Flash has had the ability to do 3D for quite some time now, natively, without using any of the fancy libraries out there like PaperVision3D.  All you have to do is set the z property on a MovieClip.  Seriously, that’s all it takes.  And you know how you can rotate a MovieClip by setting the rotation parameter?  Now there are rotationX, rotationY, and rotationZ parameters.  Changing any of these through code will result in the MovieClip being displayed in three dimensions.  Groovy!

Here is a small example.  There are two ellipses that move back and forth in the Z axis.  They also rotate in three dimensions, one around the X axis and one around the Y axis.

Click here to download the source FLA for this demo.  It is a Flash CS5 file, so you must have Flash CS5 to open it.

Here is the source code, in case you don’t have Flash CS5.  All you need to do is add two MovieClips to the stage, one called ellipse1 and the other called ellipse2.

const BACK:int = 1000;
const FRONT:int = -100;

function frameHandler(e:Event):void
{
	var mc:MovieClip = e.currentTarget as MovieClip;
	if(mc.z > BACK)
    {
        mc.z = BACK;
        mc.dir = -1;
    }
    else if (mc.z < FRONT)
    {
        mc.z = FRONT;
        mc.dir = 1;
    }
    mc.z += mc.dir * mc.moveSpeed;
	mc.rotationX += mc.rotXSpeed;
	mc.rotationY += mc.rotYSpeed;
}

ellipse1.shapeIndex = 0;
ellipse1.dir = 1;
ellipse1.rotXSpeed = 3;
ellipse1.rotYSpeed = 0;
ellipse1.moveSpeed = 10;
ellipse2.shapeIndex = 1;
ellipse2.dir = 1;
ellipse2.rotXSpeed = 0;
ellipse2.rotYSpeed = -5;
ellipse2.moveSpeed = 15;
ellipse1.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, frameHandler);
ellipse2.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, frameHandler);

More to come in the future! 3D Flash is an exciting world to explore!

EDIT: I realize the title of this blog post is slightly misleading.  I mentioned Flex, and the Flex part doesn’t come until the next post.  My apologies.  This example of 3D in ActionScript 3 is entirely Flash-based.

While on the topic of the iPod, I wonder why the included safari browser doesn’t allow you to download files from the web. I mean, I have an iPod that can surf the web, and I can’t download music to it from a server I own, nor can I download pictures to it unless I email them to myself. That is quite annoying!! I haven’t checked to see if I can email myself mp3s and download them to the iPod – I’ll have to try that and get back to you.

All in all, though, the iPod touch is an incredible piece of hardware and software. I mean, it beats the computer I first learned to program on at the tender age of 11 in every aspect, from memory to processor to storage. Plus it connects to wi-fi, plays mp3s and video, has a touchscreen, and a better display than what I used to use in my games back then (I started programming games I’m mode X – 320 by 240 graphics, 256 colors). And did I mention it fits in the palm of my hand? We do indeed live in a marvelous world.