Flash Communication Server By Giacomo Guilizzoni, Brian Lesser, Joey Lott, Robert Reinhardt, Justin Watkins Publisher: O'Reilly Pub Date: February 2005 ISBN: 0-596-00504-0 Pages: 854 Table of • Contents • Index • Reviews Reader Flash Communication Server MX (FCS) provides web developers with the • Reviews means to add rich, interactive audio and video features to their sites. • Errata Programming Flash Communication Server gives developers a leg up on • Academic this potentially intimidating technology. It explains how FCS can facilitate video on demand, live webcasts, video chat and messaging, real-time collaboration, and much more. Flash Communication Server By Giacomo Guilizzoni, Brian Lesser, Joey Lott, Robert Reinhardt, Justin Watkins Publisher: O'Reilly Pub Date: February 2005 ISBN: 0-596-00504-0 Pages: 854 Table of • Contents • Index • Reviews Reader • Reviews • Errata • Academic Copyright About the Authors Brian Lesser Giacomo "Peldi" Guilizzoni Joey Lott Robert Reinhardt Justin Watkins Foreword Preface What Does FlashCom Offer? What's in This Book? How to Use This Book Audience ActionScript 1.0 Versus ActionScript 2.0 Server-Side ActionScript The flash-communications.net Site Director, Breeze, and Other Options Flash Video Options Licensing and Hosting Options Conventions Used in This Book Voice Using Code Examples Safari Enabled Comments and Questions Acknowledgments Part I: FlashCom Foundation Chapter 1. Introducing the Flash Communication Server Section 1.1. Clients and Servers Section 1.2. Creating an Application Section 1.3. Real-Time Messaging Protocol Section 1.4. The Communication Classes Section 1.5. Communicating with Application Servers, Databases, and Directory Servers Section 1.6. Firewalls and Security Section 1.7. Getting Started Section 1.8. Hello Video! Section 1.9. Conclusion Chapter 2. Communication Components Section 2.1. Overview of Communication Components Section 2.2. Summary of Communication Components Section 2.3. Creating an Application that Monitorsa Connection Section 2.4. Building a Simple Chat Room Section 2.5. Adding Audio and Video to the Chat Room Section 2.6. Forgoing the SimpleConnect Component Section 2.7. Conclusion Chapter 3. Managing Connections Section 3.1. Making a Connection Section 3.2. Managing a Connection Section 3.3. Reusing a NetConnection Object Section 3.4. Multiple Simultaneous NetConnection Objects Section 3.5. Testing and Debugging Network Connections Section 3.6. Subclassing the NetConnection Class Section 3.7. Communication Components Without SimpleConnect Section 3.8. Conclusion Chapter 4. Applications, Instances, and Server-Side ActionScript Section 4.1. Scripting Application Instances Section 4.2. Differences Between Flash ActionScript and Server-Side ActionScript Section 4.3. The Life of an Application Instance Section 4.4. Running a Simple Hello World Test Script Section 4.5. A More Realistic Example Section 4.6. Instance-to-Instance Communications Section 4.7. Script Filenames and Locations in Detail Section 4.8. Testing and Debugging Server-SideScript Files Section 4.9. Designing Communication Applications Section 4.10. Conclusion Part II: Audio, Video, and Data Streams Chapter 5. Managing Streams Section 5.1. A Simple Publisher/Subscriber Example Section 5.2. Stream Names Section 5.3. Publishing Streams in Detail Section 5.4. Playing Streams in Detail Section 5.5. The Stream Class Section 5.6. Publishing and Playing ActionScript Data Section 5.7. Creating Synchronized Presentations Section 5.8. The NetStream and Stream Information Objects Section 5.9. Stream Enhancements and Limitations Section 5.10. Conclusion Chapter 6. Microphone and Camera Section 6.1. Working with Microphone/Audio Input Section 6.2. Working with Camera Input Section 6.3. Building a Message-Taking Application Section 6.4. Building a Surveillance Application Section 6.5. Conclusion Chapter 7. Media Preparation and Delivery Section 7.1. Audio and Video Compression Section 7.2. Converting Prerecorded Materialto FLV Format Section 7.3. Using Flash Pro's Media Components Section 7.4. Enabling Multiple Bit Rate FLVsWithin an Application Section 7.5. Streaming MP3 Audio Section 7.6. Conclusion Part III: Remote Connectivity and Communication Chapter 8. Shared Objects Section 8.1. Objects and Shared Objects Section 8.2. Getting a Shared Object in Flash Section 8.3. Updates and Frame Rates Section 8.4. Scripting Shared Objects on the Server Section 8.5. Temporary and Persistent Shared Objects Section 8.6. Proxied Shared Objects Section 8.7. Shared Objects and Custom Classes Section 8.8. Avoiding Collisions Section 8.9. Optimizing Shared Object Performance Section 8.10. Broadcasting Remote Method Callswith send( ) Section 8.11. A Simple Video and Text Chat Application Section 8.12. Conclusion Chapter 9. Remote Methods Section 9.1. Why Use Calls? Section 9.2. The send( ) and call( ) Methods Section 9.3. Client-to-Server Calls Section 9.4. Server-to-Client Calls Section 9.5. Server-to-Server Calls Section 9.6. A Simple Lobby/Rooms Application Section 9.7. Debugging Calls Section 9.8. Advanced Topics Section 9.9. Conclusion Chapter 10. Server Management API Section 10.1. Connecting to the Admin Service Section 10.2. Using the Server Management API Section 10.3. Server Management API Uses Section 10.4. Conclusion Chapter 11. Flash Remoting Section 11.1. The Remoting Gateway Section 11.2. Remoting Basics Section 11.3. Role of Remoting in FlashCom Applications Section 11.4. Securing Access Section 11.5. Conclusion Chapter 12. ColdFusion MX and FlashCom Section 12.1. Understanding ColdFusion MXand Flash Remoting Section 12.2. Using Flash Remoting to Log Events Section 12.3. Getting a List of Streams Section 12.4. Using ColdFusion and FTP to Mirror Streams Section 12.5. Conclusion Part IV: Design and Deployment Chapter 13. Building Communication Components Section 13.1. Source Files Section 13.2. People Lists Section 13.3. A Simple People List Section 13.4. Listenable Shared Objects Section 13.5. Status and People List Section 13.6. Text Chat Section 13.7. Shared Text Section 13.8. Video Conference and Video Window Section 13.9. PeopleGrid Section 13.10. Summary Section 13.11. Conclusion Chapter 14. Understanding the Macromedia Component Framework Section 14.1. The Component Framework Section 14.2. Under the Hood of the Chat Component Section 14.3. Creating a Simple Component from Scratch: SharedTextInput Section 14.4. Creating a Container Component: SharedAddressForm Section 14.5. Creating an Authenticating Component Section 14.6. Integrating Components with Your Existing Applications Section 14.7. Understanding the Framework Section 14.8. Conclusion Chapter 15. Application Design Patterns and Best Practices Section 15.1. Shared Object Management Section 15.2. Moving Code to the Server Section 15.3. Building Façades on the Server Section 15.4. Server-Side Client Queues Section 15.5. A Framework for Recording and Playing Back Componentized Applications Section 15.6. Components and Component Frameworks Section 15.7. Conclusion Chapter 16. Building Scalable Applications Section 16.1. Coordinating Instances Section 16.2. Scalability and Load Balancing Section 16.3. Conclusion Chapter 17. Network Performance, Latency,and Concurrency Section 17.1. Latency Section 17.2. Bandwidth Section 17.3. Concurrency Section 17.4. Conclusion Chapter 18. Securing Applications Section 18.1. The Three A's: Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting Section 18.2. Authentication Section 18.3. Authorization Section 18.4. Accounting Section 18.5. Suggestions and References Section 18.6. Conclusion Index Copyright © 2005 O'Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O'Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for most titles (http://safari.oreilly.com). For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: (800) 998-9938 or [email protected]. Nutshell Handbook, the Nutshell Handbook logo, and the O'Reilly logo are registered trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc. Programming Flash Communication Server, the image of a brown bear with cub, and related trade dress are trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O'Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. About the Authors Brian Lesser Giacomo "Peldi" Guilizzoni Joey Lott Robert Reinhardt Justin Watkins Brian Lesser Brian Lesser is the lead author of Programming Flash Communication Server. He works in Ryerson University's Computing and Communications Services, where he has the ungainly title of Assistant Director, Teaching and Technology Support. Brian's background is in imaging and information systems. Before Ryerson, he worked in the National Archives of Canada Photograph Conservation Lab and the Xerox Research Centre of Canada Thin Film Science Lab. He has been captivated with Flash and FlashCom, and their potential in education, since FlashCom was first released. Many of his early experiments and tutorials are