tygr wrote:

>I am about to begin developing training apps that must be available in a
>"stand-alone" mode as well as from a web server. Our clients typically have
>personnel who must be able to run the training apps in the field on a laptop
>with no internet connectivity. Progress data, test scores, etc., will need to
>be stored on the laptop, and then rolled up to the server database when the
>student is able to get to an internet connection.
>
> I am considering Flash for this and other similar projects. I'm familiar with
>Flash MX 2004 Pro, and I've developed several "hybrid" apps. It's fairly
>simple to split a presentation up into several .swf files to facilitate loading
>chunks of the app as needed via a dial-up connection. For the stand-alone
>implementation, I just publish the main file as an .exe and put it on a CD with
>the same file structure as on the web server, setup an autorun file, and the
>client has a "plug-and-play" version for the field that provides a nice
>full-screen view.
>
> Now I need to add database functionality. To summarize the requirements:
>
> 1. Must run stand-alone and over the web
>
> 2. Stand-alone version must be as close to "plug-and-play" as possible in
>order to minimize installation and configuration issues
>
> 3. Would prefer stand-alone version to run as full-screen app (.exe)
>
> 4. Except for the launch file and support files, the content file structure
>must be the same for both implementations
>
> 5. Stand-alone version must be able to store state data to the local hard
>disk for later uploading to the server database
>
> 6. I would like to leverage my existing Flash experience and code base
>
> Questions:
>
> 1. Is Flash suitable for this type of development effort? If yes, then...
>
> 2. What is the best solution for "stand-alone" database connectivity? From
>what I can tell from reading the documentation, Flash database access requires
>some type of server side logic. I don't have a problem with requiring client
>notebooks to be Win2000/XP so I can run IIS and ASP on them. The system CDs go
>with the computers, so I can supply instructions on installing IIS or talk a
>user through the process if necessary. Am I on the right track here?
>
> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
>
>
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