User Guide
Table Of Contents
- Contents
- About Flash Remoting
- Getting Started
- Using Flash Remoting ActionScript
- Using the RemotingConnector component (Flash Professional only)
- Using Flash Remoting Data in ActionScript
- About Flash Remoting and data types
- Understanding Action Message Format
- Converting from ActionScript to application server data types
- Converting from application server data types to ActionScript
- ColdFusion to ActionScript data conversion issues
- About working with objects
- About working with RecordSet objects
- About working with XML
- The NetConnection Debugger
- Using Flash Remoting with ColdFusion MX
- Using Flash Remoting for Java
- About Flash Remoting for Java
- Calling Java classes or JavaBeans from ActionScript
- Calling Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) from Flash
- Calling servlets and JSPs from Flash
- Calling JMX MBeans from Flash (JRun only)
- Calling server-side ActionScript from Flash (JRun only)
- Handling function results in ActionScript
- Using Flash Remoting with JRun security
- Passing XML objects between Flash and Java
- Viewing Flash Remoting log entries
- Using Flash Remoting for Microsoft .NET
- Flash Remoting for Microsoft .NET
- Calling ASP.NET pages from Flash
- Making an ASP.NET page available to Flash Remoting
- Getting a reference to an ASPX-based service in ActionScript
- Invoking ASPX pages in ActionScript
- Using the Flash Remoting custom server control in ASPX pages
- Using the Flash Remoting namespace in code-behind files
- Using ASP.NET state management with Flash Remoting
- Using ASP.NET exception handling
- Using ADO.NET objects with Flash Remoting
- Displaying a RecordSet object in Flash with ActionScript
- Calling web services from Flash
- Calling ASP.NET assemblies from Flash
- Viewing Flash Remoting log entries
- Using NetServices and Connection Classes
- Index
16 Chapter 1: Getting Started
For more information about using software design patterns with Flash Remoting, see Software
Design Patterns for Flash Remoting on the Macromedia website at www.macromedia.com/
devnet/mx/flashremoting/articles/facades.html.
Understanding the Flash Remoting service adapters
Flash Remoting automatically maps incoming requests to the appropriate service adapters, each of
which provide a direct connection to a specific application server technology. When an HTTP
request arrives at the server and contains AMF, Flash Remoting maps the request to the
appropriate adapter by name. To avoid naming conflicts, you specify the directory structure, fully
qualified class or package name, or Web Service Description Language (WSDL) URL of the web
service in ActionScript.
Building Flash applications with Flash Remoting
Flash applications that use Flash Remoting resemble other client-server development platforms,
including traditional HTML-based web applications. For example, Flash applications usually
appear in the context of a browser window, much like HTML pages. In addition, Flash
applications can contain controls for displaying text and graphics, gathering user input, and
communicating with a remote server, much like HTML.
Understanding the Flash Remoting development environment
Because Flash Remoting connects two distinct and separate runtime environments, you build
Flash Remoting applications in two programming languages: ActionScript and the programming
language of your application server. Therefore, building Flash applications with Flash Remoting
demands knowledge of at least two different development environments:
• Flash To create Flash applications that use Flash Remoting, you use the Flash authoring
environment to design the user interface and write the client-side ActionScript.
• An application server tool For ColdFusion, Java, or .NET development, you typically use a
text editor or an integrated development environment (IDE) that supports the associated
programming languages and APIs. Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 supports ColdFusion,
J S P, a n d A S P. N E T d e v e l o p m e n t .
Note: For Java or .NET development, you need a Java or .NET compiler to create executable
code.
Because of the separation between the client and server environments, you might develop Flash
Remoting applications as a team project. In traditional HTML-based web applications,
responsibilities usually fall into two general roles: designer and developer. The designer creates the
HTML user interface and the developer creates the application server logic.
When developing Flash applications using Flash Remoting, you might find it useful to organize
development roles as client-side designer, client-side developer, and server-side developer. Under
this division of labor, the client-side designer creates the Flash user interface, including layout,
animation, and effects. The client-side developer creates the ActionScript to connect to the
remote service and handle the results. Finally, the server-side developer builds the business logic
on the application server to serve as the remote service.