Blog

Discussion going on the JSAPI (JSFL) list about DLL’s & JSAPI. I had an idea for an RA (Rich Application); a Flash app that had local file access, but could also write to the local disk as well. Basically, this one developer posted an Asteroids game. It allowed you to play Asteroids inside of Flash… that’s right, on your stage. He updated it to use the drawing layer and it was pretty fast.

Guy Watson chimed in about writing a special DLL that has the required header and API and then you place in the Flash External Libraries configuration folder so you can then utilize the methods of the DLL in JSAPI like so (via <a href=”http://mxblogspace.journurl.com/users/compiled/index.cfm?mode=article&entry=1096″>Compiled</a>):

sample.dll in folder

fl.trace(Sample); /// [Object object]

and running through the props:

for( var i in Sample )
{
fl.trace( i + ” – ” + Sample[i] );
}

Returns:

name Sample
MM__path – path\Sample.dll
MM_loaded – true

In Compiled’s example.

It got me thinkging about an RA…

Remember all those people (you may be one of them) that wanted local file access? Guy Watson mentioned that he was developing a DLL for use in JSAPI that could read & write files & folders because he was an official, 3rd party extension developer. Now, you can run Flash in a Flash Panel which allows you to have Flash movies have access to JSAPI. Therefore, you could have a Flash app, as well, that runs in a Panel AND give it access to that DLL which in turn gives Flash access to the local machine.

Again, after seeing that Flash game in action running INSIDE OF FLASH, I could see a plethora of people writing mini-applications, in Flash, in Flash… or using a SWF in a Panel inside of the Flash IDE. Although Central will soon give us local file access, why not develop your RA for the Flash IDE? Granted, Screenweaver and other 3rd party apps do this, but there is still a lot of opportunity and different features available here.

Postulations & Ideas…

Thoughts?

Ok, maybe it’s my fault. I usually push for feature requests once I feel I’ve reached the comfort plateu with the current version of Flash. However, I severely dropped the ball on this one, so I urge you now to please help me rectify the situation.

Please, add a request to the <a href=”http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/?6213=9″>Flash wish-list</a> for Macromedia to implement a return value for createTextField, that value being the text field just created; similiar to attachMovie/createEmptyMovieClip/mc.duplicateMovieClip.

This is frikin’ ridiculous, and I don’t know how it slipped past in this version of Flash as there, I thought, were many of us befuddled by it in 6. Maybe that was it… a minor annoyance, but not as profound as right click. At any rate, let’s not wait for Flash 9 before this is rectified, please!

<a href=”http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/?6213=9″>Wish</a>!

* Edited 12/8/2003 – North and South Carolina’s were mispelled.

<a href=”https://www.jessewarden.com/clark04/”>Finishing round 1</a> of 2 of a map application for <a href=”http://www.clark04.com/”>www.clark04.com</a>. After all the typing I did for this small & simple app, I figured the least I could do was add some text files and a useful function to the archives of Google and hope that someone can garner use from these.

Read on for text files and code…