Hi,

I want to do a flash website which will need login/pass.
I plan to do a hybrid HTML-Flash website. (a flash centered animation box in the middle of HTML frames)

But i would like the database information about the logged customer to interact with the flash part (animations) of the website.
The website will also take real GMT time into account.
I would like that for exemple at a certain predefined hour/day/year (in the database of the website) the flash part displays something special. For exemple a birthday extra animation the day of the birthday of the logged visitor (that he entered in a php form before subscribing to the website)..
I would like the database, client preferences and profile to interact with the flash animation.
If the client lakes part also in a flash game within the website, i would like him to be able to save it and continue it when he comes back, at the point he left the animation-game the last time.

Which technologies do i need for this ?
Is an interaction php- actionscriptflash sufficient ?
Do i need to go into XML ?

Actually i have some good knowledge in action script and PHP, but i don't know anything at all of the highly acclaimed "XML-Flash" interaction. It is said to do marvels..

PLease can you explain me:
- the pros and cons of each method used for using a client login in a flahs animation:
1- if it is hybrid PHP - flash
2- if it is 100% within the flash animation (= 100% flash-Actionscrpit)
3- if it uses XML-Flash

What sort of things can i do with XML that i cant do with the PHP-Flash interaction ?
What " " " " " PHP-Flash that i cannot do with XML-flash ?

Pros ? cons ?

Your answer will highly help me in chosing the right direction for my researches, and also know in which areas of skill learning i have to invest my time into.

Here are a few exemples of interesting flash stuff:
- a game 100% on flash: does it use only actionscript ?
- a website in flash, with a lot of interecting flash functions: recognition of user, survey and login in flash, chatroom in flash etc... is this the typical sort of XML-FLASH website ?

Thanks. :)

Mat.

You can do this with PHP and Flash. You can do more than what you can do with XML and flash.

For the kinds of things, google for "flash xml tutorials".

A 100% game in flash -- of course it will only use actionscript, since its .. 100% flash :)

Your second example is PHP + Flash. XML + Flash is things like having a flash news reader scroll the latest headlines, etc. or having a flash client for a web service (for example, to show the current weather in locations).

so doesnt it have to be Flash-PHP-MYSQL? if u need to login?

Use php to handle the transaction and XML to carry the messages.

Flash communicates with something.php and then something.php returns an XML result which you can then evaluate in flash and perform your actionscript logic to handle the result.