Hi, i've just finished a beta of a FD plugin which uses compc.exe to generate a SWC file.
This means we can now compile SWC ActionScript libraries from FlashDevelop!
This is something i've needed to do for a while, and one reason I kept having to use FlexBuilder.
Also, if you have not heard, someone has also recently developed debugging support for FD! FlexBuilder is starting to get very nervous.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/exportswc

Internal details

* Uses all available project compiler options (available from project options>compiler options tab). This includes libraries, RSL's, and compiler settings used to generate existing SWF builds.
* Currently only based on AS3Project (would like to beta test this first before adding AS2 support)
* Creates obj\projectnameConfig.swc.xml config file to pass to compc.exe. You can examine this file after a build for debugging purposes.
* Any other config file specified in projects compiler options (Load Config) is appended to compc.exe command line args along with builds config file (ie. supports additional -load-config argument).
* Any other additional compiler arguments specified in projects compiler options are added to compc.exe command line arguments.
* Process results traced to Output Panel.
* No settings as of yet since all existing compiler options and sdk location details are used.

Installation
Install the dll into the plugins folder of your FD Application Files, and you'll see an extra toolstrip button added to the UI. The button is red with a small grey gear inside (tooltip = "Export SWC"). Load an AS3 project, make sure your project builds normally to ensure all class paths and library paths are defined, then launch the button. The Output Panel should dump info and a SWC file should appear in your bin folder. Explore the SWC file to ensure all relevant classes were compiled in.

Adding Existing SWC's to project
Best practice for adding/linking existing external SWC libraries to your project is to create a 'lib' folder in the project root, copy the swc file(s) there and right-click in FD project tree and select "Add To Library".

Note to FD Team
I suggest to the FD team that the trunk project templates be updated to include a 'lib' folder in the project root by default. This would encourage the "bundling" of required libraries as local project resources, and encourage the usage of the UI method of adding libraries rather than manually with the compiler options.

This plugin is a fresh beta so please test against existing AS3 flex sdk-based projects and report any issues so that the plugin can be made as stable and useful as possible for FD.

cheers - Ali.

This is very cool

Make sure you give your plugin a new unique GUID (in pluginmain).

PS: added the 'lib' folders in templates

Beware: i just changed the settings classes ('Additional' is now an array) so your plugin is atm compatible with beta6/7 but not the latest SVN.

About AS2 SWCs: they are a very different beast, I think it isn't worth trying to generate them.

cheers Philippe, thanks for your help along the way too.



It has one. I went to http://www.somacon.com/p113.php and created one, which went into PluginMain.



Suits me! AS2 is soooo yesterday...



No worries. Can you send me the trunk path and I can update a version for the latest?

I didn't change your plugin code.

I just mean "do not update from the SVN" if you want to keep a beta7-compatible plugin.
If you update the source you'll have to update your plugin and it won't be compatible with public releases anymore.

Thanks for this great plugin!

I put together a tutorial on how to create a simple SWC component in FlashDevelop. Read it here.

Hey thanks, awesome tutorial!

What about plugin version compatible with last SVN version of FD?

Won't be long, just need to download the latest trunk and make a simple change. Will post back here soon...

Just to let everyone know, dragonworx and myself are working on some new features for the SWC plugin; one of which is CS3 component export.

I'm also trying to get my head around the new MXP format, it isn't just a zip anymore - but I can tell so far, it does have semi-zlib headers and does decompress suitably.

If anyone has the time to get deeper into MXP - you might like to know;



That's as far as I got so far - the preamble isn't the same for each filename either. Any feedback would be great - I don't know much about compression formats so something might jump out at someone that I missed... forgive my naivety.

Thanks everyone!

Ben

Hello there,

I can't get the icon in the toolbar .
I'm working on FD3.0 beta 7. Just copied the .dll file in the plugin folder and restarted FD.
But actually it seems I have a general problem with new plug-ins (I tried the debug plugin but it seems that nothing happens to my FD... )

Any one has an idea ?
I have .net 2 SP1 and .net 3 installed on my machine (windows XP).

Thanks.

Update:

http://curlyben.com/fd3/ExportSWCPlugins.zip

Extract the 2 DLL files to your plugin folder.

I used FD3 SVN build!

You will notice FD already has SharpZipLIb in the programs folder - do not replace it with this version, just keep this one in /plugins and leave the original The version already with FD doesn't support zip files pre-zip64 so it can't repack SWC.

This version is probably more alpha to the beta Ali released - but still, it is mostly functional.

It adds two menu items to the project file manager context menu ( ignore from flex and ignore from flash )

New features include MXI creation and CS3 visible SWC.

Error checking/validation logic isn't up to scratch yet and TraceManager feedback leaves a lot to be desired.

Great work Ben! I will download and try your plugin soon. Having a Flash CS3 visible SWC is so valuable. Thank you!

Arnaud, did you have any previous versions of FD installed before installing beta 7? I had a plugin problem between versions once, I would get a series of error notifications upon startup. Is this what you are getting? I had to find the application files and delete them, then uninstall the older FD. It was some of the left over FD application files from the previous version that were messing with the new one. You can find the application files by going to the "Tools" menu and selecting "Application Files...". This ensures you have removed everything as well as uninstalling the older version.

Hope that fixes it for you.

Hey Ali!

The source needs tidying up quite a bit. I'll try and get a version back to you soon. There is one particular routine that re-colours the labels in the project file view that needs a patch applying to the main FD trunk. As it is now it works perfectly, but it is a little unorthodox.

It generates intrinsics for the class path too, I don't know if people want or need that - I'm hoping there is a way to get them to load into CS3 code completion. I don't know how any of that works yet though.

When I used the code you sent me, there was an error in when I ran against the SVN build where one of the compiler variables was loaded as String, but the SVN was String[]... I can't remember exactly which one - but that would cause a problem if running the old version on the SVN build.

EDIT: All suggestions and critique welcome.

If this Zip DLL improves on (and is compatible with) current FD version then we could update it.