The ObjectEncoding class is used in defining serialization settings in classes that serialize objects (such as FileStream, NetStream, NetConnection, SharedObject, and ByteArray).

Object encoding controls how objects are represented in serialized formats, such as the Active Message Format (AMF) used by the Flash runtime. Flash Player uses AMF to enable efficient communication between an application and a remote server. AMF encodes remote procedure calls into a compact binary representation that can be transferred over HTTP/HTTPS or the RTMP/RTMPS protocol used by Flash Media Server. Objects and data values are serialized into this binary format, which is generally more compact than other representations, such as XML.

OpenFL supports additional object encoding formats on non-Flash targets, including the Haxe Serialization Format (HXSF) and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) for efficient communication for objects.

Although AMF support is included in the Flash runtime, use of AMF on other targets requires the Haxe "format" library.

You can add the "format" library to your project by using <haxelib name="format" /> in an OpenFL project XML file.

Adobe AIR and Flash Player 9 can serialize in two different formats: AMF3 and AMF0. AMF3, the default serialization developed for ActionScript 3.0, provides various advantages over AMF0, which is used for ActionScript 1.0 and 2.0. AMF3 sends data over the network more efficiently than AMF0. AMF3 supports sending int and uint objects as integers and supports data types that are available only in ActionScript 3.0, such as ByteArray, XML, and IExternalizable. It is available only in ActionScript 3.0 and with servers that use AMF3 encoding, such as Flex 2.

The ByteArray, FileStream, NetConnection, NetStream, SharedObject, Socket, and URLStream classes contain an objectEncoding property that is assigned a constant from the ObjectEncoding class. The behavior of the objectEncoding property differs depending on the object; each class's objectEncoding property description explains the behavior more thoroughly.

Variables

@:value(cast 0)@:impl@:enuminlineread onlyAMF0:ObjectEncoding = 0

Specifies that objects are serialized using the Action Message Format for ActionScript 1.0 and 2.0.

@:value(cast 3)@:impl@:enuminlineread onlyAMF3:ObjectEncoding = 3

Specifies that objects are serialized using the Action Message Format for ActionScript 3.0.

@:value(cast 10)@:impl@:enuminlineread onlyDEFAULT:ObjectEncoding = 10

Specifies the default format for the current target and runtime.

Currently, the default on the Flash and AIR targets is AMF3, and the default on other targets is HXSF. If, in the future, a newer version of OpenFL introduces support for a new object encoding format, this may change. You can use this constant only if you're not concerned about interoperability with previous versions.

@:value(cast 10)@:impl@:enuminlineread onlyHXSF:ObjectEncoding = 10

Specifies that objects are serialized using the Haxe Serialization Format.

@:value(cast 12)@:impl@:enuminlineread onlyJSON:ObjectEncoding = 12

Specifies that objects are serialized using JavaScript Object Notation.