Chapter 14. Sending and Loading Data

In This Chapter

Loading Text 218

Sending and Loading Variables 222

Sending and Loading XML 226

Using Web Services 227

Using Flash Remoting 228

Optimizing Data Communication 231

Summary 235

Flash platform applications almost always use data in one form or another. Generally, applications need to have some form of client-server data communication. In the simplest example, an application might have to load plain text. For example, an application might have one responsibility: displaying the day's news post. And some applications might have significantly more complex data communication requirements. For example, a more sophisticated version of the news application might need to retrieve an index of all the top news stories, the contents of news stories, user comments for each news story, and it might even incorporate live data that broadcasts the transcript of a live commentator.

There are many different types of data you can use with Flash Platform applications, including these:

• Text (including Unicode support)

• XML

• AMF (Action Message Format, a binary messaging format)

• Binary data

In addition to the many types of data, there are many ways you can transmit that data, including the following:

• HTTP

• RTMP

• XML socket connection

• Binary socket connection

In this chapter, we'll look at each of these topics with the exception of the socket connection topics, which are outside the scope of this book. Then we'll look at relevant design patterns and how they apply to sending and loading data.