Flash .NET

337 Pages·2002·30.257 MB·English

by  Pallav Nadhani, Gregg Wygonik, David Neal, Todd Yard, Chris Bizzell, Graeme Bull (auth.)

Flash .NET
Pallav Nadhani
Gregg Wygonik
David Neal
Todd Yard
Chris Bizzell
Graeme Bull
IFlash .NET
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by friends of ED in 2002
AII rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced. stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means. without the prior written permission of the publisher. except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
The authors and publisher have made every effort in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy
of the information. However. the information contained in this book is sold without warranty. either express
or implied. Neither the authors. friends of ED nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any
damages caused or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by this book.
First Printed November 2002
Trademark Acknowledgements
friends of ED has endeavored to provide trademark information about ali the
companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of
capitals. However. friends of ED cannot guarantee the accuracy of this
information.
ISBN 978-1-59059-167-3 ISBN 978-1-4302-5135-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4302-5135-4
iFlash .NET
Credits
Authors Commissioning Editor
Pallav Nadhani Andrew Tracey
Gregg Wygonik
David Neal Author Agent
Todd Yard Chris Matterface
Chris Bizzell
Graeme Bull Project Manager
Simon Brand
Additional Content
Dan Squier Indexer
Fiona Murray
Technical Reviewers
Mark Grimshaw Graphic Editor
Keran McKenzie Ty Bhogal
David Neal Stuart Ibbotson
Rama Ramachandran
Matt Rice Cover Design
Katy Freer
Technical Editors Ty Bhogal
Matthew Knight
Dan Squier Managing Editor
Chris Hindley
Flash .NET
Pallav Nadhani
"Heaven doesn't need him and Hell is afraid he might take over". That's
how this chemically inbalanced Kindergarten naughty boy used to
trespass around people's minds. Esoteric music pulls him, the louder the
better. Gets bored without constant challenges - keeps on freaking with
new technologies. Hacking, Quake Ill, WWE and happening movies
feature among his top likes. A programmer by heart, Flash is his first love
(though ever failed to draw a trapezoid). Shacks in lnfoSoft with a
Technology Architect board hanging outside it. He would like to thank his
Mom and Dad for being the never ending source of inspiration, Monu for
his continued support, and "Gadhri" for her petty mischiefs that kept him
going throughout. [email protected]
Gregg Wygonik
Gregg is a professional electronic mus1c1an who spends his days
developing Flash-based software that teaches mathematics to children.
When not behind a computer, in the studio, or trotting around on tour,
Gregg likes to spend his "free" time with his photographer wife and their
three cats. Gregg tries to keep his Flash experimentations online at
www.artificialcolors.com, though keeping the site current is always easier
said then done. If Gregg were a colossal death robot, he'd be Gigantor,
and if he were an evil criminal, he would be Elizabeth Bathory.
David Neal
David Neal is currently the Vice-President of Web Technology and Chief
Software Architect for Transcender LLC, where he is looking for every
opportunity to use his .NET skills. Outside of his passion for assimilating
new technology, he fancies himself a capable fingerstyle guitarist. He
would like to thank his wife Tammy and four sons Caleb, Benjamin,
Christian, and Drew for their unconditional love and support, and for
being the best family a man could ever wish for. You can reach him at
[email protected].
Author Biographies
Todd Yard
After studying theatre in london, then working for several years as an
actor in the US, Todd was introduced to Flash in 2000 and
was quickly taken by how it allowed for both stunning creativity
and programmatic logic application a truly left-brain, right brain
approach to production and has not looked back. He now works as
Creative Director for Daedalus Media in New York City, which specializes
in the creation of Flash-based corporate presentations primarily for
clients in the investment banking industry. His more frivolous work and
experimentation can be found at his personal website www.27Bobs.com.
Chris Bizzell
As web developer for The Pinnacle Consulting Group, Chris has
developed numerous dynamic web applications using ASP and ASP.NET
and is excited by the endless possibilities of incorporating
server-side technologies with Flash MX. After picking up a demo of Flash
4 two years ago, he became hooked on the Macromedia product line and
is amazed at the steady maturation of the Flash software. When not
playing with his children Cassidy and Brady Chris likes to kick around his
hometown of Greenville with his wife Stacy. Thanks: I would like to thank
my wife Stacy for putting up with me while this project was being
completed. I would also like to thank West Goewey for getting me started,
and Todd Scott and everyone at Pinnacle for giving me a chance to do
something I truly enjoy for a living.
Graeme Bull
I never really had any real mind to get into web design or anything of the
sort until about two years ago, though after being infected with the Flash
and Photoshop virus, I can't put down my mouse, to a point where I'll just
plain forget to eat and drink as I stare hard at my screen trying to get that
perfect collage of pixels to come together for some fantastic creation.
This is where I have got to thank my girl for coming by and bringing food
to sustain me so I can continue the staring, pixel-moving and general
mumbling at the screen.
Flash .NET
Introduction 1
Power at what price? ...................................................................................................... 2
How the book is structured ........................................................................................ 2
What you'll need ............................................................................................................. .3
Code downloads ............................................................................................................. .3
Layout conventions ........................................................................................................ 4
Support-we're here to help ...................................................................................... S
chapter 1: Flash and .NET 9
Clients and servers ........................................................................................................ 10
Dynamic content .......................................................................................................... 12
ASP or ASP.NET? ............................................................................................................ 13
Installing the liS web server ...................................................................................... 14
Testing the liS installation .......................................................................................... 15
Calling up a web page ................................................................................................ 16
A new start ...................................................................................................................... 17
Careful coding ................................................................................................................ 19
Objects, objects everywhere ...................................................................................... 20
General syntax ................................................................................................................ 21
Variables and data types ............................................................................................ 22
Converting data types .................................................................................................. 22
Operators ........................................................................................................................ 23
Loops and conditionals ................................................................................................ 23
Flash clients .................................................................................................................... 24
Avoiding cached data ................................................................................................. .31
chapter 2: Talking to the server 35
Flat data ......................................................................................................................... .35
Sharing flat data with the server .............................................................................. 36
Using LoadVars to pull in data from the server .................................................. 37
Using LoadVars to send data to the server .......................................................... 41
Structured data ............................................................................................................. .47
Understanding XML ..................................................................................................... .48
Working with XML in Flash ....................................................................................... .49
Writing ASP.NET pages that generate XML ............................................................ 55
Rich content .................................................................................................................... 60
Setting up ........................................................................................................................ 65
Limit scrollbar ................................................................................................................ 66
Scale and the zoom buttons ...................................................................................... 66
Scroll pane and the refresh button ........................................................................ 67
Zooming ..........................................................................................................................6 7
Updating the image ...................................................................................................... 68
Table of Contents
chapter 3: Storing and sourcing data 73
Different sources of data ............................................................................................7 4
Setting up read/write access ...................................................................................... 7S
Setting up the passwords ............................................................................................ 78
Defining the secure content ...................................................................................... 79
Building the ASP.NET page ........................................................................................ 79
Building the Flash front-end ...................................................................................... 82
Setting up the hit count .............................................................................................. 86
Building the ASP.NET page ........................................................................................ 86
Building the Flash front-end ...................................................................................... 89
Defining the news stories .......................................................................................... 91
Building the ASP.NET news reader page ................................................................9 2
Building the basic Flash front-end .......................................................................... 95
Building the ASP.NET admin page .......................................................................... 101
Building the Flash ad min interface ........................................................................ 10 4
Image gallery ................................................................................................................ 10 8
Using TerraServer ........................................................................................................ 113
chapter 4: Databases 123
Introducing MSDE ...................................................................................................... 125
Installing and configuring MSDE ............................................................................ 125
Talking to databases with .NET .............................................................................. 128
Designing the ASP.NET web service ...................................................................... 140
Designing the Flash MX solution ............................................................................ 141
Scripts for StartFrame (frames 1-1 0) .................................................................... 164
Scripts for ReadMessage (frames 11-20) .............................................................. 171
Scripts for NewMessage (21-30) ............................................................................ 172
Scripts for NewUser (frames 31-40) ...................................................................... 174
Scripts for LoginForm (frames 41-50) .................................................................. 176
chapter 5: Flash Remoting 183
Flash Remoting components .................................................................................. 184
Installing the Flash Remoting service for .NET .................................................. 184
Testing the installation .............................................................................................. 186
Writing a service function ........................................................................................ 187
Building the client ...................................................................................................... 188
Connecting to the server .......................................................................................... 189
Using the service object ............................................................................................ 189
Handling feedback from the server ...................................................................... 190
A more flexible way to use the MM:Fiash control ............................................ 190
Different data types .................................................................................................. 193
Passing data back and forth .................................................................................... 195
Using the NetConnection Debugger .................................................................... 199
Flash .NET
Custom event tracing ................................................................................................ 202
Flash Remoting and databases ................................................................................ 203
Creating the database ................................................................................................2 04
Writing the service function .................................................................................... 207
The Flash movie .......................................................................................................... 209
Flash Remoting and web services .......................................................................... 214
Using the doGoogleSearchO web method .......................................................... 218
Creating the Flash interface .................................................................................... 220
case study 1: Airport weather 227
Starting out .................................................................................................................. 228
What are the goals of the project? ...................................................................... 228
Choosing a suitable web service ............................................................................ 229
Getting to know the web service .......................................................................... 231
Service description .................................................................................................... 234
Have some class ..........................................................................................................2 41
Sticky GUI ...................................................................................................................... 244
case study 2: PenPad 267
Methods of drawing .................................................................................................. 267
Code, code, and more code .................................................................................... 268
Exploring the main timeline ....................................................................................2 70
The movie clip buttons ............................................................................................ 271
The library .................................................................................................................... 273
Extending movie clips ................................................................................................ 273
Marquee ........................................................................................................................ 274
Interface communication .......................................................................................... 275
The code not taken .................................................................................................... 278
Interface Enhancements ............................................................................................ 280
The Shape Class .......................................................................................................... 288
Anchors .......................................................................................................................... 291
Methods of manipulation ........................................................................................ 292
Drawing the curves .................................................................................................... 293
Shapes XML ..................................................................................................................2 98
Packaging the shapes ................................................................................................ 299
Sending picture data to the server ....................................................................... .300
Storing data in the file .............................................................................................. 304
Verifying the save operation .................................................................................... 305
Hang ten ....................................................................................................................... .309
Fill it up ......................................................................................................................... .309
Index 313
Table of Contents