Problem with socket and Flash

Question

I have a chat application where the client is written in Flash 9 and it connects an XMLSocket to my java server.
Those that know Flash 9 know that it first makes a policy file request and all you have to do is provide a small chunk of xml stating the desired port and domain.
To get a better understanding I adding some thread tracking to the server app. Now when I run the following:
String policy_response = "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><cross-domain-policy><allow-access-from domain=\"*\" to-ports=\"6000\" secure=\"false\" /></cross-domain-policy>"+ "\0";
ErrorBroker.addError("name: " + this.currentThread().getName());
String mes = "";
if(cs.incoming.ready())
     mes = cs.readln();
     ErrorBroker.addError( this.currentThread().getName()+ " ready: " + mes);
if(mes.equals("<policy-file-request/>" + "\0"))
     ErrorBroker.addError( this.currentThread().getName()+ " policy hit");
     cs.send(policy_response);
counter++;
ErrorBroker.addError( this.currentThread().getName()+" counter: " + counter);and the results I get are the following:
name: Thread-34
Thread-34 in ready: <policy-file-request/>
Thread-34 policy hit
Thread-34 counter: 1
Thread-34 after read2: <policy-file-request/>
END OF processClient()
  Closing socketThere is no second connection though there should be. On the flash end I get nothing..no message stating a connection made or lost.
Now if I have the server as such:
ErrorBroker.addError("name: " + this.currentThread().getName());     
String mes = "";
/* ---- policy response sent BEFORE readLine() ---- */
cs.send(policy_response);
if(cs.incoming.ready())
     mes = cs.readln();
     ErrorBroker.addError( this.currentThread().getName()+ " in ready: " + mes);
if(mes.equals("<policy-file-request/>" + "\0"))
     ErrorBroker.addError( this.currentThread().getName()+ " policy hit");
counter++;
ErrorBroker.addError( this.currentThread().getName()+" counter: " + counter);The one difference being that the policy reply happens before any read.
I get these results:
name: Thread-34
Thread-34 in ready: <policy-file-request/>
name: Thread-35
Thread-34 policy hit
Thread-35 counter: 1
Thread-34 counter: 2
Thread-35 after read2:
Thread-34 after read2: <policy-file-request/>
io error1: java.lang.StringIndexOutOfBoundsException:String index out of range: 0
END OF processClient()
END OF processClient()
  Closing socket
  Closing socketDoes this make sense to anyone? How is it that if I do a readLine before sending the policy request file that nothing happens but I send after a readLine the second socket shows up.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Answer 1

The second case does appear to be a threading issue.....but what bothers me the most is why I get nothing from flash when I readLine first. This doesn't seem to be an issue with anyone else and I've seen many examples (though almost all were written in PHP) that are exactly the same. Read first...look for the policy request...then reply accordingly.
This is a small chat application running on Tomcat 5.5.
It worked well back when I ran it with Flash 8 but since I upgraded to Flash 9 (had to...no other way around) I now have to deal with this policy issue (apparently it pissed off quite a few developers).