Does Flash hold connections open on the server?

Question

I have a person asking to serve a Flash movie on our webserver. One of the reasons given for not allowing this is that Flash "holds connections open on the server". This isn't streamed content, it's a compiled Flash movie, so I would have thought that the object would be returned to the client in one hit without requiring any connections to remain open. Do I understand this correctly?

Answer 1

It Depends ^TM

If the service is hosted on a Flash Media Server (FMS), then these applications are a lot more complex than your traditional Flash apps, and they certainly can maintain a constant connection to the server.

However an old fashioned SWF presentation would not leave a connection open with the server. It may request more data from the server if required, but this is done through the Flash equivalent of Ajax, so they are a brand new request in their own right.

If every SWF playing required a constant connection to its host, then it would not be a feasable technology!