Programming Flash Communication Server

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related to clients connecting and disconnecting from the application instance

requires a movie that connects to and disconnects from the instance. For this pur-

pose, a test movie is supplied on the book’s web site as part of the helloWorld.zip

archive. Test movies are an important tool. A good but simple test movie should

allow you to:

• Enter or select different application instance names to which to connect

• Enter a username and password or other connection parameters

• Read all the status and error messages the client receives or generates

• Easily extend it to add features as necessary

The output in Figure 4-6 shows the Live Log area when a connection is made and

then dropped from a client. The IP address of 127.0.0.1 indicates that the client was

running on the same system as the FlashCom Server.

Twenty-three minutes after the client disconnected, the instance shuts down and

produces the output shown in Figure 4-7 in the App Inspector.

The output in the Live Log area of the App Inspector shows data such as startup and

shutdown times, the client IP address and username, and when the client connects

and disconnects. The App Inspector and server-side trace( ) statements are essential

for testing and debugging server-side scripts.

A More Realistic Example

Writing and testing a simple main.asc script for helloWorld is an important first step

in becoming familiar with any new environment. However, while the helloWorld

application introduces the

application, Client, and info objects, it’s not very useful.

Figure 4-5. The App Inspector after restarting helloWorld/_definst_

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Chapter 4: Applications, Instances, and Server-Side ActionScript

Although not a full-featured implementation, Example 4-3 is a bit more realistic

main.asc script in that it shows many of the methods already discussed working in a

more typical manner. The code in Example 4-3 demonstrates:

• Accepting or rejecting client connections based on a username and password

• Adding properties and methods to the Client object more simply, by adding an

object property instead of individual properties and methods

Figure 4-6. The App Inspector after a client connects to and disconnects from helloWorld/_definst_

Figure 4-7. The App Inspector after the helloWorld/_definst_ instance shuts down

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A More Realistic Example

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133

• Limiting guest clients but not other types of clients when a maximum number of

users is reached

• Using the server-side setInterval( ) function to periodically update information

about connected clients

The code listed in Example 4-3 is not commented to save space, but the version on

the web site is. Take a moment to read through the code. It is described immediately

after the listing.

Example 4-3. A more realistic main.asc

users = { Brian: {password: "secretPassword1", role: "author"},

Robert: {password: "secretPassword2", role: "author"},

Justin: {password: "secretPassword3", role: "author"},

Joey: {password: "secretPassword4", role: "author"},

Peldi: {password: "secretPassword5", role: "author"},

Guest: {password: "Guest", role: "guest"}

};

access = {author: {readAccess: "/", writeAccess: "/"},

guest: {readAccess: "/public", writeAccess: ""}

};

MAXCONNECTIONS = 5;

function User (client, userName, role) {

this.client = client;

this.userName = userName;

this.role = role;

this.connectTime = new Date().getTime( );

}

User.prototype.getTimeConnected = function ( ) {

var now = new Date().getTime( );

return (now - this.connectTime)/1000; // seconds

};

User.prototype.getPingTime = function ( ) {

var client = this.client;

if (client.ping( )) {

return client.getStats( ).ping_rtt / 2;

}

else{

return "Client is not connected."

}

};

User.prototype.getConnectionInfo = function ( ) {

return " IP: " + this.client.ip +

", user name: " + this.userName +

", connection time: " + this.getTimeConnected( ) +

", ping time: " + this.getPingTime( );

};