[CoLoCo] Is creating something in flash == programming?

[Kevin Fries]

Yea, I agree with Paul, 100% solidly in the grey.

Flash animation with ActionScript is commonly called Flex.  Flex with
offline capabilities is called AIR (which just released for Linux in
alpha form last week.... YEAH!!!!).

The problem you face is that there are books at Barns and Noble on Flex
and Air programming.  And they are identified as such.  But that is a
far cry from standard run of the mill Flash.

You will need to really look at the code to decipher if it is
programming or not.  I don't envy you on this one.

Kevin Fries



On Mon, 2008-04-07 at 15:37 -0600, Paul Hummer wrote:
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> Jim Hutchinson wrote:
> > I am a judge of our computer showcase competition and my category
> > is computer programming. I received two projects and both are done
> > in Flash. According to the rules, the code is to be entered "one
> > character at a time on a keyboard" and they can't use an authoring
> > tool. I have two flash project that have some code in the (if this
> > then jump to this frame kind of thing). Based on my understanding
> > of Flash, it doesn't qualify as a program but then I really don't
> > understand flash.
> >
> > Can anyone clarify Flash's standing in the programming world?
> Flash itself isn't programming.  It's more design.  The
> if...then...else that you're seeing is Actionscript.  Actionscript is
> almost identical to Javascript, with a few extra idioms (like classes
> and the like for OOP), however, both Javascript and Actionscript
> conform to the ECMAScript spec (or closely conform...)
> 
> I would say it's a toss up, and probably left to your discretion.  How
> much of the interaction in Flash is based on the Actionscript, and how
> much is generated by setting up the stages and making jump points,
> etc.  If most of the work was done in the Flash UI, and Actionscript
> is only there as support to the actual Flash animation stuff, I
> wouldn't give it to them (I would say it counts as an authoring
> tool).  If Actionscript is used heavily, it's programming.
> 
> However, I also think it's rather important to be encouraging.  If the
> rules weren't clear, maybe they should be clearer next year, and you
> should disqualify no one (but then again, I'm not at all an educator).
> 
> Thanks,
> Paul
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-- 
Kevin Fries
Senior Linux Engineer
Computer and Communications Technology, Inc
A Division of Japan Communications Inc.