16.2. The ContactManager Application

We present this chapter’s exercise in two phases. In the first phase, you’ll create the layout and basic functions for the ContactManager application as it relates to concepts we’ve already discussed in previous chapters. In the second phase, you’ll extend the application to call server-side PHP scripts that will handle data requests and data submissions to a MySQL database.

Warning:

This example serves to demonstrate the minimum code necessary to move data between a Flex application and a MySQL database using PHP. The PHP scripts we present do not provide tight security or error checking; as such, this example is not a production solution. In contrast, a safe, dependable PHP implementation is one that protects against SQL injection vulnerabilities and provides error handling to safeguard the script from malicious input or faults encountered when calling the database. Clearly, these concepts are broad and warrant a focused study of PHP and MySQL.