[flexcoders] Actionscript Questions

[SvenM]

I come from a C++ background and was wondering if anyone knew the following:

Does Actionscript have the equivalent of the enum operator where I can define 
my own variable types for ease of coding?

Does Actionscript support overloaded constructors?

[flexcoders] Loading Image files

[SvenM]

I have a series of images in a viewstack.  The stack changes its index using a 
timer and I have applied a fade effect between changes.  The problem I am 
experiencing is that there is an interruption in the first fade effect as the 
image is being downloaded to the user's pc since they are not embedded images.  
Is there a way to preload an image before I try to display it so there is no 
gap in the fade effect?