Flash Remoting: The Definitive Guide

Working with a Database

PHP works with many different databases, but the one most often associated with it is MySQL. The following example assumes you have both PHP and MySQL set up and running and that you have the Northwind database set up with a user named “northwind” and a password of “northwind”. The Northwind database is provided by Microsoft as a sample for SQL Server (http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/Nwind2K.aspx) and can be translated into a MySQL database via the mssql2mysql VBScript (http://www.kofler.cc/mysql/mssql2mysql.html). A MySQL version of the Northwind database is also available at the online Code Depot cited in the Preface.

This example defines a custom PHP class, CustomersAdmin, which is assumed to live inside of a file named CustomersAdmin.php in your services directory. The information about the database (database name, hostname, username, and password) are all stored as properties of the class. In addition, the connection to the database is set up as a persistent connection in the class’s constructor; consequently, the class methods don’t have to worry about setting up that connection. Example 9-4 shows the server-side PHP code to access a database. Example 9-5 implements the client-side ActionScript code that goes along with it.

Example 9-4. Server-side code for accessing a database

<?PHP class CustomersAdmin { // Login information for the database var $dbhost = "localhost"; var $dbname = "northwind"; var $dbuser = "northwind"; var $dbpass = "northwind"; ...