObject class.
All classes that extend the DisplayObject class inherit its methods and properties. For more
information, see "Properties and methods of the DisplayObject class" on page
You can instantiate objects of the following classes contained in the flash.display package:
Bitmap—You use the Bitmap class to define bitmap objects, either loaded from external
■
files or rendered through ActionScript. You can load bitmaps from external files through
the Loader class. You can load GIF, JPG, or PNG files. You can also create a BitmapData
object with custom data and then create a Bitmap object that uses that data. You can use
the methods of the BitmapData class to alter bitmaps, whether they are loaded or created
in ActionScript. For more information, see
and manipulating bitmaps" on page
Loader—You use the Loader class to load external assets (either SWF files or graphics).
■
For more information, see
Shape—You use the Shape class to create vector graphics, such as rectangles, lines, circles,
■
and so on. For more information, see
SimpleButton—A SimpleButton object has three button states: up, down, and over. For
■
more information, see
162 Display Programming
InteractiveObject
SimpleButton
Stage
"The Loader class" on page 179
184.
"Loading content dynamically" on page
"Drawing vector graphics" on page
"Working with SimpleButton objects" on page
MorphShape Shape
TextField
StaticText
167.
and "Creating
179.
176.
184.