Matt MacLean (yet another Canadian ActionScripter, I swear ActionScript has to be in Canada’s top ten exports, right after soft-wood lumber) has created an ActionScript driver that connects to MySQL called asSQL (I wonder how you pronouce that [ass-kwuhl]?) 
In Sept. 06 I set out to show someone that is was possible to connect to a mySQL server from acionscript. It took about an hour to get actionscript connecting to mySQL. I was getting a bad handshake error but if anything I proved that it could be done. That project then sat in Flex Builder until about a month ago when I started back on it. And now, a mySQL actionscript 3 driver exists.
This project is very much still in Alpha stages but neverless it is working. Writing a database driver in actionscript raises some major concerns. One of the biggest concerns to address is fact that to use an actionscript database driver you will need to make your database server publicly accessible. Another issue is where to store the server location, username’s, password’s etc.
Being able to connect straight to the DB is pretty cool!
I’ve always wondered why Adobe/Macromedia didn’t push AS on the server side more. Ruby on Rails have been trying to get Ruby to be the “one language to rule them all” with RJS etc., and now Microsoft have Silverlight which brings .NET to the client.
Adobe should hire Nicolas Cannasse of HaXe fame to create an *open source* AS3 web server (rather than just a media server than can run AS3 server side.). Then charge for add ons like FLV streaming, messaging, etc.
2 Comments
I totally agree, Actionscript has matured into a very nice language with lots of great features. And now with AIR, is capable of File I/O operations (albeit inside a local sandbox).
Adobe please listen to Alastair and consider the potential of server-side AS3. If you roll it in with ColdFusion/FMS to start with great but you have at your disposal something that really can be the universal scripting language. AS3 deserves it’s own web server to create any type of output be it SWF, HTML, PDF, Images, Video or sound.
But then again Adobe probably already knows this and maybe somewhere in Adobe HQ there is a team of Nicolas Cannasse’s beavering away chuckling to themselves ‘Dude this is going to rock the world!’ as they tap their keyboards.
We can but wait.
or you could just use red5?