Adding event listener to a multidimensional array

Question

I would like to know if it is possible in actionscript3 to loop through a multidimensional array and add an event listener, and if it is, is my approach below right?

var localSegment:Array = [segment1.system_Cab, segment1.programs_Cab, segment1.userFiles_Cab, segment1.rollback_Cab]
var external_MediaSegment:Array = [segment2.externalHD_Cab, segment2.virtualDisk_Cab]
var network_LocationSegment:Array = [segment3.homeServer_Cab, segment3.wifiFlashdrive_Cab, segment3.encrivaPlay_Cab]
var superVolumes:Array = [localSegment, external_MediaSegment, network_LocationSegment]

for (var i:Number = 0; i < superVolumes.length; i++ ){
    var fmCabinent = superVolumes[i];
    fmCabinent.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, openCabinet);
}

var targetCabinent;

function openCabinet (e:MouseEvent):void{
    targetCabinent = e.currentTarget;
    if (targetCabinent.currentFrame == 1){
        targetCabinent.play();
}

BadFeelingAboutThis · Accepted Answer · 2018-07-06 15:24:21Z

3

You can't add a click listener to an Array.

Looking at your code, you loop through the outer array superVolumes, and attempt to add a click listener to it's members, but all it's members are also arrays.

What you can do, is a nested loop (a loop within the loop) and add the listener to what are presumably display objects inside those sub-arrays.

for (var i:int = 0; i < superVolumes.length; i++ ){
    for(var j:int = 0; j < superVolumes[i].length; j++){
        superVolumnes[i][j].addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, openCabinet);
    }
}

To determine which array the clicked object belongs to, you could do something like this in the click handler:

//create a var to reference the clicked item's parent array
var arrayContainer:Array;

//a temporary variable to store the index of clicked object
var curIndex:int;

//loop through the superVolumes array
for (var i:int = 0; i < superVolumes.length; i++ ){

    //see if the sub array contains the clicked item
    curIndex = superVolumes[i].indexOf(e.currentTarget);

    //indexOf returns -1 if the item is not found in the array

    if(curIndex > -1){
        //if the sub array contains the clicked item (e.currentTarget)
        arrayContainer = superVolumes[i][curIndex];
        break; //stop looping since you found the array
    }
}

//now do whatever you need to do with the array
switch(arrayContainer){
    case localSegment:
        trace("You clicked an item from local segment");
        break;

    case external_MediaSegment:
        trace("YOu clicked something from media segment");
        break;

    default:
        trace("You clicked something from network_LocationSegment");
}

In regards to understanding what [j] above represents, you could rewrite it like so to make it clearer:

for (var iterator:int = 0; iterator < superVolumes.length; iterator++ ){
    //the members of superVolumes are all arrays
    //get the sub array at current index ('iterator') and assign it to a variable
    var curArray:Array = superVolumes[iterator] as Array;

    //now loop through this sub array
    //since we have 'iterator' (previously 'i') as the iterator/index name in the outer loop
    //we need a different name for the iterator on the inner loop
    //let's call this iterator 'innerIterator' (previously 'j')
    for(var innerIterator:int = 0; innerIterator < curArray.length; innerIterator++){
        curArray[innerIterator].addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, openCabinet);
    }
}

edited Jul 6, 2018 at 15:24

answered Jul 5, 2018 at 23:29

BadFeelingAboutThis

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9 Comments

SoloWalker Over a year ago

Okay, thanks would try that out. Nested loop is a new concept to me.

SoloWalker Over a year ago

Sorry if it sounds silly, but what would [ j ] represent in this case?

Vesper Over a year ago

You need to get an element from a 2D array. In AS3, 2D arrays are arrays of arrays. So, superVolumes[i] would net you an array which you can then iterate again, and superVolumes[i][j] nets you actual element of the current sub-array.

SoloWalker Over a year ago

one more thing; please how can I use an if statement to detect what sub array from the superVolume array registered the click event; do I go..

function openCabinet (e:MouseEvent):void{     if (e.currentTarget == superVolumes[0]) { 	  segment1.visible = false; 	} }

Organis Over a year ago

@SoloWalker You will need to iterate through superVolumes and check for superVolumes[i].indexOf(e.currentTarget) > -1 condition. If it is true, then current superVolumes[i] is the one that contains e.currentTarget.

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