In my last article (MXDJ, Vol. 2, issue 2), we looked at how Macromedia
Director is extensible, primarily through Xtras (plug-ins); and that there
are four major types of Xtras - Scripting/Lingo Xtras, Sprite Xtras,
Transition Xtras, and Tool Xtras.
Now it's time to look specifically at what's involved in rolling your own
Xtra. A full treatment of all the ins and outs, gotchas and nuances of
writing Xtras is unfortunately beyond the scope of this article (indeed, it
would fill a small book), but we do have enough space to start to show you
how to write a basic Scripting Xtra.
A Scripting Xtra (they used to be called Lingo Xtras) allows you to call
C/C++ functions from within Lingo. You commonly call them in one of two ways
- the first by instantiating the Xtra, as in:
... (more)
In this last article (for now) of a series of articles on Xtra development
using Macromedia's Open Architecture, or MOA, I thought it'd be nice to take
a quick tour through some of the little quirks, clues, shortcuts, and hints
I've accumulated over the years. These are in no specific order other than
that I've tried to keep related items together.
Director Isn't Loading My Xtra
First, ma... (more)
If I promised to take you to see a foreign city, one where you were not
fluent in the language, and didn't know your way around, and then actually
flew you there to visit, would you wnat me to just drop you off in the center
of town and leave you there?
Well, that's sort of what has happened in my last two articles on Xtras
(MXDJ, Vol. 2, issues 2-3) - space considerations precluded us fr... (more)
Macromedia Director has proven itself in myriad applications as the
development platform of choice. Although Director lets nonprogrammers create
multimedia applications, there are a surprising number of developers with
traditional software engineering backgrounds who use Director.
Why would software engineers, who are perfectly capable of writing in
"professional" languages like C/C++, ch... (more)
Tab Julius has been writing software since the mid-70s, and now works for a software firm developing medical imaging applications, although he still does limited consulting on the side.
Bob Snyder
Jacques Durand
Alf Pilgrim
Per Sjofors
Kirsten Lytsen
Data Recovery Services
Colin Armitage
