SWF.pm -- A perl interface to Ming.

ABSTRACT:
---------

This is a autoloadable interface module for Ming - a library for generating 
SWF ("Flash") format movies.

With this library you can create Flash movies on the fly with Perl.

NOTE: This version REQUIRES Ming version 0.0.9 or 0.0.9a (I haven't 
      tested previous versions). If you have an older version please
      upgrade your Ming (http://www.opaque.net/ming). I've successfully
      tested SWF.pm under Linux with Perl 5.005_03 and 5.6.

IMPORTANT: This is a beta version as it hasn't been tested extensively. 
           I won't recommend using it under mod_perl (my favorite Apache
           module - see http://perl.apache.org) as it has memory leaks 
           (you should be OK under CGI or standalone as long as your
           program exits after generating Flash movie).

COPYRIGHT INFO
--------------

 Copyright (c) 2000 by Soheil Seyfaie. All rights reserved.
 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
 under the same terms as Perl itself.

INSTALLATION:
-------------

Read these instructions all the way through before you start!

1.  Make sure you have downloaded Ming ( http://www.opaque.net/ming). If
    you haven't compiled Ming, it will be compiled during SWF.pm installation
    process (step 3 below).

2.  Unpack the tar file. Under Unix type:

	zcat SWF-0.01b.tar.gz | tar xvf -

3.  To compile SWF.pm:

	a.  cd SWF-0.01b
	b.  perl Makefile.PL
	c.  make
        d.  make test (optional)
	e.  make install

    During step (b), Makefile.PL will try to find your Ming distribution. 
    If it fails it will ask you for the Ming directory.

    If you want to install SWF into your home directory, replace step (b)
    with:

	b. perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/path/to/your/directory

4.  There are some cgi demos in the examples directory. THE EXAMPLES ARE NOT
    PERLIASH (you can write it more succinctly in Perl). These examples were
    created from PHP examples in the Ming distribution by adding the Perl
    standard import semantic (use SWF) and replacing, e.g., SWFAction
    with SWF::Action.


DOCUMENTATION
-------------

I haven't finished documentation. But you may try to look up the documentation
in pod format:

	perldoc SWF

If you know PHP interface to Ming, you already know how to use SWF.pm :-) Just
remember to:

	a. Add 'use SWF;' line to your script
           NOTE: By default, SWF doesn't import constants to your scripts. 
                 You may instruct SWF.pm to import a constant. For example:

                 use SWF(SWFBUTTON_HIT);

                 instructs SWF to import SWFBUTTON_HIT. If you want to 
                 import all constants for Button, use the following syntax:

                 use SWF(:Button);

        b. Add '::' to all object creation lines. For example:
		$s = new SWFShape();
	   should be replaced with:
		$s = new SWF::Shape();
	c. Replace:
	        $p = new SWFSprite;
           with:
		$p = new SWF::MovieClip;
           As SWF doesn't recognize Sprite.

That'a all folks ;-)


IF YOU RUN INTO PROBLEMS
------------------------

Contact me ;-) Remember, this is beta version only.


AUTHOR:
_______
Soheil Seyfaie
soheil@netcom.ca

