Because I blew a few hours trying to figure this out the last few days, and finally cracking it, here’s how to fetch some JSON from a web service and have it processed into an object in ActionScript 2.
import JSON; // http://www.theorganization.net/work/jos/JSON.as
var jsonFetcher:LoadVars = new LoadVars();
jsonFetcher.onLoad = function(success:Boolean) {
if (!success) {
trace("Error connecting to server.");
}
};
jsonFetcher.onData = function(thedata) {
// ...
// if writing a desktop app or widget, string manip or regexp
// the JSON data packet out of the JS source provided by many
// web services at this point..
// ...
try {
var o:Object = JSON.parse(thedata);
//mytrace(print_r(o));
trace(print_a(o));
} catch (ex) {
trace(ex.name+":"+ex.message+":"+ex.at+":"+ex.text);
}
};
// get the feed
jsonFetcher.load("url-to-json-feed.php");
// from: http://textsnippets.com/posts/show/633
// recursive function to print out the contents of an array similar to the PHP print_r() function
//
function print_a(obj, indent) {
if (indent == null) {
indent = "";
}
var out = "";
for (item in obj) {
if (typeof (obj[item]) == "object") {
out += indent+"["+item+"] => Objectn";
} else {
out += indent+"["+item+"] => "+obj[item]+"n";
}
out += print_a(obj[item], indent+" ");
}
return out;
}BTW, what’s up with these JSON feeds that serve up JS that’s JSON plus some more code? That’s annoying — you gotta strip it out before you run the JSON converter 
.
Update: here’s the actionscript 2.0 JSON.as file people were looking for.
But I’m taking it all as a compliment. I believe that what Michelle does with her abandonware hobby is crucial for the survival, not just of the games, but of the memories. Abandonware, while legally dubious, is less a case of stealing and more the case of paying tribute. I keep telling Michelle she’s not just another retro gamer; she’s an archivist — the curator of her own museum. A museum where the exhibits remind her visitors of the way video games used to be, and where not only games, but ourselves as people have come since then, for better or for worse.
After trying to use the Apple website to self diagnose and repair, I bundled it up in my bag, and took it down to MagnumMac, hoping that the service department would be open.