| ShockWave Component (SWC) | |
| Extension: | .swc |
| Mime: | application/octet-stream |
| Magic: | PK\003\004 |
| Owner: | Adobe Systems |
| Type: | Class Library |
| Container For: | XML SWF CSS |
| Extended From: | ZIP |
An SWC file is a package of precompiled Flash symbols and ActionScript code that allows a Flash or Flex developer to distribute classes and assets, or to avoid recompiling symbols and code that will not change.[1] [2] SWC files can be generated by the Adobe Flash Professional authoring tool, and by Flash Builder (or its companion compiler MXMLC).[3] They are sometimes referred to as class libraries and cannot be directly executed by the Flash Player.
SWC code libraries are typically included in an ActionScript 3 project, and compiled into the final SWF file alongside the developer's program, by the ActionScript 3 compiler. Only the classes that have been used by the project (and their dependencies) are transferred into the resulting SWF file.
A SWC file is compressed by means of the ZIP archive format.[4] Renaming the extension of a SWC file to "zip" will allow any ZIP-compatible decompression software to show the contents of the file.
An uncompressed SWC file contains at least a catalog.xml file, and a SWF file, usually named "library.swf". It may also contain other files, such as CSS files. The catalog contains a list of the ActionScript classes contained in the library, their dependencies, and modification dates.
This is a simple example of a catalog.xml for a SWC created in Flash CS4 which contains two sounds.