Webmaster Forum / Flash / Data Integration / March 2005

It's about "asymmetry" in LoadVars(). I want to load an array, but didn't know
how to actually story it in the external file. So I used LoadVars.toString() to
show me the format and when I used it, it doesn't work. I guess I am missing
some step. I am attaching the code.

/* Asymmetry in LoadVars() */

/* Idea: I want to load an external variable, in this case an
   array, from an external file (data.txt), using LoadVars().
   
    The question is how to store an array in the external file?
   
    I use the LoadVars.toString() method to see how LoadVars()
    stores an ActionScript array */

// First, I create the array
var myArray1:Array = new Array("cat","dog","pig");

// Then I create the variable using LoadVars()
var myVars1:LoadVars = new LoadVars();
myVars1.collection = myArray1;

// Then I use LoadVars.toString() to see how to store it
trace(myVars1.toString());
// The output is
// collection=cat%2Cdog%2Cpig

/* Logically, if I store the above output into data.txt and
   use LoadVars() to load the array variable into an ActionScript
    array, it should work. */

var myVars2:LoadVars = new LoadVars();
var myArray2:Array = new Array();
myVars2.onLoad = function(ok) {
    if(ok) {
        myArray2 = myVars2.collection;
    }
}
myVars2.load("data.txt");
trace(myArray2);
// There is no output

/* When checking the Debug->List Variables, this is what gets stored
   in myArray2:
   
       Variable _level0.myArray2 = "cat,dog,pig\r\n"
   
    If one uses trace(myArray2), there is no output...
   
====================================================================

   The question is, why isn't this process symmetric? I asked the
    method itself to show me how to store an array, and when I use
    that format, it does not load it */