Unload MovieClip before Removing?

Question

Is it better to Unload a MovieClip before Removing it off the Stage, in order for its contents to get cleared from RAM and therefore free up RAM better?

Adobe Flash AS2 Documentation:

• removeMovieClip() - Removes a movie clip instance.
• unloadMovie() - Removes the contents of a movie clip instance.

Answer 1

A removeMovieClip does an explicit unloadMovieClip (if necessary). However, unloading a clip does not remove the instance.

Answer 2

No. According to the Live Docs:

unloadMovieClip removes the contents of a movie clip instance. The instance properties and clip handlers remain.

To remove the instance, including its properties and clip handlers, use MovieClip.removeMovieClip().

This means removeMovieClip() will remove all traces of a MovieClip instance, while unloadMovieClip() will only remove the contents of it. It also means unloadMovie() is not necessary to call before calling removeMovieClip().