Alcon
Alcon is a lightweight debugging tool for ActionScript developers that provides several straightforward and quickly accessible methods to debug any ActionScript 2 or ActionScript 3 application, be it from the Web Browser, the standalone Flash Player or an AIR Runtime. It offers an easy way to output debug information from anywhere, not just while in the Flash IDE or in the Flex Debugger. It comes packed with an Application Monitor that can monitor the framerate and memory consumption, an Object Inspector for viewing the properties of any Object, Array or Class and up to two File Loggers. Alcon runs on any platform that supports Adobe AIR and can be used with the Flex compiler, the Flash IDE or MTASC.
Features in Version 3
- Rewritten for Adobe AIR.
- Trace API to output any kind of data in the same fashion ActionScript’s own trace method does but with severity levels, filtering and recursive object tracing.
- A new App Monitor that monitors Framerate, Frame Render Time and Memory Consumption.
- A completely new Object Inspector to view the properties of Objects, Arrays and Classes.
- Included Help-Panel for quick access to Help and API documentation.
- Supports ActionScript 2 and 3.
- Two File Loggers which can be activated optionally to monitor log files.
- Options Dialog to comfortably configure settings like background and text colors, output font and many other preferences.
- Auto-Update.
Screenshots
Alcon's Object Inspector
Alcon's Help Panel
Download
Alcon requires Adobe AIR to run. Get it here!
Alcon Support Forum
Please user the forum at forums.hexagonstar.com for any support-related issues about Alcon.
27 Responses to “Alcon”
By s.koch
on Jul 7, 2008 | Reply
Why not make an AIR app instead?
By sebsebseb123 & hotmail.com
on Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
damn… so close… it doesn’t work on my system, which is a shame because this is just the tool I need.
I get 2 errors:
1. I get when I start up the swf file…
TypeError: Error #1034: Type Coercion failed: cannot convert flash.events::IOErrorEvent@2572941 to flash.events.SecurityErrorEvent.
2. Under the flashlog there’s another (that may not be an error at all..either way)
–Alcon: File “C:/Users/username/Application Data/Macromedia/Flash Player/Logs/flashlog.txt” not found.
I’m running on Mac OS X 10.4 using SAFlashPlayer to run the swf.
-Take care
By Sascha
on Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
@s.koch AIR version of Alcon is actually in the making. It will be called version 3 and adds some new features. Sit tight!
By Sascha
on Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
@12sebsebseb123: Did you add the folder from that Alcon runs to the Flash Player security locations? (see included text file).
The flashlogs.txt is only used if you want to log that, otherwise yuo can remove it from Alcon’s config file.
By Jeff Yamada
on Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
hey Sascha,
Any chance you have the AS2 version available anywhere? I’m stuck on an AS2 project for the next few weeks and was hoping it was still available…I can’t stand the AS2 debugger.
Either way, thanks for all the hard work, its been a massive help!
-j
By Jeff Yamada
on Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
Hah, sorry, just found it!
By sascha
on Jul 13, 2008 | Reply
By Ben
on Jul 17, 2008 | Reply
This looks like a great tool, but why so little about how to use it? Is it supposed to work out of the box?
I’m having to test on Vista, but after I start Alcon is doesn’t show me any debugging output (and no errors either). Am I supposed to install a “debugging” version of the flash player or something?!?
Thanks
By sascha
on Jul 18, 2008 | Reply
Ben, the next version will be better documented. You don’t need a debugging version of Flash Player since Alcon relies on the LocalConnection. Did you use the Installer or the zipped version? Also note that AS2 for now can only be debugged with the old version (1.0.8.9), this will also change with the next version. Apart from that .. I just downloaded the zipped version and successfully tested it on Vista.
Please also add the folder Alcon is installed in to the Flash Player Security Settings (explained in the included readme file). I fear that if you use a non-debug Player you will not see the exception that it normally throws if you don’t add Alcon’s folder to the security panel.
By Ben
on Jul 18, 2008 | Reply
Thanks, in my hurry to get something working I hadn’t noticed that it was only AS2 for now (I’m compiling with mtasc). I look forward to trying out the next version, and my apologies if my last message sounded pissy - it’s been a long day
By aestheticsData
on Aug 5, 2008 | Reply
Alcon is a great tool, i use it everyday at work and for my personal projects. I’ve tried to modify xml config file and Debug.as to add some more colors, without success. Is ther a doc somewhere ? thanks
By sascha
on Aug 5, 2008 | Reply
Hi aestheticsData. You can’t add more colors. Only change the existing ones. For the current version you have to edit the XML to change any config settings but the new version (v3) will allow to change options over the GUI.
By aestheticsData
on Aug 25, 2008 | Reply
great ! i’ve just download and installed the new version. Changing background color, font size, font type, and predefined colors is really something i was looking for, for a long time. It would be cool to be able to add some new debug level. Thanks a lot for your work.
By Dimitar G.
on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
How did you make tracing from flashlog.txt since Air puts a lock of flashlog.txt? Trying to use the settings of Menu => Log => Options => File Loggers didn’t help. Any hint?
http://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/SDK-14536
Dimitar G.
By sascha
on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
@aestheticsData: thanks, yes I’m considering adding a feature later that allows you to create your own categories as it was suggested in another comment.
@Dimitar: Good that you mention that link, it didn’t work for me either. There is however another location for flashlog.txt which is in an older marcomedia folder (C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\Logs on Vista), I recon that is used by the Standalone Player and is not locked by AIR. Unless Adobe fixed that locking I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do about it.
By Dimitar G.
on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
Well, since version 9 on Vista there is 1 and only 1 hard coded path to flashlog.txt and it is used both for standalone and browser plugin FP versions
Windows Vista =>
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\Logs\flashlog.txt
http://livedocs.adobe.com/flex/3/html/help.html?content=logging_04.html
Hopefully Adobe will decide to fix this bug (I doubt that, it’s there in purpose).
Is it too much asking you to do another v.3 in Zinc or Flash Projector… eventually in future.
Dimitar G.
By Sharad
on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for this wonderful tool. I am looking forward to using it. However, trying to compile my swf throws this error:
1061: Call to a possibly undefined method gc through a reference with static type Class. (System.gc in Debug.as)
Am I missing any path?
By sascha
on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
@Sharad Use the precompiled swc instead of the uncompiled classes. That way the compiler doesn’t have to compile the Debug classes. You should only need to use the raw AS classes when using the AS2 Debug version.
By sascha
on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
I’ve opened a support forum for Alcon at http://forums.hexagonstar.com/ … please use it for any bug reports, feature requests and troubleshooting about Alcon. Thanks!
By sascha
on Aug 27, 2008 | Reply
@Dimitar for me only the flashlog.txt in C:\users\username\ is locked. The one in …Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\… works. Do you have an idea what runtime exactly creates what log files?
I’m sorry but I doubt there will be a Zinc version again. I don’t have the time currently to rewrite it for Zinc. The whole idea about the new version was also to distance away from the hackish implementations that are required with Zinc to get some things working. I might rather create a bare SWF version instead.
By Dimitar G.
on Aug 27, 2008 | Reply
Well, I am suprised yours is working.
OK, step by step. Win Vista Ultimate 32 here, Flash Player Debug 9.0.124 (FF plugin, IE ActiveX and Standalone).
1. In C:\Users\[User_Name]\mm.cfg it is specified ‘ErrorReportingEnabled=1′ and ‘TraceOutputFileEnabled=1′
2. The only fiashlog.txt file which is updated when there is any trace functions in plugin, activeX or standalone is “C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\Logs\flashlog.txt”
3. Adding ‘TraceOutputFileName=[new-path]‘ in mm.cfg is ignored, and Adobe states in their specs: “Note: Beginning with the Flash Player 9 Update, Flash Player ignores the TraceOutputFileName property and stores the flashlog.txt file in a hard-coded location based on operating system. For more information, see Log file location.”
All in all, any opened AIR app locks this flashlog.txt file. If you close Alcon 3.0, traaces are working fine in flashlog.txt.
It’s absolutely the same issue with Thunderbolt AS3 Console on AIR. The answer from Adobe is straight nope: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/webforums/forum/messageview.cfm?forumid=75&catid=697&threadid=1368880
If you really can read trace() output in opened Alcon 3.0 then please reveal the secret since I ran out of tricks here.
Dimitar G.
By sascha
on Aug 28, 2008 | Reply
Dimitar,
I wonder what that should be good for?!
forget what I said, it doesn’t work here either. I’ve made a mistake earlier and it looked as if it worked. AIR not only locks the flashlog.txt but also anytime rewrites it with a 0-byte file.