Flash CS3 Documentation

Learning ActionScript 2.0 in Adobe Flash > Working with External Data > Using HTTP to connect to server-side scripts

Using HTTP to connect to server-side scripts

The loadVariables function, loadVariablesNum function, getURL function, loadMovie function, loadMovieNum function functions and the loadVariables (MovieClip.loadVariables method), loadMovie (MovieClip.loadMovie method), and getURL (MovieClip.getURL method) methods can communicate with server-side scripts using HTTP or HTTPS protocols.These functions and methods send all the variables from the timeline to which the function is attached. When used as methods of the MovieClip object, loadVariables(), getURL(), and loadMovie() send all the variables of the specified movie clip; each function (or method) handles its response as follows:

• The getURL() function returns any information to a browser window, not to Flash Player.
• The loadVariables() method loads variables into a specified timeline or level in Flash Player.
• The loadMovie() method loads a SWF file into a specified level or movie clip in Flash Player.

When you use loadVariables(), getURL(), or loadMovie(), you can specify several parameters:

• URL is the file in which the remote variables reside.
• Location is the level or target in the SWF file that receives the variables. (The getURL() function does not take this parameter.)

  For more information about levels and targets, see Using Flash.

• Variables sets the HTTP method, either GET (appends the variables to the end of the URL) or POST (sends the variables in a separate HTTP header), by which the variables are sent. When this parameter is omitted, Flash Player defaults to GET, but no variables are sent.

For example, if you want to track the high scores for a game, you could store the scores on a server and use loadVariables() to load them into the SWF file each time someone played the game. The function call might look like the following example:

this.createEmptyMovieClip("highscore_mc", 10);
loadVariables("http://www.helpexamples.com/flash/highscore.php", highscore_mc, "GET");

This example loads variables from the ColdFusion script called high_score.cfm into the movie clip instance scoreClip using the GET HTTP method.

Any variables loaded with the loadVariables() function must be in the standard MIME format application/x-www-form-urlencoded (a standard format used by CFM and CGI scripts). The file you specify in the URL parameter of loadVariables() must write out the variable and value pairs in this format so that Flash can read them. This file can specify any number of variables; variable and value pairs must be separated with an ampersand (&), and words within a value must be separated with a plus (+) sign. For example, the following phrase defines several variables:

highScore1=54000&playerName1=RGoulet&highScore2=53455&playerName2=
WNewton&highScore3=42885&playerName3=TJones

For more information, see the following topic: Using the LoadVars class. Also, see loadVariables function, getURL function, loadMovie function, and the LoadVars entry in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.

Flash CS3