Actionscript Cookbook

16.6. Storing Persistent Data on the Server

Problem

You want to store persistent data on the FlashCom server.

Solution

Use a remote shared object to store persistent data on the server and access it from one or more clients. Use the SharedObject.get( ) method in the Server-Side ActionScript to create the shared object, and then connect the client(s) to the shared object using the SharedObject.getRemote( ) and connect( ) methods in the client-side ActionScript. Or, you can create the RSO entirely from the client using the SharedObject.getRemote( ) method.

Discussion

To create persistent remote shared objects, you can use one of two approaches. Either you can create the server-side shared object using the SharedObject.get( ) method in an .asc file and then connect to it from the Flash clients, or you can handle everything from the client. Creating the shared object on the server side is preferable in most scenarios because it allows you to do more things with the data on the server. (The server-side .asc file must exist within the FlashCom application. See Recipe 14.1 and Recipe 14.14.) The get( ) method requires you to specify the name of the shared object as well as a Boolean value indicating whether the shared object should be persistent (true) or not (false). (In this case, you want to create a persistent object. See Recipe 17.5 for information about creating nonpersistent shared objects.) If a shared object with the same name already exists on the server, then it is opened; otherwise, ...