An ActionScript Array of object literals.
Who uses it
Legacy Flash and AIR projects.
Writing ActionScript
Typed as Array, with double-quoted string values.
What is ActionScript?
What it can hold
ActionScript is source code. An Array of Objects in ActionScript 3 syntax. A machine can read the table back out of it without guessing, which is what makes it safe to convert into and out of.
It keeps
- Types. A number stays a number and a boolean stays a boolean, so whatever reads the file next does not have to guess from how a value looks.
- The difference between empty and missing, which most table formats cannot express at all.
- Nested values. A cell can hold a list or an object rather than only a single value.
- A line break inside a cell, which survives rather than ending the row.
It cannot express
- Any formatting. Bold, colour, column widths and merged cells have nowhere to go.
- A partial read. The document has to be complete to mean anything, so a truncated file yields nothing and a large one has to be held in memory whole.
- A header row. Column names are repeated on every record instead, which is why a file in this format is larger than the table it holds.
What it looks like
var staff:Array = [
{id: "007", name: "Halima Yusuf", role: "Analyst, data", started: "2024-03-15", hours: "38.5"},
{id: "012", name: "Jonah \"Jo\" Pryce", role: "Engineer", started: "2025-11-02", hours: ""},
{id: "104", name: "Wei Chen", role: "Manager", started: "2023-06-30", hours: "40"},
];Questions
How do I open ActionScript files?
ActionScript is written by Tablizer rather than read by it. Open the file in whichever tool the format belongs to.
Is ActionScript a good format for sharing data?
It depends who is receiving it. Legacy Flash and AIR projects. If the recipient is outside that group, a plain CSV travels further than anything else.