Chapter 9. Advanced Communication Server

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Designing and building communication applications takes a new way of thinking. It's really a mind twister to think of how to present the same data to several users while any one of them might be changing the data. Instead of thinking of this chapter as "more advanced," I suggest just that you think of it as "more"more ways to build communication apps.

The primary focus here is on how to use server-side ActionScript (SSAS). As mentioned in the preceding chapter, SSAS may appear to be more complex than client-side ActionScript (CSAS). In fact, a tiny bit of SSAS takes a huge load off the responsibility of your CSAS. That is, it actually makes things easier. The only thing complex in this chapter is the thought process. Now, instead of having multiple client SWFs executing scripts, you also have code on the Flash Communication Server (FCS) acting like a traffic cop or central clearinghouse.

Enough with the analogies , this chapter covers the following topics:

• Storing SSAS in the main.asc file

• Tracking application activity and user behavior with the Application object and Client object

• Messaging using send() and call()

• The server-side Stream object for logging and sending the same data to multiple clients , almost like broadcasting

In this chapter, you'll also learn plenty of tricks and optimization considerations. In addition, you'll learn some translation techniques, too, because although SSAS is based on ActionScript, in a few places it's not identical.

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