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Hemlock. Build multi-user, real-time web applications.

Introduction

The Hemlock framework combines the user interface and networking power of Flash with the scalability of Jabber/XMPP. This lets you create an entirely new class of web applications and games in which users can interact and transmit data in real-time.

Advantages over today’s standard HTML/JavaScript apps:

• XMPP allows for modern “push” technology, instead of JavaScript’s more network-hungry “polling” techniques.
• Flash produces browser-independent user interfaces, which removes a lot of the usual stress in front-end web development. (IE 6 haters, rejoice.)

The basics

Visit the Hemlock website’s Learn section for the latest information.

Things to remember

• Tabs: Four spaces, soft tabs
• Sending data from a widget: widget → container → client → connection → socket
• Receiving data from a socket: socket → connection → client [→ strategy if Message/DataMessage] → container → widget

Instructions

• Getting started: How to set up Flex and ejabberd on your computer
• Compiling

Reference

Code structure

• Server-connection-client relationship
• Client-strategy-container relationship
• Container-widget relationship
• Event handling

Data

• JIDs
• DataMessage class

Testing

• Orientation
• Running tests

Skins

• Skin specs

External references

ActionScript/Flex

• ActionScript 3.0 / Flex 3 reference
• ActionScript coding conventions
• Flex 3 SDK
• Flex/unit

ejabberd

• ejabberd reference