Which applications use adobe air

Provide an efficient, high-performance runtime for executing code, content, and communications. This movement toward providing richer, more desktop-like application experiences in the browser enabled by the Flash Player runtime, and more recently by Ajax has led to an explosion of web applications.

Today, the web has firmly established itself as an application deployment platform that offers benefits to both developers and end-users. Some of these benefits include the ability to:. Allow end-users to access their applications and data from virtually any Internet-connected computer.

The growth of web applications can be seen in both the Web 2. As web applications have become more complex, they have begun to push the boundaries of both the capabilities of the browser and the usability of the application. As their popularity grows, these issues become more apparent and important and highlight the fact that there are still a number of significant issues for both developers and end-users when deploying and using applications within the browser.

The web browser was originally designed to deliver and display HTML-based documents. Indeed, the basic design of the browser has not shifted significantly from this purpose.

This fundamental conflict between document- and application-focused functionality creates a number of problems when deploying applications via the browser.

Applications deployed via the browser have their own user interface, which often conflicts with the user interface of the browser. This application-within-an-application model often results in user interfaces that conflict with and contradict each other. This can lead to user confusion in the best cases, and application failure in the worst cases.

The Back button makes sense when browsing documents, but it does not always make sense in the context of an application. Although a number of solutions attempt to solve this problem, they are applied to applications inconsistently, and users may not know whether a specific application supports the Back button or whether it will force their application to unload, causing it to lose its state and data.

For example, you cannot drag a file into a browser-based application and have the application act on that file. RIAs have tried to improve on this by making richer, more desktop-like interfaces possible in the browser, but they have not been able to overcome the fundamental limitations and separation of the browser from the desktop.

Although attempts are underway to make offline web-based applications possible, they do not provide a consistent development model and they fail to work across different browsers, or they require users to install additional extensions to the browser.

In addition, they often require users to interact with and manage their application and browser in complex and unexpected ways. Finally, as applications become richer and more complex and begin to push the boundaries of JavaScript and DHTML, developers are increasingly faced with differences in browser functionality and API implementations.

Although these issues can often be overcome with browser-specific code, they lead to code that a is more difficult to maintain and scale; and b takes time away from function-driven development of feature functionality. Although JavaScript frameworks are a popular way to help address these issues, they can offer only the functionality provided by the browser, and often they resort to the lowest common denominator of features among browsers to ease the development model. The result for JavaScript- or DHTML-based applications is a lowest common denominator user experience and interaction model, as well as increased development, testing, and deployment costs for the developer.

The fact that web applications have flourished despite these drawbacks is a testament to the attractiveness of having a platform with a good development model that has the ability to deliver applications to multiple operating systems.

A platform that offered the reach and development model of the browser, while providing the functionality and richness of a desktop application, would provide the best of both worlds. This is what Adobe AIR aims to provide. So, what is Adobe AIR, and how can it make web application development and deployment better? In essence, Adobe AIR provides a platform in between the desktop and the browser, which combines the reach and ease of development of the web model with the functionality and richness of the desktop model.

It is important to step back for a second and point out what Adobe AIR is not. Adobe AIR is not a general desktop runtime meant to compete with lower-level application runtimes. Adobe AIR is coming from the Web to the desktop and is targeted at web developers.

Its primary use case is to enable web applications and RIAs to be deployed to the desktop. This is a very important but subtle distinction, as enabling web applications and RIAs on the desktop is the primary use case driving the Adobe AIR 1.

At its core, Adobe AIR is built on top of web technologies, which allow web developers to develop for and deploy to the desktop using the same technologies and development models that they use today when deploying applications on the Web.

Three primary technologies are included within Adobe AIR, and they fall into two distinct categories: application technologies and document technologies. Application technologies are technologies that can be used as the basis of an application within Adobe AIR. This includes a full HTML rendering engine, which includes support for:. Yes, you read that right. Of course, the Adobe Flex 3 RIA framework is built on top of ActionScript 3, which means that you can take full advantage of all of the features and functionality that Flex offers in order to build Adobe AIR applications.

Document technologies within Adobe AIR refer to technologies that can be used for the rendering of and interaction with electronic documents. If Adobe Reader 8. HTML was originally designed as a document technology, and today it provides rich and robust control over content and text layout and styling.

Because WebKit and Adobe Flash Player are included within the runtime, they are integrated with each other on a very low level. Adobe AIR enables script bridging between the two languages and environments, which makes the following possible:. Among other things, this makes it possible to instantiate and use Flash Player APIs directly from JavaScript, or to register and listen for events.

This low-level script bridging between the two environments makes it very easy for developers to create applications that are a combination of both HTML and Flash. Was this page helpful? Thank you! Start a conversation.

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That's the big difference between something like a Flash player and AIR: While Flash works over the Internet and in your Web browser, applications running off of AIR are based on the desktop and don't necessarily require a browser to work.

An RIA is a broad term coined by Adobe that describes a Web application that provides an engaging, connected experience for users. In general, they're meant to provide the best aspects of both desktop applications and Web-based applications and are developed with programs like Adobe Flash or Flex -- Web sites like Flickr or Google Maps are examples -- sites that offer lots of interaction but are located on the Internet.

RIAs are easy to use but difficult to program, so many hope the release Adobe AIR will make such development processes smoother. That's what AIR does for you computer applications, but what does it do for developers, businesses and everyone else? In a general sense, nearly all of Adobe's products are meant to benefit three groups: developers, businesses and end users.

Developers use programs like Adobe Flash to create an interface or an animation ; a company then takes the design and employs it on a Web page or an application; a customer uses the product in unique and entertaining ways. Even the end user isn't limited to a passive experience. Many people can download or install Adobe programs like Flash or Photoshop and find their own ways to exercise their creativity. Developers who use Adobe Flex, Flash or any other development tool can build applications that sync with the AIR runtime.

Adobe also markets its AIR platform toward businesses looking to hook consumers with more attractive and usable applications. If Web surfers can download a company's program right onto their desktops without even opening a browser, they're more likely to keep that program running and stay engaged.

Several major companies are already featuring applications that run on Adobe AIR. Instead of buyers and sellers logging in frequently to check time-sensitive auctions, eBay Desktop can run independently and give continuous updates on a list of goods on which a customer is bidding.

The general Web-surfing public benefits from being able to move once-Web-based applications to their desktops. Once Adobe AIR is installed on a user's computer, downloadable, easy-to-use applications that are tailored toward a person's interests become available at a quick click. For a breath of fresh air, see the next page for lots more information on Web technology and developments.