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Using Switch and Case

Posted by Helmut | Filed under Flash Bits

Following the samples from the Flash Docs you will have the following:

ActionScript:
  1. switch (variable) {
  2.    case 0:
  3.    trace("Option0");
  4.    break;
  5.    case 1:
  6.    trace("Option1");
  7.    break;
  8.    case 2:
  9.    trace("Option2");
  10.    break;
  11. }

But if you are about to test against a string variable instead of a number variable your first instict (or at least i guess it would be your first instict) would be just to place the string inside the case statement

ActionScript:
  1.  
  2. case thevariable;
  3.  

Once you run your code this is not going to work, granted the variable you are testing might be the exact variable you are expecting but in reallity flash won't know it is a string until you put it in quote marks.

ActionScript:
  1.  
  2. case "thevariable";
  3.  

I hope this little tip helps out some of you...

Read more | Comments (0) | October 22nd, 2006

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GoDaddy and MySQL access

Posted by Helmut | Filed under Tutorials

If you are a developer and you do some sort of backend work there is a chance one of your clients might ask you to install an application in GoDaddy servers.

So if you are trying to connect to a dabase within your application what GoDaddy recommends is to use mysql.secureserver.net as your hostname. Maybe this could have worked while back but that information is not true for all servers.

If you are having problems all you have to do is login to your GoDaddy control panel and look what server has GoDaddy assigned for you, at least that is how it worked out for me.

Read more | Comments (9) | October 11th, 2006

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ActionScript Email Validation

Posted by Helmut | Filed under Flash Bits

Sooner or later you will face with the small quest of validating an email address for your flash application. The following script is a basic script and should not be used for websites that relay heavily on the email address is being requested (shopping carts, credit card transactions and so forth)

ActionScript:
  1. function isValidEmail(e) {
  2. if (e.indexOf("@") != -1 && ( e.indexOf(".") > e.indexOf("@") ) ){
  3. trace("success");
  4. }else{
  5. trace("error");
  6. }
  7. }
  8.  
  9. //Test
  10. isValidEmail("test@test.com");
  11.  

Read more | Comments (6) | October 6th, 2006

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Never Understimate the power of MovieClips used as Graphics

Posted by Helmut | Filed under Flash Bits

When the time comes when you have to develop the same set of animations for different sets and different sizes don’t forget to use your MovieClips as Graphics, this is a great way to save work for everyone.

Not only you will be able to deliver on time (and if you are lucky under schedule) but also you will be able to produce work faster and at the same time cut prices for the production. So in the end this is a Win-Win situation

Read more | Comments (0) | September 22nd, 2006

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Flash ActionScript Inheritance

Posted by Helmut | Filed under FlashMX

So I am trying to figure out the following piece of code:

ActionScript:
  1.  
  2. <pre>in Application.as
  3. import Log;
  4. class Application
  5. {
  6. private var _log:Log; // force mtasc to compile Log.as
  7.  
  8. function Application(createdBy)
  9. {
  10. // Re-assigment of _root to Application instance
  11. createdBy.__proto__ = this.__proto__;
  12. createdBy.__constructor__ = Application;
  13. this = createdBy;
  14.  
  15. setup();
  16. }
  17. public function setup()
  18. {
  19. TRACE("hello world");
  20. }
  21. public static function main(createdBy:MovieClip)
  22. {
  23. var app = new Application(createdBy);
  24. }
  25. }; // end of class</pre>
  26.  

found here:

http://www.osflash.org/pipermail/osflash_osflash.org/2005-August/002165.html

So far I have been recommended to read the following article:

http://www.quantumwave.com/flash/inheritance.html

The article well covers the subject of inheritance in Flash 5 and MX. My only concern is that as the article points out using inheritance in this way it will be only an overload to the application.
..to be continued

Read more | Comments (0) | August 18th, 2006

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Developing ASP.NET - Welcome Matrix Project

Posted by Helmut | Filed under Software Review

After I got my computer I figured out that WinXP doesnt come with the IIS server to develop for ASP.NET. This is a major problem if you are like me who has to develop in different languages under the same platform. Well, I found this little application called ASP.NET Web Matrix Project. It is only 1.3 MB in file size and some people comment that this little application is better than Visual Studio in all aspects, but most of all its FREE!!! Gratis!!!

Link

Read more | Comments (0) | July 25th, 2006

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ICal & GTD

Posted by Helmut | Filed under Productivity

Sometimes is difficult to integrate the GTD system into your everyday life tools, locally for us Jeffrey C. Long posted the setup he uses in Ical, as most of you know Ical is only available for MAC and there is no sight of being developed for PC. There are similar items like Mozillas Calendar that for what I understand the Mozilla's Calendar can be sincronized with Ical.

So see for yourself and check the Set up that Jeffrey posted in Google Groups:

http://groups.google.com/group/43Folders/msg/730dca681076a74d

Read more | Comments (0) | June 23rd, 2006

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Welcome FABridge - A combination of Flash and AJAX

Posted by Helmut | Filed under News

Adobe makes peace with Ajax

9th March 2006
By CBR Staff Writer

Seeking to ride the Ajax wave, Adobe Systems is to announce that it wants to make friends, rather than compete with, the increasingly popular grassroots rich internet client framework.

Adobe will release FABridge, which stands for Flash-Ajax bridge. Specifically, FABridge will allow JavaScript routines to call rich graphic objects supported in the Adobe Flash player. Later this year, it will also make available a client for data services in its Flex framework to which Ajax clients can connect.

Read More

Read more | Comments (0) | April 18th, 2006

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New Layout

Posted by Helmut | Filed under News

After so long without updating the layout for this site I finally got the opportunity to do it. At first I was concerned about all the details of the site but after starting programming this monster things were a lot easier than what I remember they were.

I hope you all enjoy the new layout.

Read more | Comments (0) | April 8th, 2006

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The TRUTH about PHP/mySQL security Part II

Posted by Helmut | Filed under PHP

..continued from The TRUTH about PHP/mySQL security Part I

So here we are on "The TRUTH about PHP/mySQL security Part deux", So after reading lots of websites/blogs and reviewing nearly 100 OS PHP/mySQL scripts I have found that everyone has a similar structure

Main Page
  |- imgs
     |-someimage.jpg
     |-someimage.jpg
  |- inc
     |- dbconnection.php
     |- extra_file.php
     |- extra_file.php
     |- extra_file.php

What we want to look for is the dbconnection.php file. So lets take a look at a simple dbconnection.php file

PHP:
  1. < ?
  2. include "../config.php";
  3.  
  4. function db_connect()
  5. {
  6.    $result = @mysql_pconnect($server, $db_user, $db_pass) or die ("Database CONNECT Error (db_fns line 7)"); 
  7.    if (!$result)
  8.       return false;
  9.    if (!@mysql_select_db($database))
  10.       return false;
  11.  
  12.    return $result;
  13. }
  14.  
  15. ?>
  16.  

But now we see there is an include config.php, lets take a look into that file

PHP:
  1. < ?
  2. $domain      = "www.yourdomain.com"; // Your domain name (include www. if used BUT NOT http://)
  3. $server            = "localhost"; // Your MySQL server address (usually 'localhost')
  4. $db_user           = "username"; // Your MySQL database username
  5. $db_pass           = "password"; // Your MySQL database password
  6. $database          = "database"; // Your MySQL database name
  7. $currency   = "UK Pounds"; // The currency that your affiliates will be paid in
  8. $emailinfo                = "test@email.com"; // Your email address
  9. $yoursitename   = "Your Site Name"; // Your sites name
  10. ?>
  11.  

Is all this information sensitive? Of course it is! imagine some one getting a hold of your $db_user or $db_pass variable, they could easily create scripts that will log into your DB and either edit the information or destroy it. But I'm not going to go into detail about that, what I am after is to learn how secure it is to leave your php scripts out in the open and from what I have learned so far it is pretty safe do that, but I want to continue to search for what other kind of security is offered by PHP.

...to be continued

Read more | Comments (0) | March 2nd, 2006

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