Flat Files, Best Practices PHP to Actionscript 3 via XML

Question

I'm writing a simple cms for a client and for the umpteenth time can't decide the best strategy going in.

My options, as far as I can tell, are:

1) Store my XML data as a flat file that is referenced by my actionscript. I could manipulate this file with a php "back end".

2) Have my actionscript call a PHP script that would output the XML, bypassing the interaction between actionscript and the physical xml doc. (eliminating some caching issues).

3) Create flat .txt files (similar to tables) that php reads from and outputs XML to my actionscript call.

I'm up in the air about this because I'm not big on XML being my physical data. One little missing ">" and your whole file takes a dump. At least with option 3, one file might be corrupt, but it wouldn't bring down all of your data. Then again, I haven't made much use of PHP's built in XML classes, so could be just adding extra work to my project.

Anyone have a rock solid method for storing data when you don't have access to a Database?

Thanks in advance, -J

Answer 1

I would personally take the hit on the write and use a tool (e.g. CMS) to create the XML file. You can manage the validation, creation, and manipulation within your language of choice.