actionscript 3 - AS3 - Problems with Functions that Return Values of Variables from Loaded Data -

i trying make blitting engine, , part giving me hard time. trying make external class of xml parsing file texture packer spits out. made class in utilities package called xmlparserblit.as

i hoping able instantiate , call 1 function it's job, this:

var _xmlparser:xmlparserblit = new xmlparserblit(); _blitdataary = _xmlparser.getaryfromblitxmldata("blit_test_4.xml"); 

however, seems it's not going easy. function inside of xmlparserblit class has event listener triggers function happen when loading complete. seems flash keeps going on through function, , trace("finished array: " + _xmldataary); returns blank array. there way me wait complete listener finished? or maybe can responsibility on returning value getaryfromblitxmldata on onxmlloaded?

i stumped, , learning how beat problem open mind how tackle similar problems. thanks.

public function getaryfromblitxmldata(xmlpath:string):array     {             _xmldataary = []              _xmlpath = xmlpath;              _testxml = new xml();             _testxmlrequest = new urlrequest(_xmlpath);             _testxmlloader = new urlloader();              _testxmlloader.addeventlistener(event.complete, onxmlloaded);             _testxmlloader.load(_testxmlrequest);              trace("finished array: " + _xmldataary);              return _xmldataary;      }      protected function onxmlloaded(event:event):void     {          _loadedxml = new xml(event.target.data);          var thesprites:xmllist = _loadedxml..sprite              each ( var _rectsprite:xml in thesprites)             {                              //--------------------------------------                             //  string manipulations here                             //--------------------------------------                                     }          var _rectangle:rectangle = new rectangle(_xvalue, _yvalue, _widthvalue, _heightvalue);          var miniary:array = [_rectangle, _xoffsetvalue, _yoffsetvalue]          _xmldataary.push(miniary);                   //* want return _xmldataary getaryfromblitxmldata function              }           } 

onxmlloaded won't trigger until after load function finishes asynchronously. best bet make getaryfromblitxmldata not return value, , handle _xmldataarray inside of onxmlloaded