Display array of movieclips and dynamically update them? - arrays

Question

So I have this Array, named combo. I want to fill it with movieclips according to the user clicks (if user clicks 1, then add "1" to the Array and display it on an area.
Problem is, I do not know how to do it.
For the record, I have 4 movieclips, fire, wind, earth and spirit. When the user clicks one of them, I want the Array to update. Array's max length is 6 and it is always checked against a "true_combo" Array.
My questions are:
1) How do I remove the oldest item in the Array if the length has reached 6?
2) How do I display the movieclips one next to another (smaller versions of the buttons, not new movieclips), according to Combo?
3) How do I dynamically update the movieclip list on the stage?
This is a stripped version of my current fla
https://www.dropbox.com/s/17d9rgclz29ft1u/Untitled-1.fla
This is the code to check the combo against true combo:
function checkthis(e:Event)
{
if(combo.length == truecombo.length)
for(var o:int = 0; o < combo.length; o++)
{
if(combo[o] == truecombo[o])
{
bravo.play();
}
}
}

Answer 1

1
You can use the Array.shift() (remove first item in array) or Array.pop() (remove last item in array)
2 / 3
Use a for-loop and change the position of the items according the array. I assume the items in the array are references to the movieclips, then this would be functions you could use.
function add(clip:DisplayObject)
{
if (this.combo.length >= 6)
{
// remove child and remove it from the list
removeChild(this.combo.shift());
}
this.combo.push(clip);
this.addChild(clip);
reorder();
}
function reorder()
{
for(var i:int = 0; i < combo.length; i++)
{
combo[i].x = i * 50;
}
}
update:
You can download an example of this implementation here (Flash CS6 file) or watch it here
update 2
function checkthis(e:Event)
{
var isValid:Boolean = true;
if(combo.length == truecombo.length)
{
for(var o:int = 0; o < combo.length; o++)
{
if(combo[o] != truecombo[o])
{
// if one item isnt the same it should fail.
isValid = false;
}
}
}
if (isValid)
{
bravo.play();
}
}