R – Flex: time how long HTTPService takes to load

What's the reasoning for using one HTTPService request object to load several XML Documents? It seems to me that using multiple HTTPService objects would be the better solution as they make their requests asynchronously.

If the order they are loaded matters, then you may need to build some kind of queueing mechanism or chain the requests so they happen in the correct order without having to cancel the pending request...

You could encrypt the XML file using a secret key between your service and the flex application.

I'm not familiar with how easy it is to disassemble a flex application, but be careful, because someone probably will be able to find either the key string or the XML data after it has been decrypted (by watching memory addresses, etc.)

If you just wanted a deterrent from being able to go to "appsite.com/data.xml" and snagging it, this would work.

I might recommend Blowfish as the encryption algorithm of choice.

Googling for "flex blowfish" returned this site which looks like it provides an encryption library for flex.

http://www.insideria.com/2008/04/encryption-in-flex-application-1.html

A couple of other suggestions (depending on the level of security you need, encryption might not even be worth it)

• you could compare the Agent strings of the requester. Make your Http request use a custom user agent.

• Supply a simple POST variable that unless it's set, you raise a 403 Error on the web service.

These last two suggestions are EASY to get around, but if you're just trying to deny the casual user, that should be enough. Like I said, it's all about the level of security you want.