Chapter 11. Database Fundamentals

We have taught our Flash client to communicate with a server via XML. Our goal in doing this was to expose our Flash client to more data and allow the data to be dynamic. Housing data on the server is more dynamic than hardcoding it into our client, but it is still not optimal.

This chapter temporarily takes us away from both Flash and XML. We begin a study of the third tier of a three-tier web design, a database back end. We examine the fundamental principles and methods for using a relational database. Later chapters expand on this knowledge, allowing us to create a database of questions that we then relay back to the Flash client.