GFS Server - Java Edition
GFS Server is a "Socket Server" that communicates to and from Flash CS3 and Flex 3 applications/games. Primarily the GFS Server is for making multi-user chat rooms as well as multi-player online games. The free edition allows for up to 30 connections.
There are two versions of the GFS Server. The "Java" edition should be able to run on any platform that can run Sun's Java JDK 6. Then there is the new .NET edition which should run on any Windows platform that supports the .NET Framework 3.5. GFS Server Java Edition uses MySQL as the database backing store. The GFS Server .NET Edition uses either the free SQL Express 2005, or SQL Server 2005 (Developer, Standard, Enterprise). The .NET Edition of GFS Server has not been released yet!
When you want your Flash CS3 or Flex 3 application to talk to the GFS Server you will need to ensure that the port you choose is not blocked by any firewall or security software/hardware.
Changes from Beta 2 - GFS Server Java Edition
1. When creating a new GFSServerXMLSocketManager class you can specify a port (GFS Server is no longer restricted to only port 843).
Changes for Beta 2 - GFS Server Java Edition
1. The GFSClient has a new property called "isConnected" which will tell you if the client socket is currently connected or not.
2. Global properties have been added. Global properties are like regular persistent properties except they can be used by any client.
3. The Cross Domain Policy is now loaded from a file in the GFS Server's root direcotry. This file is called "crossdomainpolicy.xml". Modify this file to suit your needs.
4. The Derby embedded database has been removed. The default database now is MySQL. Look at the new documentation on how to prep MySQL for the GFS Server
5. GFS Server will only use port 843, the port can no longer be changed to anything else. In looking at Adobe's new strict socket policy it means the Flash Plash player will be making a connection to 843 to get the cross domain policy file regardless of the port setting so it makes sense just to leave that as the default port.
6. Custom logic can now be used. You can create a custom logic jar file in Java and put the file into the GFS Server directory. GFS Server will then load the class file and execute it on every message it sends out. This means you can modify any message and add your own logic. It also means you can seriously mess up the messages if you don't know what your doing. See the tutorial page for help on how to use this new powerful feature.
7. A couple more Flex 3 sample projects have been added
8. getServerVersion and getUsersIP have been added to the API
