The Union Platform (tm)

In other words - where is "POS_LIST" being received ? And how can we acess to that attribute ?

positions are sent in PositionBroadcaster's sendTimerListener():

    protected function sendTimerListener (e:TimerEvent):void {
      if (reactor.isReady()) {
        if (positions.length > 0) {
          reactor.self().setAttribute(
            positionListAttributeName,
            positions.serialize(),
            scope);
        }
        positions.clear();
      }
    }

positions can be received by any code with access to the client who's positions are changing. for example, the Avatar class expects a reference to a client object. it receives that reference via setClient(), which registers to be notified when the client's POS_LIST attribute changes as follows:

client.addEventListener(AttributeEvent.UPDATE, updateAttributeListener);

here's the corresponding event listener:

    protected function updateAttributeListener (e:AttributeEvent):void {
      var id:String = IClient(e.target).getClientID();
      var avatar:Avatar;
      var posList:PositionList = new PositionList();

      if (e.getChangedAttr().name == positionListAttributeName
          && e.getChangedAttr().scope == positionListAttributeScope) {
        posList.deserialize(e.getChangedAttr().value);
        // Update the user's current position.
        addPositions(posList);
      }
    }

colin

Thank you very much for the detailed explanation

One more question.
Where is the time that the script positions the avatar for the first time ?
I thought it was "nextposition" but it seems like its not...

that happens in the Avatar's setClient() method. look for setPosition() below:

    public function setClient (client:IClient):void {
      var oldClient:IClient = this.client;
      this.client = client;
      if (oldClient == client) {
        return;
      }
      if (oldClient != null) {
        oldClient.removeEventListener(AttributeEvent.UPDATE, 
          updateAttributeListener);
      }
      if (client != null) {
        client.addEventListener(AttributeEvent.UPDATE, 
          updateAttributeListener);
        var posList:PositionList = new PositionList();
        posList.deserialize(client.getAttribute(positionListAttributeName, 
                                                positionListAttributeScope));
        setPosition(posList.getPositionAt(0).x, posList.getPositionAt(0).y);
        posList.shift();

        if (fader.duration > 0) {
          this.alpha = 0;
          fader.setValue("alpha", 1);
        }
      }
    }

oh, thank you very much. As I can see from this place, there is no way to position the avatar BEFORE the connection with the server (and the room) is mad. Here is the problem I'm having:

I'm creating a mouse-chat application. Basically, I want messages to be displayed on "avatars".
I made the system that sends the msssages to the textboxes inside avatars. However, the problem I'm having is: if the person tries to type a message AFTER connecting to te server but BEFORE moving its mouse, I get a null exception (because the message can not be sent to the avatar which is not placed YET because the first placement is made with some kind of an update event ?).

I dont know the problem, actually, but I want to place the self avatar before the first mouse movement. How can it be possible ?

Avatar is a Sprite subclass, so you can set its x and y any time you like. however, i wouldn't show the current user's avatar or accept any inputs until you know the current client has joined the chat room. the source for reactorgui is included in the download. it's primarily intended as an example on which to build, so you'll have to customize it if you have specific needs that are not being met by the built-in features.

colin