Getting started

Coming soon (case 10222)
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h1. Introduction

The Hemlock framework combines the user interface and networking power of Flash with the scalability of Jabber/XMPP. This lets you create an entirely new class of web applications and games in which users can interact and transmit data in real-time.

Advantages over today’s standard HTML/JavaScript apps:

• XMPP allows for modern “push” technology, instead of JavaScript’s more CPU-hungry “polling” techniques.
• Flash produces browser-independent user interfaces, which removes a lot of the usual stress in front-end web development. (IE 6 haters, rejoice.)

Setup for OS X

Installing Adobe Flex

Download the free Flex 3 SDK. This is bundled with:

• mxmlc: Command-line utility for compiling ActionScript into .swf format.
• Flash Player.app: OS X application for playing a .swf file outside of a browser.
• fdb: Command-line utility for tracking debug messages during .swf runtime.

Assuming that you install at /Applications/Flex SDK 3, add the following to your ~/.profile, ~/.bash_profile, ~/.bashrc, or appropriate equivalent:

export PATH=/Applications/Flex\ SDK\ 3/bin:$PATH

Installing ejabberd

1. Download the “free ejabberd installer”: http://www.process-one.net/en/ejabberd/downloads/ and run it.
2. Add ejabberdctl to your bash aliases or PATH in your ~/.profile or equivalent. For example:
   

   alias ejabberdctl="/Applications/ejabberd-2.0.2_2/bin/ejabberdctl"

3. Use ejabberdctl to get ejabberd running on your computer:
   

   ejabberdctl start

   
   Should the need arise, the commands ejabberdctl stop, ejabberdctl restart, and ejabberdctl status are also available.

For more information, see the ejabberd reference.

Configuring ejabberd

1. Ensure that your computer has ports 5222 and 5280 open. OS X Leopard should handle this automatically, while older versions can manage their firewall ports via System Preferences > Sharing.
2. Disable secure data transfers for now. Open /Applications/ejabberd-2.0.2_2/conf/ejabberd.cfg in a text editor. Look for the “5222, ejabberd_c2s” block in the “LISTENING PORTS” section, and comment out the line resembling:
   

   {certfile, "/Applications/ejabberd-2.0.2_2/conf/server.pem"}, starttls,

Setting up your ejabberd accounts

1. Set up your local admin account (ejabberd admin setup instructions).
2. After creating your admin account, create additional test accounts via your local web admin interface.