Flash and Chat

After Flash is a client based frontend, and chat allways needs some server component to do the distribution, it is definately impossible and makes no sense.

What you might mean, is flash remoting.

Flash remoting is a set of java based objects on the server to ease the communication with flash.

But again: it is not flash - it's java.

So, if your ISP allows you java components on the server, you are able to install flash remoting.

But on the other hand, flash remoting is rather expensive.

That means: backt to PHP, Perl or Python.

Flash Remoting is just a door to call Services in the server, not specifically related to Java, it runs in ColdFusion, .Net, J2EE and recently in PHP using amf (Free, yes)
amf for php: amfphp.sourceforge.net
Hello World remoting with amfphp (tuto for beginners with amfphp)

Others ways of doing a Flash chat: FlashComm, Socket Servers (Unity, Xadra ...)

Jorge