Adobe AIR for cross-Windows® development
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Published
Friday, February 29, 2008
at
8:30 AM
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Developing native desktop applications for the many permutations of the Microsoft® Windows® operating system is a really difficult problem for software developers and corporate IT. In many cases applications have migrated to the web browser to simply avoid the fragmented native API's of the operating system. Writing a single application that works across all version of Microsoft® Windows® is often an impossible task. Worse Microsoft deprecates support of certain operating systems as they push new operating systems, tools, and dependencies. For example, WPF is only supported on Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2 (Must add .NET 3.0) and Microsoft® Windows® Vista® (native) leaving the many XP and 2000 customers without few options for using the latest software. Even Microsoft® Silverlight only supports up to Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher for browser based applications.
Enter Adobe AIR!
Adobe AIR supports the following Microsoft® Windows® operating systems today with 100% feature equivalance:
Microsoft® Windows® 2000
Microsoft® Windows® XP
Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Home Premium
Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Business
Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Ultimate
Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Enterprise
Keys:
- Same .AIR file installs on all supported OS's
- Same API's on all supported OS's
- Seamless support for Apple OSX (All versions) and Linux
- Leverage all existing HTML/JS/Flash/PDF content in a single runtime.
- Local SQLite database (included)
- WEBKIT browser engine (included)
- System Notifications (included)
- Flash Player (included)
- Native file system support (included)
- PDF support (included)
- Network detection (included)
Basically if you are thinking about building an native desktop application on Microsoft® Windows®, you might want to take a look at Adobe AIR. You will get more reach with existing operating systems and you get full Apple OSX and Linux support all for $0. I think it will come to pass that AIR really is changing the game in terms of software reach.
Cheers,
Ted :)
Really MySQL?
Ted, is the database engine MYSQL or SQLite based?
There is always Silverlight or JavaFX...oh wait err no, there is only Adobe AIR that will allow you to develop a desktop application that will work with just about every OS without having to know anything more than HTML and Javascript.
Quick correction: AIR has an embedded relational database, but it is not MYSQL, it is SQLite. Cheers!
It is Friday and I had MyWeekend on MyMind.
Adobe AIR has the full SQLLite engine embedded in all runtimes cross-os. MYSQL is not there, it was MyError.
Sorry for the error, thanks for the catch!
Ted :)
Linux!? What? How? Where?
Now, someone just needs to point out how SQLite is actually spelled :)
But thanks for sharing the info, I didn't think of AIR as a "cross-Windows" technology. This never crossed my mind, good point.
I am on a role today! Too many LLLL's.
Ted :)
Here is the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq5lb7p_YfQ) of Adobe AIR running on Linux. Linux release will follow WIN/OSX this year.
"PDF support (included)" (*)
* On any machine that has the PDF Reader installed
J :-)
This post glazed over the API's (mispellings included). I would recommend that you take a deeper look here:
http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/air/
Ted :)
Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Home Premium
Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Business
Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Ultimate
Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Enterprise
i wonder what the difference between these is ?
you adobe guys announce too much. if i want bs-bingo i can go to ms. don't try to be like them.
btw: the captcha doesn't work. there's no image / word show, when you load the site the first time.
and the wheelchair doesn't make any sound right ?
oh. maybe it's because i'm on lin?
Native File System Access?
How about prescribed Native File System Access governed by a security context which doesn't allow you to do all that much - for obvious reasons.
All this hot AIR irritates me, not as a Microsoftee but I can't believe the general public whom are paying attention (whilst small) are swallowing this :)
Adobe AIR V1.0 is basically a POC.. V2, V3 maybe we can have a depth discussion but right now it's just FLash with a desktop icon, it's yet to beat Zinc, a solution which has had all of this and more but has lacked the maturity of the Flash developer base to "want" or "need" to take it to the next level.
It would of been cheaper to acquire Zinc and call it a day imho, as it still has more features than AIR.
Linux? was there a release of AIR that I missed? as last time I checked it was "under development" which imho is classic case of saying cross-platform but meaning another.
Leveraging PDF/Flash in a single runtime? So I don't need Flash installed to view Flash sites within WebKit or I don't need Acrobat Reader installed to view PDF's?...
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Scott Barnes
Microsoft.
Barnes,
It looks like you have not worked with the release version of AIR. There are no restrictions on the API and you have both syncronous and asyncronous methods of working with files.
Well Zinc isn't a cross-platform runtime as the API's are different on different platforms. It is one thing to say things work on multiple platforms and another to have the APIS and their interfaces be identical cross-platform. Zinc runs on multiple platforms but the APIS are different depending on the OS in use.
We demoed AIR on Linux at Engage last week in SF and it will ship later this year. The key is that it will have identical APIS and interfaces so that any AIR file built today will just work.
I sure hope Silverlight doesn't go down this path. If MS provides different APIS on different platforms you will have shot yourself in the head big time. Cross-platform means the same API's everywhere, not a few on select platforms.
Inhale the AIR Barnes!
Ted :)
Great to see a Micrsoftee trying to downplay AIR. Because only in that case it's clear that they're afraid (and they better be). Hopefully Google switches to Flex/AIR one of these weeks. That would really be the beginning of the end :)
Ted, do you know which version of SQLite is included with AIR?
MYSQL is not there. database engine MYSQL or SQLite :)