Accessing a local access database from Flash (or AIR)

Question

Is it possible for Flash or possibly Adobe AIR to have access to a local Access database?

I will have either a Flash EXE or AIR application running on a local PC (WinXP). The PC will also have a local Access database. I need my Flash application to get the data from this Access database. How would I do this?

I doubt it can be done with Flash or AIR alone (someone prove me wrong or right), but is there an option for some middle-man application to access the data base and send it on to Flash? How would this work?

Or could I read the MDB file into Flash and parse it myself? is there a library for this?

Answer 1

You cannot do it with AIR alone (unless there is an AS3 library for parsing access DB). However, you can connect with the db using an AIR - Java bridge like merapi.

Merapi allows developers to connect Adobe AIR applications, written in Adobe Flex to Java applications running on the user's local computer.

PS: A quick search shows that there is an AS3 library for MySQL.

Answer 2

To access a local Access database you would have to write some kind of service that can be called by air/flex. You can access a SqLite database with AS3 library, so maybe you can convert your access database into a SqLite database.