[Embed] Meta Tag is Flex Only. It Will NOT Work in Flash IDE using AS3.

Took me two hours to discover this today with no compiler errors. Almost all documentation that is out there about ActionScript 3 is in one way or another about Flex and not Flash. I am very familiar with Flex and have been using it for about a year now, but have had to do a project in the Flash IDE using AS3. Well to my dismay, I finally learned that the [Embed] meta tag is only for the Flex compiler to interpret. Some who read this far may be saying, "um duh!". Well, I'm saying most of the documentation out there that is searched on returns Flex ActionScript 3, not Flash ActionScript 3. So this isn't the most cut and dry topic out there and the documentation is blurry and flooded with Flex topics but not really Flash CS3. I've heard from some in the ActionScript community that Flash is a dying horse. Well, If this is true please post your reasons why. See, I keep reading that Flash is still the most powerful tool around for creating rich component designs and interactions and yes they work with Flex to build RIA's. I do it all the time. So my question is this. If Flash is a dying horse for coding then take out everything except gotoAndPlay() and stop(); Leave coding for Flex and let us know definitively that Flex is the tool for development and "Thermo" that will be the newest booger stuck to the beach ball for Designer / Developers.

So if you are trying to do this below then sorry it doesn't work compiling with the Flash IDE :

package
{
     import flash.display.*;
     [Embed(source="library.swf", symbol="Star")]
     public class Star extends MovieClip
     {
          public function Star()
          {
               trace('Star Created');
           }
      }
}

Instead in Flash I can either use a Symbol from the Library that is in the .Fla, use a Loader object, or use a RSL - "Runtime Shared Library". I chose to use the Loader method combined with the Symbol from the Library. For me in this very specific instance it was the best for me since I had to use Flash for this project using ActionScript 3. Now fortunately for me the Loader Object is the same for both Flash and Flex so I know my AS3 code will not die silently.

Here is the code I used that combines the Loader and a Symbol in the Library hybrid:

NOTE: This is called using the Document Class in the Flash IDE.

package {
    import flash.display.*;
    import flash.net.URLRequest;
    import flash.events.Event;

    public class Main extends MovieClip {
        //private var star:Star;

        // CONSTRUCTOR
        function Main():void {
            trace('MAIN INSTANTIATED');
            // Externally Loaded SWF Content
            var loader:Loader = new Loader();
            loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, loaderComplete);
            loader.load(new URLRequest('assets/banner_background.swf'));
            this.addChild(loader);
            // Symbol in the Library
            var bt:Banner_Title = new Banner_Title();
            this.addChild(bt);
        }
        private function loaderComplete(event:Event):void {
            //trace('loaderComplete');
        }
    }
}

So in conclusion just be aware that the [Embed] meta tag DOES NOT WORK for the Flash IDE. It is only a Flex Compiler recognized tag and will not give you any errors saying "Sorry this is not supported". And if you are wanting to code something Flash use the Document Class.

However some of the best documentation I did happen to find about this topic is listed below for you to read:

http://jessewarden.com/2006/12/integrating-a-flash-interface-into-flex-2.html

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/flash_perspective.html

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/workflows.html

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/flex_flash_workflow.html

http://blog.halcyonsolutions.net/2007/06/30/flex_flash_integration_resources/

http://drawlogic.com/2007/09/20/howto-using-loaders-in-as3/