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JavaScript vs. ActionScript Includes results for Flash Player 7, 8, and 8.5 Includes results for Flash 7 Player and Flash 8 (beta) Player Includes results for Flash 6 and 7 Player, published from MX and MX2004 Includes results for Flash 5, 6, and 7 Player Globe Win2k 450Mhz Flash Player 6 Win2k 1Ghz Flash Player 7 WinXP 2Ghz Flash Player 6 WinXP 2Ghz Flash Player 7 globe1 Original code 970ms 351ms 197ms 110ms globe2 Optimized code and published with MX 437ms 171ms 78ms 59ms globe3 Optimized code and published with MX2004 for Flash Player 7 103ms   29ms   Note that the results above indicate how long it takes to calculate positions for and relocate 300 objects on the screen... with some alpha thrown in too..

Please e-mail me with your suggestions, critiques, rants, or your own ActionScript Performance tips.

a few quotes..

We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil.
- Donald Knuth (I've also seen this attributed to Edsger W. Dijkstra..)

"if it ain't broke, don't optimize it".
- who knows

The purpose of software engineering is to control complexity, not to create it.
- Pamela Zave

Rules of Optimization:
Rule 1: Don't do it.
Rule 2 (for experts only): Don't do it yet.
- Michael A. Jackson

August 2003 Mike Lyda
last updated sometime in September of 06