Actionscript Cookbook

18.2. Loading Variables from a Server-Side Script

Problem

You want to load variables into a Flash movie from a server-side script (ColdFusion, Perl, PHP, etc.).

Solution

Use the LoadVars.load( ) method.

Discussion

The ActionScript to load variables from a server-side script is exactly the same as that used to load variables from a text file. When you call the load( ) method you should pass it the URL of the script from which you want to load the variables, then handle the results with an onLoad( ) method, as shown in Recipe 18.1.

You should use server-side scripts as the source for variables loaded into Flash when the values for the variables are generated from a database or another resource accessible only to the server. The script that you use must output URL-encoded data only, beginning from the first character. If you are writing a CGI script in Perl, the result is URL-encoded, so you do not need to make any special adjustments. For example:

#!/usr/bin/perl

# In a more practical example this value would be retrieved 
# from a database or other server-side resource.
$myVar = "test";

# Define the Content-Type header.
print "Content-Type: text/plain\n\n";

# Output the name-value pair.
print "myVar=$myVar";

However, when you use a ColdFusion page to load variables into Flash, you need to take steps to ensure that it outputs URL-encoded data and that the output begins from the first character. Otherwise, extra whitespace characters may precede the output of the URL-encoded data, in ...