Maths are very important in Flash applications. Let's learn how to use mathematical functions in ActionScript!

There are several functions of the Math class that can manipulate numbers for us:

• Math.abs(Number): Finds the absolute value of a number
• Math.ceil(Number): Rounds a number up to the nearest integer
• Math.floor(Number): Rounds a number down to the nearest integer
• Math.round(Number): Rounds a number off to the nearest integer
• Math.max(Number 1,Number 2): Returns the larger of two numbers
• Math.min(Number 1,Number 2): Returns the smaller of two numbers
• Math.random(): Returns a random number smaller than 1 and larger than or equal to 0

Let's look at a quick example:

varmyNumber:Number=-12.3;trace(Math.abs(myNumber));trace(Math.ceil(myNumber));trace(Math.floor(myNumber));trace(Math.round(myNumber));trace(Math.max(Math.ceil(myNumber),Math.floor(myNumber)));trace(Math.min(Math.ceil(myNumber),Math.floor(myNumber)));trace(Math.floor(Math.random()*12)+1);

Note the technique used in the last line to produce random numbers. Math.random() is multiplied by 12, rounded down (giving a random integer from 0 to 11) and then one is added (giving a random integer from 1 to 12).

• Book:Introduction to ActionScript 2.0