What you need for this book

In order to compile and run the examples in this book, you need an ActionScript compiler, which was most likely included with the ActionScript IDE that you are using. You can also use the freely available Flex SDK (http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/flex-sdk-download.html).

You can create the ActionScript files in any text editor you want, but the example code uses FlashDevelop (http://www.flashdevelop.org/). The code will also work verbatim with any other Flash editor, but you may need to use slightly different menu options than the ones mentioned in the How to do it... sections. However, the differences will be minimal.

Most of the book's code can run with any ActionScript 3 player, but the 3D chapters require at least version 11. You may also want to install the debug version of the players, because these add some useful features for development. They can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html.