Desktop or Internet Application?
AIR (formerly known as APOLLO) is a developmental framework released by Adobe, which offers similar offerings and advantages as Adobe Flex. However, there is a very large difference between Flex and AIR in that AIR is used to develop desktop applications as opposed to web based applications. In the same spirit as Java’s “write once, run anywhere” philosophy, AIR apps are developed independent of the destination OS and will run properly on any machine that has the Adobe Integrated Runtime installed on is (just like a JVM is needed for Java apps).
AIR is a way of enabling traditional web developers to make applications for desktop use. Desktop apps were historically the sole domain of hardcore programmers that understood code down as deep as the machine level in order to get the best use of a PC and to account for OS idiosyncrasies; but now AIR enables the creative/developer hybrids that have flourished on the web to take their creations to the desktop. Moreover, these may be desktop applications, but they are web ready, blurring the lines between RIAs and Desktop Apps. Janmedia leverages AIR to:
- Create applications with online and offline capabilities, enablising end users to continue to interact with the application even in the absence of an internet connection.
- Leverage webservices delivered to the desktop, eliminating the need to launch a browser and visit a site for content.
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