1.5 Supported Platforms

This section is a quick summary of Flash Remoting capabilities and server-side services that can be exposed to Flash from supported application servers. For the latest list of supported application servers, platforms, and configurations, see:

http://www.macromedia.com/go/flashremoting

1.5.1 Macromedia ColdFusion MX

The Flash Remoting gateway comes preinstalled with Macromedia ColdFusion MX and allows developers to deploy remote services as:

• ColdFusion pages

• ColdFusion Components

• Server-Side ActionScript (SSAS)

• SOAP-based web services

Flash Remoting is also included in the Macromedia ColdFusion MX for J2EE version for deployment on Java application servers, such as WebSphere and BEA WebLogic. It includes support for the remote services supported in ColdFusion MX in addition to those supported on a Java server that ColdFusion is installed on, as discussed below. For more information on ColdFusion MX, or to download a fully functional trial version, go to:

http://www.macromedia.com/software/coldfusion/

See also Programming ColdFusion MX , by Rob Brooks-Bilson (O'Reilly), for information on ColdFusion. The trial/developer version of ColdFusion MX can be obtained together with Flash MX in the Macromedia Studio MX bundle.

1.5.2 J2EE Application Servers and Java Servlet Engines

The Flash Remoting gateway is available as a standalone product for any J2EE-compatible application server. It also works with a Java servlet engine that has been certified compatible with Sun's servlet 2.2 or 2.3 specifications, such as Tomcat. Flash Remoting for J2EE allows remote services to be deployed as:

• JavaBeans

• Java classes

• Enterprise JavaBeans

Macromedia has tested the functionality with J2EE servers such as JRun 4, IBM WebSphere AS 4, and Sun ONE Web Server, although they also mention reports of success with Tomcat and other servers. For the latest information on supported application servers, consult the Flash Remoting documentation at the Macromedia site.

Chapter 7 discusses Flash Remoting for J2EE servers in detail. The OpenAMF project, an alternative to Macromedia Flash Remoting gateway for J2EE, is also discussed briefly at the end of Chapter 7.

1.5.3 Macromedia JRun 4

JRun is Macromedia's J2EE-compliant Java application server. Flash Remoting comes preinstalled with Macromedia JRun 4 and allows developers to deploy remote services as:

• JavaBeans (stateful)

• Java classes (no state and no pool, new instance on every request)

• Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBHome and EJBObject)

• JMX MBeans

• Server-Side ActionScript (SSAS)

• SOAP-based web services

Because JRun 4 is a J2EE-based server, it supports access to the same services as other J2EE-compatible application servers mentioned earlier, as well as Server-Side ActionScript, JMX MBeans, and SOAP-based web services. For more information on JRun, or to download a fully functional trial version that will revert to a developer's version after 30 days, go to:

http://www.macromedia.com/software/jrun/

1.5.4 Microsoft ASP.NET Servers

Flash Remoting is available as a standalone product for Microsoft ASP.NET servers. It allows remote services to be deployed as:

• ASP.NET pages ( .aspx pages)

• DLL libraries (in the local assembly cache)

• .NET executables

• SOAP-based web services

Flash Remoting does not work with "classic" ASP pages. You must have the ASP.NET framework running on your server. To run the ASP.NET framework you need IIS 5.0 or later, running on Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP Professional, or Windows Server 2003 (a.k.a. Windows .NET Server).