Corona Geek Composer Library Series Highlights

Corona Geek Composer Library Series Highlights

Corona Geek

Creating and managing scenes is an important task in most mobile apps and games. Fortunately, Corona SDK provides the solid, feature rich Composer Library to help you with the heavy lifting. With Composer you can add objects to a scene and transition between scenes, and Composer will help you manage those objects on the screen and in memory.

Recently on Corona Geek, we hosted a series of discussions on Composer that focused on how it is used to manage display objects, manage memory, pass data between scenes and create custom transitions. Along the way we also included some tips on how to speed up your code and how to save data between app uses.

You can watch the full replays of Hangout #124, #125, #126, and #128 to get the full scoop on everything that was covered or, to save time, we’ve split the Hangouts into clips that focus in on each of the topics of conversation. These clips are a great way to jump into the part of the conversation that interests you most.

We plan to do more series discussions on various topics. So, if you would like us to cover a particular topic, leave suggestions in the comments below.

Hangout Snippets on Composer Library

Here are the Hangout snippets. Download links for all samples and code snippets can found in the show notes for each of the Hangouts. Enjoy!

Composer Library Example Scene Framework

Ed Maurina demonstrates a complete example of multiple scenes being tied together using Composer.

Setting Up Composer To Manage Display Objects

Adding objects to the scene’s group is an important step when setting up a scene. This clip shows how it’s done.

Understanding Composer Library Scene Sequences

When one scene appears anothe scene disappears. This clip talks about the sequence of events and how they affect the execution of code within scenes.

Composer Library Scene Transition Sampler

Ed Maurina demos a scene transition sampler that makes experimenting with scene transitions fun.

Creating Custom Composer Transitions

Composer Library provides a bunch of standard transitions and the ability to customize these transitions or create transitions from scratch. This clips shows you how.

Getting Faster Scene Transitions

When objects are initialized or displayed on the screen can affect can make a difference when working with scenes. This clip talks about how to speed up transitions to get desired effects.

Memory Management in Composer Library Scenes

Composer assists in the management of objects and their memory. This clip talks about who that works behind the scenes.

Lua vs Corona SDK Memory Management

Both Lua and Corona work to manage memory for you. This clips highlights the differences between the two styles of memory management.

Sharing Data Between Scenes Using a Global Module

Passing data between scenes using a global module is a flexible way to manage data within apps. This clip shows how it’s done.

Passing Data Between Composer Scenes Using Params

You can also pass data between scenes using params. This clips covers how to do this by including parameters within the scene options.

Sharing Data Between Scenes Using Set and Get Methods

A more scene specific way to pass data between scenes is to use Composer’s built in set and get methods.

Loading Sprites Into Composer Scenes

Removing modules from memory when your app isn’t using them is a great way to to conserve memeory and ensure your app continues to behave well during use.

Unloading Modules From Composer Scenes

Memory usage can build up fast when using sprites in different scenes. This clip covers how to unload modules from memory when your app isn’t using them.

Faster Lua Code Using Forward Declarations

Writing efficient code is a great way to create apps that perform well and provide a great user experience. This clip covers tips on how to speed up your code by declaring commonly used pieces of code early on.

Saving and Loading Data to File

Storing data for later use is an important task and this clips shows a simple way to manipulate a settings file.

Thank you for watching, listening, and following Corona Geek:

Charles McKeever
[email protected]

Charles McKeever is a life long computer geek who enjoys exploring technologies to understand how they work, how they can be smashed together, and how they can be used to fuel entrepreneurial endeavors.

1Comment
  • Juf Jannie
    Posted at 23:18h, 11 February

    Thanks for splitting the show up up in smaller parts.

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