Is there difference in performance between movieclip and graphic symbol?

Question

I was wondering if there is any difference in performance/memory use between movieclip symbol and graphic symbol?

Answer 1

Yes, there is.

In that regard a Shape would be the lightest available DisplayObject, since you can't instantiate a DisplayObject class.

If you need more functionality, such as registering Mouse Events or adding children, you can move to the Sprite , finally if you're working with Flash CS and need the Timeline, opt for the MovieClip.

Answer 2

Another view is that a Movie clip occupies only a single frame in the main timeline to work. whereas the graphic symbol would need the same amount of frames in the main timeline as inside. It is because the graphic symbols donot have their own separate timeline. The movie clips have their own time line.

Moreover. you cannot add interactivity and sounds etc to a graphic symbols. while in a movie clip, you can add these and a bunch of other functionalities too.