Establishing a socket connection between a .swf file and a socket-test program (TCP/IP builder - Windows), in AS3.

Question

I have an issue with a college project I'm working on.
Using Actionscript 3, I made a simple .swf program, an animated, interactive smiley, that 'reacts' to number inputs in a input-box.
For the sake of the project, I now need to make the framework for establishing a socket connection with the smiley .swf, and another program.
This is where I encounter issues. I have very little knowledge of AS3 programming, so I'm not certain how to establish the connection - what's required code-wise for it, that is.
To test the connection, I'm attempting to use the "TCP/IP builder" program from windows, which lets me set up a server socket. I need to program the .swf file into a client - to recognize it, connect to it, then be able to receive data (so that the data can then be used to have the smiley 'react' to it - like how it does now with the input-box, only 'automatically' as it gets the data rather than by manual input).
My attempts at coding it are as follows, using a tutorial (linked HERE):
//SOCKET STUFF GOES HERE
    var socket:XMLSocket;        
    stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, doConnect); 
// This one connects to local, port 9001, and applies event listeners
    function doConnect(evt:MouseEvent):void 
    stage.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, doConnect); 
    socket = new XMLSocket("127.0.0.1", 9001);   
    socket.addEventListener(Event.CONNECT, onConnect); 
    socket.addEventListener(IOErrorEvent.IO_ERROR, onError); 
// This traces the connection (lets us see it happened, or failed)
    function onConnect(evt:Event):void 
        trace("Connected"); 
        socket.removeEventListener(Event.CONNECT, onConnect); 
        socket.removeEventListener(IOErrorEvent.IO_ERROR, onError); 
        socket.addEventListener(DataEvent.DATA, onDataReceived); 
        socket.addEventListener(Event.CLOSE, onSocketClose);             
        stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_UP, keyUp); 
    function onError(evt:IOErrorEvent):void 
        trace("Connect failed"); 
        socket.removeEventListener(Event.CONNECT, onConnect); 
        socket.removeEventListener(IOErrorEvent.IO_ERROR, onError); 
        stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, doConnect); 
// Here, the flash tracks what keyboard button is pressed.
// If 'q' is pressed, the connection ends.
        function keyUp(evt:KeyboardEvent):void 
        if (evt.keyCode == 81) // the key code for q is 81 
            socket.send("exit"); 
        else 
            socket.send(evt.keyCode); 
// This one should handle the data we get from the server.
        function onDataReceived(evt:DataEvent):void 
        try { 
            trace("From Server:",  evt.data ); 
        catch (e:Error) { 
            trace('error'); 
    function onSocketClose(evt:Event):void 
        trace("Connection Closed"); 
        stage.removeEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_UP, keyUp); 
        socket.removeEventListener(Event.CLOSE, onSocketClose); 
        socket.removeEventListener(DataEvent.DATA, onDataReceived);
Trying to connect to the socket gives me either no result (other than a 'connection failed' message when I click the .swf), or the following error:
Error #2044: Unhandled securityError:. text=Error #2048: Security sandbox violation: file:///C|/Users/Marko/Desktop/Završni/Flash%20documents/Smiley%5FTCP%5FIP%5Fv4.swf cannot load data from 127.0.0.1:9001.
    at Smiley_TCP_IP_v4_fla::MainTimeline/doConnect()[Smiley_TCP_IP_v4_fla.MainTimeline::frame1:12] 

Answer 1

Tried adding that particular integer code, ended up with either errors ("use of unspecified variable" and "implicit coercion") , or no effect whatsoever (despite tracing it).
Noticed as well that the earlier socket code had the following for byte reading:
"sock.bytesAvailable > 0" (reads any positive number)
...rather than your new:
"sock.bytesAvailable != 0" (reads any negative/positive number)
Any difference as far as stability/avoiding bugs goes?
So then, I tried something different: Have the program turn the "msg" string variable, into a "sentnumber" number variable. This seemed to work nicely, tracing a NaN for text (expected), or tracing the number of an actual number.
I also did a few alterations to the input box - it now no longer needs the 'enter' key to do the calculation, it updates the animation after any key release.
With all this considered and the requirements of the project, I now have a few goals I want to achieve for the client, in the following order of priority:
1) Have the "sentnumber" number variable be recognized by the inputbox layer, so that it puts it into the input box. So in effect, it goes: Connect -> Send data that is number (NaN's ignored) -> number put into input box -> key press on client makes animation react. I optionally might need a way to limit the number of digits that the animation reacts to (right now it uses 1-3 digit numbers, so if I get sent a huge number, it might cause issues).
- If the NaN can't be ignored (breaks the math/calculus code or some other crash), I need some way of 'restricting' the data it reads to not include NaN's that might be sent.
- Or for simplicity, should I just detect the traced "NaN" output, reacting by setting the number variable to be "0" in such cases?
2) After achieving 1), I'll need to have the process be automatic - not requiring a keyboard presses from the client, but happening instantly once the data is sent during a working connection.
- Can this be done by copying the huge amounts of math/calculus code from the inputbox layer, into the socket layer, right under where I create the "sentnumber" variable, and modifying it delicately?
3) The connection still has some usability and user issues - since the connection happens only once, on frame 1, it only connects if I already have a listening server when I run the client, and client can't re-connect if the server socket doesn't restart itself.
I believe to do this, I need to make the connection happen on demand, rather than once at the start.
For the project's requirement, I also need to allow client users to define the IP / port it's going to connect to (since the only alternative so far is editing the client in flash pro).
In other words, I need to make a "Connect" button and two textboxes (for IP and port, respectively), which do the following:
- On pressing "Connect", the button sets whatever is in the text boxes as the address of the IP and port the socket will connect to, then connects to that address without issues (or with a error message if it can't due to wrong IP/port).
- The connection needs to work for non-local addresses. Not sure if it can yet.
- On re-pressing connect, the previous socket is closed, then creates a new socket (with new IP/port, if that was altered)
It seems like making the button should be as simple as putting the existing socket code under the function of a button, but it also seems like it's going to cause issues similar to the 'looping frames' error.
4) Optional addition: Have a scrolling textbox like the AIR server has, to track what the connection is doing on-the-fly.
The end result would be a client that allows user to input IP/Port, connects on button press (optionally tracking/display what the socket is doing via scrollbox), automatically alters the smiley based on what numbers are sent whilst the connection lasts, and on subsequent button presses, makes a new connection after closing off the previous one.
Dropbox link to new client version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ybaa8zi4i6d7u6a/Smiley_TCP_IP_v7.fla?dl=0
So, starting from 1), can I, and how can I, get the number variable recognized by "inputbox" layer's code? It keeps giving me 'unrecognized variable' errors.