Hi,
Loading data remotely, there are lots of options, but if you already
have a working system, I would stick to it for this project.
From the sound of things, you are loading HTML into Flash. If you
are cunning, you may be able to ensure that the HTML is XHTML and then
it may be possible to change the back end of the system a bit later on.
The other thing is that the "data not being returned" thing sounds like
a server side problem - with your back end, if your Flash calls a url,
e.g. "getdata.php". Make sure that getdata.php outputs nicely to your
browser first, then you can be sure the script is not broken and check
your Flash & fix any problems there. If your hosting is rubbish and you
get 404 or other errors sometimes, then I would change hosting.
For future reference on Flash-server side comm's - look at:
XML, which means you can load stuff from anywhere, cross platform,
etc. The downside is that XML code is usually "bloated" and for mobile
devices, possibly too memory heavy. The upside is that with AS3 it is
really easy to parse and manipulate. XML can work from files,
webservices, etc... so is a good choice if you are not sure what system
your code is going to be deployed on and the back end people are
somewhere else...
AMF Remoting - AMF is a binary format and you need server side code
to handle the calls. The good news is that there are loads of projects
which implement this in various languages - PHP, .NET, Java, CF, etc. -
google AMF remoting and look on the Adobe Devnet site for info... The
advantage is that the data is binary so uses less bandwidth than XML,
but the learning curve is a bit steeper and it is sometimes fiddly to
set up an AMF "connection", because something does not work and it takes
a while to figure out the first time until you learn the tricks.
Aral Balkan was doing a really nice system called SWX which used a
combination of AMF remoting and some code on top which made it lots
easier to load date. This was working for AS2, but still undeveloped
for AS3, so you are possibly a bit stuck if you need the latter -
swxformat.org
As for hating the project - yeah, I know that feeling. You may have
to take a hit on this one. Personally, I would be charging more than
$1000 for 50 hours work, but then your rate may also depend on your
experience - for projects that entail some learning, I may discount it
quite a bit, so $1000 may be reasonable. At the end of the day, if the
job pays your bills, then you are doing okay, if you get more, then
lovely, but remember, you said you loved coding, which is sometimes
frustrating when clients get involved.
My suggestion here would be to invoke the "iron triangle" rule -
this article leads into it nicely:
http://www.codeodor.com/index.cfm/2008/3/31/Top-6-Non-monetary-Features-I-Want-In-An-Employer/2091
Basically you need to be firm with your "employer", your project has
"features", "deadline" and "cost" - the employer does not get to control
all three, you may need to politely remind them about this. Having
worked with them, you may need to tread carefully doing this, but in the
long run, if you can do this, your relationship with clients will be
better. Sometimes, you get crap clients though, so bear this in mind -
it's not always your fault :)
Here is a useful article about how to work out your hourly rate:
http://www.blueflavor.com/blog/2006/apr/25/pricing-project/
Sorry, this turned into a bit of an essay, but keep your chin up and
put the crap bits down to experience after you finish the project :)
Glen
--
Glen Pike
01326 218440
www.glenpike.co.uk <http://www.glenpike.co.uk>
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