Flash Remoting: The Definitive Guide

Chapter 1. Introduction to Flash Remoting

When I was an 11-year-old kid, I thought I was pretty good on a bike. I could do wheelies around the neighborhood, drive on dirt hills, jump ramps. It wasn’t enough, though. I wanted to make the transition to a minibike, which is basically a little bike with a lawn mower engine on it. If all I needed was my riding skills, I probably would have been set. Unfortunately, keeping my feet in one place, turning the throttle, and pressing the hand brakes on the minibike were unknown territories. My first time out I turned the throttle too far, lost my footing, and forgot how to hit the brake. I landed in a heap in the street.

If I had put a little forethought into it, I would have realized that riding a bike and riding a minibike were completely different things. Only some aspects were the same; by learning the new aspects and applying my prior knowledge of riding a bike, I eventually figured out how to stay put without falling on my butt.

Working with a new computer technology in a familiar environment is like that. In the case of Flash Remoting, everyone holding this book is probably familiar with Flash movies and ActionScript programming. Flash Remoting puts some new and exciting things into Flash that will require learning new ways to look at ActionScript and what it can accomplish. With Flash Remoting, Macromedia has put an engine on Flash.