Flash with AICC tracking: JavaScript AICC GetValue function

Thanks, I hadn't seen the actionscript.com website, but I still can't find a solution.

I also realise that this is a JavaScript area, which is why I have asked for a JavaScript solution:the officially supported Macromedia AICC tracking is inadequate by default for my requirements as it suports only the standard learning objects.  These are limited, and appear not to enable values to be read back in.

What ou basically need is a combination of action script and javascript. If you are asking for the calls that you need to make you can check the website at http://www.aicc.org/. They have a draft of the calls that have to be made.

using action script you have to make these calls.  The document itself is found at http://www.aicc.org/docs/tech/cmi001v3-5.pdf

If you have specfic questions to the call you can submit your question at http://www.aicc.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl


hope this helps.

Thanks,

I have had a look at the AICC website, but still have failed to find any pointers towards a solution there.  The forum isn't the most thriving one I have seen, and a few people have asked my question anyway and never with a tangible reply.

I know that the solution has to be ActionScript/JavaScript (I have open questions in both areas at the moment), and I had hoped that with a little tweaking, and a little knowledge, could take the HTML templates that Flash MX2004 creates for "Flash with AICC tracking" to give me the basis of a working model.

For me to accept an answer I would ideally require either some basic examples that I am able to implement, or even a commercial solution that is proven to painlessly connect Flash with an AICC LMS.

For the purposes of this question, I am not overly concerned about ActionScript examples, so long as I can pass the info back to Flash (SetVariable) I should be able to work that bit out.

okay,  I think I'm getting somewhere.  

The results are sent via a cgi-script to a frame called "cmiresults".

What I need to do is to read in the text from this frame.

I think innerHTML should work, but I don't know how to call it from one page in a frameset to access the other.

Can anyone tell me how this is done (I don't think the source includes tags, so body.innerHTML wont work).

I'll be glad to accept an answer that addresses this problem, as I think I can take it from here.

Ideas anyone?

vbandaru,

Forgive me if I'm wrong (this is all new to me), but that looks like the code for SCORM (or possibly AICC-B).

What I need it to work with is AICC HACP

What I am using is, as a basis, is the templates provided by Macromedia: Flash with AICC tracking.

This appears to use the code:

function findcmiframe(sp) {
      if (sp==null) sp=window.parent;
      if (sp.frames.length && sp.cmiframe != null)
            return sp.cmiframe;
      else if (sp != window.top)
            return findcmiframe(sp.parent);
      else return null;
}

although I haven't yet figured out where cmiframe comes from.

I also believe that this method uses a form to submit the data back to a frame called "cmiresults", this form holds "aicc_data" (core fields, etc) along with "command" (which,for my needs, is getparam, setparam or exitau), version and session ID.  Incidentally, aurl in the code below (again taken from the template) is the link to the LMS app, passed by the LMS in the URL, ass AICC_URL.

if (findcmiframe(null)==null) {
      var cmi;
      if (document.command == null) {
            if (fndUrl(window)) {
                  document.write("<form action="+aurl+" method=\'POST\' target=\'cmiresults\' name=\'command\'><input type=\'hidden\' name=\'command\'><input type=\'hidden\' name=\'session_id\'><input type=\'hidden\' name=\'version\' value=\'2.0\'><input type=\'hidden\' name=\'aicc_data\'></form>");
            }
      }
}

By studying the code, I have come to the conclusion that data is sent to the LMS via this form - along with the relevant command - and the resultant data, including error messages, is passed back to the target frame "cmiresults".

This result is ignored (afaik) by the Macromedia script, and along with a lack of GetParam being set-up as a command that can be used by default (getparam code is there, just not included in the fscommand function) confirms what I have read elsewhere that MM only supports one-way communication by default.

It doesn't look like it would take that many changes to make it work for me though; I have already added getparam as a function I can call, it's just the results I am now after.

A piece of text that was pointed out to me on another forum relates to this:

"Now... The meat of the question is how do you get information back from the LMS. This is also possible. In an updated Learning Interaction template (you simply have to add a getParam command to the HTML template), you'd call getParam to the LMS. This returns all of the data. Unfortunately, the way the Learning Interactions were implemented - the data is returned to an empty frameset. You need to call innerHTML on that frameset until it returns a non-null response. Then you need to parse the results of the getParam to retreive the data that you want. "

This seems like a perfect answer, it's just that I can't figure out how to successfully implement it!

I hope this clears up any confusion, and please do correct me if any of this is wrong!

Oh, and the frameset with cmiresults is:

<html>
<head>
<title>CMI Frameset</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>

<frameset frameborder="0" border="0" framespacing="0" rows="*,1">  
  <frame src="main_menu_AICC_2.html" name="content" frameborder="0">
  <frame src="results.htm" name="cmiresults" scrolling="0" frameborder="0">
  <noframes>
    <body>
      <p>This web page uses frames, but your browser doesn't support them.</p>
    </body>
  </noframes>
</frameset>

</html>

I have tried things like:

parent.cmiresults.innerHTML and parent.cmiresults.outerHTML

parent.cmiresults is confirmed as an object, but both the above segments of code return undefined.

I think innerHTML only works inside tags, and I don't think the LMS results includes one.

Are you still able to help?

I'm in danger of answering my own question here!

I have now got this bit working (in the main template page)...

case "CMIGetParam": // AS 08.03.2004
      CMIGetParam();
      break
case "CMIReadResults": // AS 11.03.2004
main_menu_AICCObj.SetVariable("_root.aicc_data",parent.cmiresults.document.body.innerText);
      break

I can then call fscommand("CMIReadResults",""); in Flash to call the JavaScript fscommand function above - with a delay to ensure the data gets posted back in time.

This is now fine, but the problem I now have is that both innerHTML and innerText remove all carriage returns and extraneous spaces.

Is there a way of preserving the carriage returns?

This would make it much easier (and reliable) to parse the data, and extract any "variable=value" pairs.

if u r using  AICC 3.1 use the findapi function from the AICC manual, put it on the html and call it on load, then call with fscommand the get or set functions look on Apendix b of the AICC guide or in the SCORM 1.2  SCORM_1.2_RunTimeEnv.doc at www.adl.org Scorm1.2 implements the same AICC functions, if u are using macromedia you could use the scomr 1.2 addin to create the html that contains the find api  andadd the other functions you will require based on the apendix b.  then create the .au file .crs .cst and des files  remember to point into your au files on the command line field to your launching page.