many thanks for your replies

I am trying to get two desktop applications to communicate with one another. I am using a BACKGROUND app to extend the abilities of the FOREGROUND APP
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The problem:
My FOREGROUND app can only communicate to the outside world by sending ftp/http requests. My hope is to parse everything after the '?' and use it to give commands to my BACKGROUND app like:
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Foreground app:
This app is a Quicktime wired media app. A Quicktime wired application is similar to a standalone Flash movie or a Java Swing App. Its limitation is that it can only communicate by sending http requests. This is great for communication with a php/mysql remote server, but not so good when communicating locally.
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Background app:
Written in NSIS from NullSoft. NSIS is a flexible platform that is normally used for writing 'installer' apps. A 'nsis' app can do pretty much whatever you need as plugins are plentiful and you can write your own dlls

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I CAN use NSIS to control netstat or tcpvcon. Everytime port 8181 communication is detected, NSIS could execute a command. Port 8181 = quit. Port 8182 = some_cmd. This method just seems a bit crude and prone to problems

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What would be the best way to do this kind of inter app communication ?
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many thanks for all of your help
g