Learning Flash Media Server 3 excerpts: Nonpersistent shared objects and two-way A/V communications

Flash Media Server 3 (FMS 3) is very different from regular web servers. Its open-socket server technology stays connected until you quit the application, allowing you to stream audio, video, text, and other media in real time.

If you are interested in recording and streaming media using FMS 3 and the Adobe Real-Time Messaging Protocol, Learning Flash Media Server 3 by William B. Sanders will systematically guide you through the process of developing FMS 3 applications using ActionScript 3.0. The book is also recommended for web developers familiar with Flash Media Server 2 or Flash Communication Server 1.5 since FMS 3 is quite different from previous versions.

The book begins with FMS 3 basics: installation, organizing your development environment with Apache web server, and using the management console. You'll then learn how to record and play back streaming audio and video in VP6 and H.264 formats, use the new Flash Media Live Encoder to stream and record video, set up a software load handler using FMS 3's new server-side NetStream, and bring in data and work with configuration files. The book also covers topics like camera and microphone settings, nonpersistent client-side remote shared objects, two-way audio-video communications, and broadcasting and server-side bandwidth control. You'll even get plenty of options for using FMS 3's different versions—the full-featured server, the streaming-only server, and the limited-user development server.

Learning Flash Media Server 3 © 2008 William B. Sanders. Reproduced by permission of O'Reilly Media Inc. All rights reserved.

Nonpersistent client-side remote shared objects

Chapter 4 provides an in-depth look at nonpersistent shared objects. Nonpersistent shared objects are like variables. When you quit an application, all of the values in the variables disappear; they do not persist. In the same way, the data in a nonpersistent shared object is lost as soon as users leave the application. The chapter begins by listing the possible uses of nonpersistent remote shared objects, as well as how to instantiate a remote object. You'll learn how to set up shared object storage, and inspect and sync a shared object.

During the course of the chapter, you will work with three minimalist projects. The first project uses a movie clip as a shared object to show how shared objects work with a remote page. Having seen a minimalist project for a movie clip, you'll then learn to share text in the second project. The third project demonstrates how to open a web page on someone else's browser. Finally, the concluding section of the chapter provides you with information on how to make a good text chat application.

Download the complete chapter:

• Chapter 4: Nonpersistent client-side remote shared objects (PDF, 415K)

Two-way audio-video communications

Chapter 5 looks at the basic ingredients for creating a two-way A/V application using FMS 3—either Flash Media Interactive Server 3 or Flash Media Development Server 3. The applications in this chapter all use classes and objects briefly discussed in previous chapters, especially Chapter 3. The author begins by examining the NetStream class as it is used for live streaming, and then gives a minimalist example of building a two-way A/V chat application with two modules. He then explores the better option of building a two-way chat with a single module that can tell which way to set the streams. The author closes the chapter with a discussion on how to build multiple participant conference applications.

Download the complete chapter:

• Chapter 5: Two-way audio-video communications (PDF, 763K)