Upcoming Database Plug-in?

[Elfy]

Northcode -

In this thread ( http://www.northcode.com/forums/show...&threadid=4446 ) you said that after you get SWF Studio 3 out the door you were planning on working on a new database plug-in for SWF Studio (version 3, I presume) that directly works with either Valentina or SQLite (or perhaps both?).

I'm getting ready to create a new version of a software system that currently uses Visual Basic 6 with MS Access, but will be using Flash MX2K4/SWF3. I'd prefer to use a standalone database rather than have to worry about MS Access and all of the dependency files if I can.

So I was wondering, will you (or one of your co-programmers) be able to work on getting that plug-in out soon after you release SWF3 (which will hopefully be in the next few days) or will this be a long time away?

Thank you,
Elfy

Relevant quotes:

Originally posted by northcode Dan did a LOT of work on the V3 plugin architecture and it's pretty much to the point now where all we have to do is write a collection of C/C++ functions and wrap them up using the V3 plugin SDK.[snip]

I've had a look at Valentina, but I don't know a lot about it yet. I've also looked at SQLite, which I really like. Both of these are contenders for a new V3 database plugin to complement the ADO plugin, but as you say we have to get V3 out the door first. [snip]

Originally posted by northcode I'll keep looking into V and see which one I like best [/B]

[igor]

I am also anxiously waiting for solid db-support for SWFstudio and I'd like to use a standalone-db for the same reasons as you do.
But since v3 is still not available, I tested mProjector: they have a COM-interface which enables you to access COM-based DB's, like Valentina, the one I use.

mProjector might not be as full-featured as SWFstudio, but it's seems very stable to me (see also the Flash projectors-comparison test on www.flashmagazine.com) and the connection between Flash and Valentina-db works very good.

Igor

[Elfy]

Honestly, I would prefer SQLite instead of Valentina, if for no other reason than that SQLite is free (in comparision to Valentina, which isn't). While I realize that NC and crew are busy trying to get SWF 3 finally out the door, I'd rather hoped NC would be forthcoming about my question, but prehaps the lack of an answer is my answer.

Thank you for your information though.

[northcode]

...but prehaps the lack of an answer is my answer

My preference is for SQLite as well so that's what we'll use. The unoffical plan is to have two versions of the plugin, one that uses the same methods as the ADO plugin so it can be used as a drop in replacement and another version that takes advantage of everything SQLite has to offer without being held back by limitations of the existing ADO infrastructure.

[igor]

Fair enough, SQLite is free, Valentina can't beat this of course. Although I wouldn't say that's a good reason to choose for SQLite. Hopefully you also chose it because it is a solid solution...

My reason to choose for Valentina is partially because I've used it in several Director-projects in the past as well. The other reason is simple, currently I don't know of any standalone database which can be connected to Flash. If you do know a way, please tell us.

- SWFStudio: MS Access through ADO > that sucks, at least when I used ADO with Director.
- Zinc: ADO > same as for SWFStudio, MSAccess natively > haven't tested that one, I am not such a MS-fan, MySQL > not standalone.
- mProjector: no db-support, but a COM-interface (the one I used to connect to Valentina)

[Elfy]

Originally posted by northcode The unoffical plan...

Thank you. That sounds like a good plan. By your best guess, approximately how long away are you thinking it might be before these (or this) new database plug-in(s) become available - a month, three months, six months, or longer even? Your best guess'll give me a reasonable idea as to whether to have any expectations of it being available in time to use with my project or not.

Thank you,
Elfy

[northcode]

The database plugin(s) will appear within the first month after the release of V3. We haven't announced the released date, but we'l be ready to do that very soon.

The existing V3 plugin list looks like this: ADO, Catalog, Email, FileSys, FTP, HTTP, INIFile, Joystick, TCP, UDP. Many of these are stronger, faster versions of their V2 cousins with a few new features thrown in, but some of them are completely new.

The Email plugin allows you to send email in plain text or HTML. Send attachments. Set the importance to Normal or High. Set flag for read receipt. Access to email headers for more control. No need to specify the server (automatic MX lookup). Full audit trail of conversation with SMTP server. This is what the V2 SMTPSend plugin should have been - and it's going to get better

FTP and HTTP are MUCH improved over their V2 counterparts because of more efficient "chunked" transfers they allow and because the multi-threaded plugin architecture provides much better throughput.

The Joystick plugin supports as many joysticks as you can hang off your system and allows you to get at ALL of the joystick data including up to 32 buttons per joystick (the maximum supported) unlike some of our competitors that limit the number of buttons you can use.

The TCP and UDP plugins enable the use of advanced socket communications in SWF Studio applications. You can create both client and server applications making two-way communication between machines possible. The plugins are very easy to use but the power they provide is incredible.

[Elfy]

That sounds really great! Thank you. I'm looking forward to SWF3 coming out. Those socket and joystick plug-ins look great too! Now I'll be able to make a multiple-player games also =D

[northcode]

You could actually build your own web (HTTP) server, FTP server or a custom (game?) server using the TCP plugin. Using the new Crypto routines that are built into V3 you can also encrypt the data you send back and forth to protect it from prying eyes. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys crank out some really cool apps

[YesNo]

When I read this I'd cutting my fingernails to prepair me to start hacking in may keyboard

Great Software, marvelous support the best conditions to build New Media Productions

Michael

[Elfy]

WhooHoo! Cryptography too =D

On the subject of game-related features:

Will our applications be able to make use of microphone/headsets so that the players can voice chat with each other as they play a multi-player game? If not, that'd be a really neat capability to add. It'd also allow the ability to make other VoIP-type applications.

Also, on the subject of security, how does one protect one's program? For example, what if a customer can download a program to check it out (maybe some functions, such as save, are disabled, only the first level of a game is playable, or the whole application functions normally, but for only 7 days or something), but the customer can purchase an 'unlock' code code to have complete use of the application. What would be the best way to go about those types of security with SWF3-built applications?

[Dan]

Elfy,

On the subject of voice recording, that item is indeed a possibility. The fact that Flash variables can't (directly) handle binary data is circumventable, though it could result in lots of data being shuttled around, not exactly Flash's forté. Video capture would probably also fall under the same feature request.

Without getting into specifics, there are a number of new security features in V3 that give you the control you need to implement an 'unlock' system. The commands exposed actually let you do a lot more than you probably expect.

[4d3]

I'm concern about the database plugin since most of my project were building an application with standalone database and always played in cd-rom.

in v2.3 I can only use ms-access which is not so good... so I'm hoping that NC can offer the best solution for the database integration on v3.
SQLlite sounds so good...

[YesNo]

... and mostly used in Internet and locals MYSQL which is width spread!

Michael

[mbd]

in v2.3 I can only use ms-access which is not so good

Actually, that's not true. You can use any database that has an ADO provider and because Microsoft provides a generic ODBC support driver you can also use any ODBC compliant database through ADO as well. So you can use MS Access, MySQL, MS SQL Server, Oracle, dBASE, Excel, etc.

mbd