Summary

Connecting a Flash movie to the Flash Communication Server is not difficult. The NetConnection() object is the foundation for all communication between the server and the client. Consider it similar to connecting your computer to your Internet service provider. After the connection has been established and authenticated, you can send email, watch a video, download music, or play a video game online. You could build all of that in Flash MX, but that's another book. The NetConnection.connect() invokes the Application.onConnect() method on the server and is the best way to handle initial security for your connection. It sets up the appropriate instance to make sure your private data or conversations are kept private. Server-side handling might extend to authenticating against a database, or even an LDAP server.

In the next two chapters, you will learn how to communicate over this connection. Always remember to connect the Flash client objects and streams you want share.