##
# Mimics the behaviour of http_build_query PHP function
# This method can be useful for sending data to flash applications
##################################################
def http_build_query(params, topkey = ''):
  from urllib import quote
 
  if len(params) == 0:
    return ""
 
  result = ""
 
  # is a dictionary?
  if type (params) is dict:
    for key in params.keys():
      newkey = quote (key)
      if topkey != '':
        newkey = topkey + quote('[' + key + ']')
 
      if type(params[key]) is dict:
        result += http_build_query (params[key], newkey)
 
      elif type(params[key]) is list:
        i = 0
        for val in params[key]:
          result += newkey + quote('[' + str(i) + ']') + "=" + quote(str(val)) + "&"
          i = i + 1
 
      # boolean should have special treatment as well
      elif type(params[key]) is bool:
        result += newkey + "=" + quote (str(int(params[key]))) + "&"
 
      # assume string (integers and floats work well)
      else:
        result += newkey + "=" + quote (str(params[key])) + "&"
 
  # remove the last '&'
  if (result) and (topkey == '') and (result[-1] == '&'):
    result = result[:-1]
 
  return result