Programming Flash Communication Server

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Chapter 1: Introducing the Flash Communication Server

represents the user, we can show the name the user selected when she logged in by

setting the text of the

nameInput TextInput component inside the movie clip:

mc.nameInput.text = users_so.data[id];

Unlike the server-side code that used users_so.setProperty( ) and users_so.getProp-

erty( ) to set and get values in a shared object slot, in the client a special

data object is

available to read and write slot values. For example, to get or set the

guest_2 slot of

the shared object, use the expression:

users_so.data["guest_2"].

Because the server-side code changes a slot each time a user connects, the client will

receive notification that a slot has changed when other remote users connect as well

as when it connects. However, we want to play only the streams of remote users

because there is no point in wasting bandwidth to play the local user’s own stream.

Fortunately, the setID( ) method was called before the shared object was set up and

connected, so we already know the local user’s ID. If

id is different from the value in

the

myID variable, id represents a remote user and we can safely play it. To play it, the

code creates a new NetStream object and attaches it as a dynamic property of the

movie clip:

var ns = new NetStream(nc);

mc.video.attachVideo(ns);

ns.play(id);

mc.ns = ns;

If a remote user disconnects, the NetStream object playing her stream can be safely

closed, her video cleared, and the

nameInput field set to an empty string:

case "delete":

var id = info.name;

var mc = _root[id];

mc.ns.close( );

mc.nameInput.text = "";

mc.video.clear( );

break;

Hello Video! Summary

If you’ve read through the code and commentary on the helloVideo application,

you’ve seen most of the communication classes working together to create a very

simple video conference application. And, while there is a lot more we can do with

Flash and FlashCom, you’ve already seen many of the essential techniques for build-

ing a communication application.

Conclusion

While writing this book, I met online with the other authors to discuss our project. I

used some of the sample applications I wrote for the book and another Macromedia

application built on top of Flash and FlashCom: Breeze Live. One of the earliest

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Conclusion

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conferences I had was with Robert Reinhardt. I was at home in Toronto, on eastern

standard time, and he was in Los Angeles on Pacific time. It was dark in Toronto and

the sun was about to start setting in L.A. Aside from the immediacy of our conversa-

tion—something more akin to being in the same room than being on the phone or

using text messaging—there was something compelling about seeing the light gradu-

ally change on the other side of the continent as we spoke. In later conferences with

Giacomo Guilizzoni, I was impressed with how helpful it was to be able to share

code and make notes that we could both see and edit while we discussed what parts

of this book each of us should work on. Communication applications that include

live video, audio, and data make collaboration at a distance more immediate and

effective. Flash and FlashCom together provide a platform that can be used to build

a wide range of compelling communication applications. Whether you need to build

a shared simulation to enhance an online course or a simple video conference, text

chat, or video-on-demand application, you’ll find a rich toolbox of classes and com-

ponents to create it described in detail in the chapters that follow.