AS2 Class Instance Delete

[Jayhoo]

How do you delete an Object instance created from a Class?

Below is the class from TestDestroy.as

class TestDestroy extends Key
{
	public var myListen:Object
	public var aNumber:Number
	public var aClip:MovieClip
	
	function TestDestroy(clip:MovieClip)
	{
		this.aClip=clip
		this.aNumber=10
		this.myListen=new Object()
		
		Key.addListener(this.myListen)
		
		this.myListen.onKeyDown=this.killME
	}
	
	public function killME():Void
	{
		trace("kill")
		delete this		
	}
	
	
}

Now in the flas movie i have

var destroyTest:TestDestroy=new TestDestroy(_root.Ball)

trace("destroyTest:"+destroyTest)

The trace returns undefined but i can access the Object properties etc.. hence the aNumber and aClip additions.

i cant delete the Object instance from inside the class or from the main timeline.

Obviously it cant find the object as it is undefined, but list the objects when published and its there!.

Very odd

I am transfering to AS2 from AS1 and may have missed something but it is quite confusing that and object instance can exist but cant be destroyed, but can be referenced!

Any pointers gratefuilly recieved

Cheers
JOn

[theTick]

what about:
trace("destroyTest:"+(typeof destroyTest));
if you want to delete it:

delete destroyTest;

[Jayhoo]

thanks for the reply.

trace("destroyTest:"+(typeof destroyTest));

does give me an Object trace and

delete destroyTest;

does clear the object ( i needed to delete the Key listener too)

However:

destroyTest.KillME()

Doesnt do anything.

There must be a way of using a class Method to delete / destroy the Object instance ...isnt there?


I have attached a zip file with the class .as file and fla.
I have commented the file a little so you can see what i am doing, and tehre is an UPDATE method called from the main timeline to see if the Object instance is still there.

Hopefully the files will make more sense than my ramblings

Thanks again and i hope you (or anyone else) can give me some pointers

Cheers
JOn

[deadbeat]

There must be a way of using a class Method to delete / destroy the Object instance ...isnt there?

Not really, no - Flash will only delete an object if no references to it remain anywhere in memory...and since you create a reference that exists outside the class when you instantiate it, you won't be able to delete the object from within the class itself...

K.

[Jayhoo]

ok, thanks for the reply.

Many work arounds to this but would be nice and tidy if it was all encapsulated in the class.....


thanks again
JOn

[wombatLove]

The easiest work around is to not store your new object in a variable when creating it.

//Something like this
new OneShot(...);
//Instead of this
//var x:OneShot = new OneShot(...);

The only catch to it, is unless you assign the property _parent to something inside of your class, there is no way to locate it anymore other than providing some feedback function. I just happen to be working on a class that encapsulates the MoveClipLoader and a listener object in to one neat bundle (aptly named oneshot) that does exactly this. The intent is that one can simply pass in a URL and the class will then create a new empty movie clip, load the URL and then destroy itself. It also uses two callback functions for onLoadError() and onLoadInit() so one can determine when a moveclip fails to load or when it completes. I can post the class and an example once I work out the kinks in the callback functions if anyone is interested.

[Jayhoo]

cheers for the pointes mate.

I would be interseted in seeing the class when it is finished if you are good to share it

Thanks again

Jon

[wombatLove]

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply, work got in the way. I've commented just about every line in the class file so hopefully you can follow along with what's happening. The FLA is in MX2004 format and contains a few different examples. When running the SWF in the design environment, go to Debug->List Variables to see what's happening. Note how when you assign OneShot to a variable it stays behind (but the MovieClipLoad object and the listener are successfully deleted!), however, when you use OneShot without saving the class to a variable, it vanishes from memory when it's done.

From the OneShot.as file

Class OneShot
-------------
Loads a specific URL in to a new MovieClip and deletes itself when finished (if possible). Intended for use
as a quick way to load one specific image of SWF where a MovieClipLoader is needed, but the re-usability is not.

Usage: new OneShot( url, [parent], [mc_name], [depth], [successFunction], [failureFunction] );

Options in [] are optional and will be calculated by the following rules:
parent - If nothing is passed, _root is assumed
depth - If nothing is passed, calls parent's getNextHighestDepth() function
mc_name - If nothing is passed, the name will be oneshot + "parent's name" + depth, e.g. oneshotmcBall1000
successFunction - If nothing is passed, no call back is available
failureFunction - If nothing is passed, no call back is available

successFunction will receive the targetMC when the MovieClipLoader enters the onLoadInit function
-- after movie is loaded, and first scene is displayed
failureFunction will receive three parameters: targetMC, ErrorCode (string), HTML Error Code (number)

Granted, using OneShot is not as flexible as the MovieClipLoader object, but can be used for a quick, one-time load
where error checking is not necessarily needed. The OneShot object *does not* provide feedback mechanisms for
watching the loading progress; wrapping all the features of the MovieClipLoader object defeats the purpose.

This class is intended primarily as a learning resource. It's functionality is not designed to replace any
part of the Flash ActionScript language. Use at your own risk.

Please note, this is more a proof of concept work than anything actually useful. If you can find use for it, by all means, please use it.