54 | Chapter 3: Working with JavaScript and HTML Within AIR
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You can find more information on the EXT-JS frame-
work at http://extjs.com/.
Accessing AIR APIs from JavaScript
In addition to the standard JavaScript and HTML DOM
APIs, JavaScript code running within the application context
in an AIR application can also take advantage of APIs pro-
vided by the runtime, as well as Flash Player APIs and even
ActionScript 3 libraries. This greatly extends the capabilities
of JavaScript over the APIs available in the browser, and
includes functionality such as:
- Playing sounds
- Manipulating images and bitmaps
- Reading and writing files to and from the local file
system - Creating, controlling and manipulating native windows
- Making direct socket connections (both binary and text
based) - Accessing the clipboard
- Leveraging an embedded database to store data
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You can find examples of how to leverage these features
in the cookbook section in Chapter 4.
This section discusses how to leverage AIR and Flash Player
APIs from JavaScript, as well as how to load and leverage
compiled ActionScript libraries from within JavaScript.