An SWC file is a package of precompiled Flash symbols and ActionScript code that allows a Flash or Flex developer to distribute classes and assets, or to avoid recompiling symbols and code that will not change.AdvancED Game Design with Flash, Apress, 01-Sep-2010, Adobe LiveDocs. SWC files can be generated by the Adobe Flash Professional authoring tool, and by Flash Builder (or its companion compiler MXMLC).Flash CS3 For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, 13-Aug-2007 They are sometimes referred to as class libraries and cannot be directly executed by the Flash Player.
SWC code libraries are typically included in an ActionScript 3 project, and compiled into the final SWF file alongside the developer's program, by the ActionScript 3 compiler. Only the classes that have been used by the project (and their dependencies) are transferred into the resulting SWF file.
Format A SWC file is compressed by means of the ZIP archive format.Flash Builder and Flash Catalyst: The New Workflow, Apress, 20-May-2010 Renaming the extension of a SWC file to "zip" will allow any ZIP-compatible decompression software to show the contents of the file.
An uncompressed SWC file contains at least a catalog.xml file, and a SWF file, usually named "library.swf". It may also contain other files, such as CSS files. The catalog contains a list of the ActionScript classes contained in the library, their dependencies, and modification dates.
Example catalog.xml This is a simple example of a catalog.xml for a SWC created in Flash CS4 which contains two sounds. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <swc xmlns="http://www.adobe.com/flash/swccatalog/9"> <versions> <swc version="1.2" /> <flash version="10.0" build="d566" platform="MAC" /> </versions> <features> <feature-script-deps /> <feature-files /> </features> <libraries> <library path="library.swf"> <script name="ButtonClickSound" mod="1275949831598" > <def id="ButtonClickSound" /> <dep id="AS3" type="n" /> <dep id="flash.media:Sound" type="i" /> </script> <script name="EndGameSound" mod="1275949831598" > <def id="EndGameSound" /> <dep id="AS3" type="n" /> <dep id="flash.media:Sound" type="i" /> </script> </library> </libraries> <files> </files> </swc>
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