XML and live updates with Flash

[Grifter730]

Hi,

I read one time that it's possible for XML to automatically update things without pings from Flash. I'm wondering if this is really possible. Because if it is, things like Flash Chats, Flash messaging system, can be built much better than using pings to the server to updates every few seconds or so. Please let me know what advantages XML has over other programming languages such as CGI/Perl, PHP, and/or ASP. I'm not a programmer, but I have a few friends who knows those languages, the problem is that they don't know anything about Flash, so I'm hoping you guys can help me out. Thanks a lot.

Riki

[Grifter730]

46 members viewed this post and not a single reply??? ^_^;;; c'mon guys, aren't there any XML experts that has ANY sort of comment on this subject? I'm willing to listen to any/all comments regarding it, because I'm clueless as to the capabilities of XML and Flash with live updates.

Riki

[z0gz0g]

I'm a newbie in XMLSocket, but if you speak about this, I can tell you that it's better to use the XMLSocket than a loadvariable(with php, asp...) for a chat..
With XMLSOcket you can create a permanent connection to a server wich allow you to chat in a realtime not with a refresh time, and more important there's no more http request from the flash client to the server, this allow a lot of people to chat together on the same server without killing it.
A real time connection allow you to make a wan multiplayer game, this is great, no ?

[Emphatic]

Hi

xmlSockets provide a huge advantage over xml Load, for the following reasons:

Speed - Much faster response times, typical pings are less than 200 ms

Functions - XmlSocket servers can perform some of the work for you. Using a chat example, xmlsocket servers can be programmed to list all users online, list all 'rooms' online, and list users in those rooms. They also can be programmed to allow you to talk to everyone in the room, or a single user. Reducing the amount of data sent and received by the client (flash).

Check out http://www.flashnexus.com
Tomatoman has created a chat example you can download and modify, and also a great 4-player bomberman.

With the xmlsocket server, you can quite literally create almost any multi-user application in flash you could think of. Chat, games, e-commerce, with 'shop assistants' available to talk to you / answer your questions. Instant messengers.. 3d chat 'worlds'.

*decided to stop before he writes an essay*

Steve
Anymore questions Post back, or email me!

[Grifter730]

I wish you would've written that essay
Reading what you wrote, I got a question. XMLsockets can SHOW us the list of people in the chat room. How do we go about msging individual people? Using invisible buttons? But then how do the buttons dynamically know who to send the private msgs to?

Riki

[Emphatic]

Hi

Actionscript can duplicate buttons, and retrieve values from arrays etc.

For example if your xml socket server supports 'listusers' it can send you a comma delimited list.

If I could use the nexus as an example, You would send..

<listusers group="group" />

It would send:

<listusers group="group" count="numberOfUsers" users="user1,user2,"
status="roomStatus" type="roomType" />

You could then split user1,user2, into an array, and duplicate your button movie, setting the 'name' variable to the username.

If you download and play with the chat example we have at http://www.flashnexus.com/chat.asp You can see this work!

Steve
[Edited by Emphatic on 06-04-2001 at 01:58 PM]

[Grifter730]

Ah, thanks for the reply. I'm actually not even an 'average' programmer, so my actionscript knowledge is pretty bad. Gotta talk to my friend about doing that, hehehe. I only know front-end stuff. I know, I'm so newbie ^_^;

Riki