Reading/writing to the same file with multiple programs

So I am working on a project where I am using C++ and Adobe Flash to preform a simple simulation in C++ and display the results using Flash in real-time.

I have not actually started the project yet so I am looking for some guidance on where to begin. My current idea for integrating the 2 programs is to have a .txt file that the C++ program will continually write to and change and then the flash program will read from file and display the results of the simulation accordingly.

My question is is it possible to have 2 programs accessing the same file continuously like this? Or is there a better way to share information between the 2 programs?

It is possible. Open it in binary random access mode, with shared access possible. I'd imagine that using windows' message queues would be easier, but I don't know if flash programs have the capability of manipulating its own message queue.

If you need process inter-communication, I'd suggest the use of shared memory and windows messages, because it's way faster than dumping data to the hard drive (and fairer to the user, too).
Shared memory can be shared among processes, so both processes can read and write that data. And the windows messages can be used for communication, so you can notify your renderer that there is data available, for example.


EDIT:
I don't know if Flash supports this kind of stuff. Perhaps you should look into if Flash supports some kind of process communication.