Programming Flash Communication Server

Robert Reinhardt is the lead co-author of the Flash Bible series and the Flash MX ActionScript Bible (Wiley), as well as the lead co-author of Rich Media MX: Building Multi-User Systems with Macromedia MX Software (Macromedia Press). Dave Yang is an independent developer, consultant, and founder of Quantumwave Interactive Inc.Brian Lesser works at Ryerson University as Assistant Director, Teaching and Technology Support in Ryerson's Computing and Communications Services. He is leading a small project in developing enhancements to online courses using the Flash Communication Server.

• Foreword Preface Part I. FlashCom Foundation 1. Introducing the Flash Communication Server Clients and Servers Creating an Application Real-Time Messaging Protocol The Communication Classes Communicating with Application Servers, Databases, and Directory Servers Firewalls and Security Getting Started Hello Video! Conclusion 2. Communication Components Overview of Communication Components Summary of Communication Components Creating an Application that Monitors a Connection Building a Simple Chat Room Adding Audio and Video to the Chat Room Forgoing the SimpleConnect Component Conclusion 3. Managing Connections Making a Connection Managing a Connection Reusing a NetConnection Object Multiple Simultaneous NetConnection Objects Testing and Debugging Network Connections Subclassing the NetConnection Class Communication Components Without SimpleConnect Conclusion 4. Applications, Instances, and Server-Side ActionScript Scripting Application Instances Differences Between Flash ActionScript and Server-Side ActionScript The Life of an Application Instance Running a Simple Hello World Test Script A More Realistic Example Instance-to-Instance Communications Script Filenames and Locations in Detail Testing and Debugging Server-Side Script Files Designing Communication Applications Conclusion Part II. Audio, Video, and Data Streams 5. Managing Streams A Simple Publisher/Subscriber Example Stream Names Publishing Streams in Detail Playing Streams in Detail The Stream Class Publishing and Playing ActionScript Data Creating Synchronized Presentations The NetStream and Stream Information Objects Stream Enhancements and Limitations Conclusion 6. Microphone and Camera Working with Microphone/Audio Input Working with Camera Input Building a Message-Taking Application Building a Surveillance Application Conclusion 7. Media Preparation and Delivery Audio and Video Compression Converting Prerecorded Material to FLV Format Using Flash Pro's Media Components Enabling Multiple Bit Rate FLVs Within an Application Streaming MP3 Audio Conclusion Part III. Remote Connectivity and Communication 8. Shared Objects Objects and Shared Objects Getting a Shared Object in Flash Updates and Frame Rates Scripting Shared Objects on the Server Temporary and Persistent Shared Objects Proxied Shared Objects Shared Objects and Custom Classes Avoiding Collisions Optimizing Shared Object Performance Broadcasting Remote Method Calls with send( ) A Simple Video and Text Chat Application Conclusion 9. Remote Methods Why Use Calls? The send( ) and call( ) Methods Client-to-Server Calls Server-to-Client Calls Server-to-Server Calls A Simple Lobby/Rooms Application Debugging Calls Advanced Topics Conclusion 10. Server Management API Connecting to the Admin Service Using the Server Management API Server Management API Uses Conclusion 11. Flash Remoting The Remoting Gateway Remoting Basics Role of Remoting in FlashCom Applications Securing Access Conclusion 12. ColdFusion MX and FlashCom Understanding ColdFusion MX and Flash Remoting Using Flash Remoting to Log Events Getting a List of Streams Using ColdFusion and FTP to Mirror Streams Conclusion Part IV. Design and Deployment 13. Building Communication Components Source Files People Lists A Simple People List Listenable Shared Objects Status and People List Text Chat Shared Text Video Conference and Video Window PeopleGrid Summary Conclusion 14. Understanding the Macromedia Component Framework The Component Framework Under the Hood of the Chat Component Creating a Simple Component from Scratch: SharedTextInput Creating a Container Component: SharedAddressForm Creating an Authenticating Component Integrating Components with Your Existing Applications Understanding the Framework Conclusion 15. Application Design Patterns and Best Practices Shared Object Management Moving Code to the Server Building Fa?ades on the Server Server-Side Client Queues A Framework for Recording and Playing BackComponentized Applications Components and Component Frameworks Conclusion 16. Building Scalable Applications Coordinating Instances Scalability and Load Balancing Conclusion 17. Network Performance, Latency, and Concurrency Latency Bandwidth Concurrency Conclusion 18. Securing Applications The Three A's: Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting Authorization Accounting Suggestions and References Conclusion About the Authors Index