1. Write server-side ActionScript that performs the database query and returns data to the client through the Flash Remoting service.

2. Create the SWF movie interface. See Creating the SWF movie interface.

3. Define a search function that sends user data to the Flash Remoting service. See Submitting user data to the Flash Remoting service.

4. Define a result function that captures the results returned from the Flash Remoting service. See Capturing Flash Remoting service results.

5. Ensure that the SWF movie has established a connection to the Flash Remoting service. See Checking for a Flash Remoting service connection.

The example here creates a search function that performs a simple search operation against a ColdFusion data source. This function accepts two arguments, firstName and lastName, and returns any records found that match these arguments.

Create a server-side ActionScript function

 Create a server-side ActionScript file that contains the following code:

//search takes firstName lastName arguments 
function search(firstName, lastName) 
{ 
    searchdata = CF.query({datasource: "bigDSN",  
        sql:"SELECT * from personnel WHERE fname = firstName AND lname = lastName"{); 
 
    if (searchdata) 
        return searchdata; 
    else 
        return null; 
}

The SWF movie interface example here consists of one frame with a variety of text boxes and a submit button.

To send data to server-side ActionScript, create a function that passes the data from the SWF movie to server-side ActionScript. The search function, applied at the frame level, collects the user-entered data from the firstName and lastName text boxes and passes the data as function arguments to the directoryService object, which is created when the SWF movie connects to the Flash Remoting service. For more information, see Checking for a Flash Remoting service connection.

The following is a Flash ActionScript example:

#include "NetServices.as" 
function search()  
{ 
    // The search() method is defined in the server-side AS file 
    directoryService.search(firstName.text, lastName.text); 
    dataView.setDataProvider(null); 
    status.text = "waiting..."; 
}

When you create a function that calls a server-side ActionScript function, also create a function to handle the data returned by server-side ActionScript. Define the function with the same name as the function making the initial call, but you append _Result to the name.

For example, if you create a function called basicQuery to return query data, you define a results function to handle returned data; declare the results function as basicQuery_Result.

In the following example, the results function search_Result supplies the record set to the dataView.setDataProvider function:

function search_Result(resultset)  
{ 
    dataView.setDataProvider(resultset); 
    status.text = (0+resultset.getLength())+" names found."; 
}

To ensure that the SWF movie is connected to the Flash Remoting service, you use an if statement; for example:

if (inited == null)  
{ 
    inited = true; 
    NetServices.setDefaultGatewayUrl("http://localhost:8500/flashservices/ 
        gateway"); 
    gateway_conn = NetServices.createGatewayConnection(); 
    directoryService = gateway_conn.getService(personneldirectory, this); 
    status.text = "Type into the text boxes, then click 'Search'"; 
}

In this example, the inited variable is evaluated for a value. If inited is null (not connected), the movie connects to the Flash Remoting service using the NetServices object. For more information about connecting to the Flash Remoting service, see Connecting to the Flash Remoting service.