| With the introduction of the Studio MX family of products, including Flash MX, Macromedia abandoned a standard numeric versioning system for its Flash authoring tool. Subsequent to Flash MX, Macromedia incorporated the year of release in the product name (products released after September use the following year in the product name ). With the 2004 release, Macromedia also split the Flash authoring tool into two versions: Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004, as discussed in Table P-1. The principal features specific to the Professional edition are: -
Screens (form- and slide-based content development) -
Additional video tools -
Project and asset management tools -
An external script editor -
Databinding (linking components to data sources obtained via web services, XML, or record sets) -
Advanced components (however, Flash MX Professional 2004 components work happily in Flash MX 2004) -
Mobile device development tools The techniques taught in this book can be used in both Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004, although I note the rare circumstances in which the two versions differ as pertaining to development in ActionScript 2.0. Unlike the Flash authoring tool, the Flash Player is still versioned numerically ; at press time, the latest version is Flash Player 7. Table P-1 describes the naming conventions used in this book for Flash versions. Table P-1. Flash naming conventions used in this book | Name | Meaning | | Flash MX | The version of the Flash authoring tool that was released at the same time as Flash Player 6. | | Flash MX 2004 | The standard edition of the Flash authoring tool that was released at the same time as Flash Player 7. In the general sense, the term "Flash MX 2004" is used to refer to both the standard edition (Flash MX 2004) and the Professional edition (Flash MX Professional 2004) of the software. When discussing a feature that is limited to the Professional edition, this text states the limitation explicitly. | | Flash MX Professional 2004 | The Professional edition of the Flash authoring tool that was released at the same time as Flash Player 7. The Professional edition includes some features not found in the standard edition (see preceding list). The Professional edition is not required for this book or to use ActionScript 2.0. | | Flash Player 7 | The Flash Player, version 7. The Flash Player is a browser plugin for major web browsers on Windows and Macintosh. At press time, Flash Player 6, but not Flash Player 7, was available for Linux. There are both ActiveX control and Netscape-style versions of the plugin, but I refer to them collectively as "Flash Player 7." | | Flash Player x .0. y .0 | The Flash Player, specifically , the release specified by major version number x and major build number y , as in Flash Player 7.0.19.0. The minor version number and minor build number of publicly released versions is always 0. | | Standalone Player | A version of the Flash Player that runs directly as an executable off the local system, rather than as a web browser plugin or ActiveX control. | | Projector | A self-sufficient executable that includes both a .swf file and a Standalone Player. Projectors can be built for either the Macintosh or Windows operating system using Flash's File  Publish feature. |
|
