ColdFusion Article

Many ColdFusion developers have asked how to make their content management tasks available through a Macromedia Flash interface, taking advantage of the Rich Internet Application opportunities between Macromedia ColdFusion MX and Macromedia Flash MX through Macromedia Flash Remoting. In this month's CF Extreme, I'll show you how you can quickly make your CFCs available within Macromedia Flash SWFs. Equally important, you'll learn how to create a data management tool based in ColdFusion, with a Macromedia Flash interface.

Prerequisites:
Before proceeding, I recommend that you read the following articles in the Macromedia DevNet:

• ColdFusion MX, Best Practices - by Brian Takle
• Macromedia Flash MX, Best Practices - by Jason Hatcher
• ActionScript Coding Standards - by Michael Williams
• Getting Started with Flash Remoting - by Mike Chambers
• Connecting ColdFusion MX and Flash MX - by Kevin Towes

Setup:
Ensure that you have downloaded and installed the following:

• Macromedia Flash MX Authoring Environment with,
• Macromedia Flash Remoting Components installed
• Flash UI Components, Set #2 (If you have this option installed, it will show up in the Components Panel inside Macromedia Flash MX, in the drop down menu. They are part of the default installation of Macromedia Flash MX.)
• Macromedia Dreamweaver MX
• Macromedia ColdFusion MX
• flashdatamgr.zip (445K). Unzip this archive and place the files in your ColdFusion MX webroot.
• The CompanyInfo.mdb database (included with the flashdatamgr.zip file). This is the sample database installed with Macromedia ColdFusion MX server. If this data source is not already defined in your ColdFusion Administrator, define it and give it a data source name of "companyInfo". If you don't have the database, it's included in the flashdatamgr.zip file for this tutorial. Refer to the ColdFusion MX documentation for full instructions if you're unfamiliar with configuring data sources.

About the author
Kevin Towes of the New Toronto Group (www.NewYYZ.com) is an established consultant, trainer, and author for Macromedia Server and Flash technologies. Throughout his long career in the New Media Industry, Kevin has played a leadership role in developing the Macromedia community. He has authored numerous articles and training material that focus on the integration of Macromedia technologies. Kevin's expertise comes from the experience of designing and developing many show case, leading edge solutions. He has written a book and course for Flash Communication Server MX and taught New Media at Toronto's Ryerson University

At the New Toronto Group, Kevin focuses on helping customers learn, develop and deploy solutions that integrate persistent and stored communications and data using the Flash player. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Photographic Arts degree from Ryerson University. Kevin is an avid ski instructor, rower and kayaker. He can be reached at ktowes@newYYZ.com.