Eliminating Bugs Before They Hatch

< Day Day Up > Eliminating Bugs Before They Hatch Writing code is not something you want to do while half asleep. As you've probably experienced, Flash is unforgiving when it interprets the script you add to a project. Seemingly tiny errors such as a faulty line of script or even a misspelled word can have a damaging domino effect on the rest of the code in your project. These minor problems are experienced by scripters of all skill levels. Most problems can usually be solved by a tap on the Backspace key. But if errors are hidden deep inside your code, you'll find yourself staring at it for hours, pulling out your hair, and yelling at your dog (maybe even pulling out your dog's hair if things get really out of control). Sometimes the simplest problem can be the largest contributor to a stressful development cycle. One of the best ways to avoid many problems is to be aware of what they are. The following list shows some of the more common mistakes that all scripters make: • Omitting quotation marks in strings. Strings of text should always be identified with quotes. • Misnaming variables, functions, and objects. As your project grows, you'll need to keep track of more named items. It's a good idea to adopt a common naming convention, based on your preferences. Some scripters use all lowercase letters and underscores to name variables, such as my_variable and my_other_variable, and in-fix notation (where the first letter of the first word is lowercase, while the first letter in subsequent words is uppercase) for function names such as myFunction() and myOtherFunction(). Other scripters avoid using plural names completely; they don't have to remember whether an element's name has an s at the end. Whatever naming conventions you adopt, consistency is the key. Remember that ActionScript is case-sensitive, so userName and username are not the same. • Omitting quotation marks when comparing string values. When writing a condi tional statement, the concept of using quotes to identify strings sometimes gets lost in our brains as we type. If a conditional statement is not doing what it should, suspect missing quotation marks. • Forgetting case when comparing string values. This is an easy mistake to commit. Remember, "this string" is not equal to "This String". Case must be considered when comparing string values. • Confusing = and ==. A single equals sign assigns a value (this = that). A double equals sign compares values (does this == that?). • Missing or mismatched curly braces around blocks of code. Make sure that the end of a code block has as many closing curly braces (}) as the beginning of the block has opening braces ({). • Omitting the return statement in a function. If a function is meant to return a value, it will be worthless (broken) without a return statement. < Day Day Up > . < Day Day Up > Eliminating Bugs Before They Hatch Writing code is not something you want to do while half. development cycle. One of the best ways to avoid many problems is to be aware of what they are. The following list shows some of the more common mistakes that all