The API for TextFlow consists of a number of JavaScript functions that are used to control how TextFlow behaves. The diagram shows a rough breakdown of a typical TextFlow application. In this diagram we refer to the host server, being the server that is hosting a TextFlow based application.
The host server must first generate an HTML page that contains JavaScript code as well as code for loading the TextFlowAPI.swf Flash object. In our code examples, this file is called the TextFlowAPI.html. The yellow arrows represent communication between TextFlow and the host server. This must be implemented in JavaScript in order to integrate TextFlow with your own web site.
The Flash object takes care of its own communication with the TextFlow server, represented by the pink arrow. This communication is required for two reasons: firstly, the conversion of Microsoft Word documents to TextFlow’s own internal format, and secondly the comparison of documents (WeaveSync) is performed on the TextFlow server.
The dashed line shows optional communication depending on how the TextFlow API is configured. Data can be sent directly between the two servers. For example, sending Microsoft Word documents directly server-to-server eliminates the need to send large binary data files via the client and thus has performance benefits.
