ActionScript

ActionScript is a scripting language developed for the Flash platform by Macromedia in 1996 and later managed by Adobe after the 2005 acquisition. It is used to program animations, interactivity, and applications that run in Flash Player or in the AIR runtime.

It evolved through major versions, with ActionScript 1.0 in early Flash releases, AS 2.0 circa 2003 introducing a JavaScript-like syntax and optional typing, and ActionScript 3.0 in 2006 introducing a strict, class-based object model and a revised display list. AS 3 emphasized performance and tooling, and became the standard for more complex applications.

Features include class-based object-oriented programming, optional and strong typing, packages and namespaces, event-driven programming, and the display list for rendering graphics. It interacts with the Flash runtime and can call JavaScript via ExternalInterface. It compiles to bytecode for Flash Player or Adobe AIR and works with tools like Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) and the Flex framework for building rich Internet applications.

Usage and decline: ActionScript powered rich Internet applications, games, and media in the 2000s. Flash Player reached end-of-life in 2020, and support for Flash content was discontinued. Since then, most developers have migrated to HTML5, JavaScript, and related frameworks for interactive media.