Undolog.com

By turning on various blog (thanks Frank) and through discussions with Julius , I realized that, in addition to the extreme interest in Adobe AIR , there is also much confusion, and rightly so. Both developers and users continue to not be clear what it is, what you serve and how developments in Adobe AIR . I decided, therefore, to gather the various threads in this sort of FAQ to try to clear a little 'what is actually hiding behind Adobe AIR.

WHAT '- in simple words - ADOBE AIR?

We can summarize Adobe AIR in this way:

• It performs all the functions of a standard Internet browser such as Internet Explorer or FireFox, but without the restrictions relating to the security of the latter! Giving full access to both the machine that is installed in its own environment is understood as a container and then Windows.

AIR applications (Files with. AIR) MUST BE INSTALLED ON YOUR PC TO BE USED?

Yes! Just like you do with a "normal" application. In fact, after installation, the application will appear in the list of installed programs, just like Word, Skype and other common tasks. Before installing an AIR application, however, you must install the "system" or environment that can recognize and process the file. air. You must then install, once, the Adobe AIR runtime . Since that time we will be able to install and use the AIR application.
Installing an AIR application, as appearance, differs from the standard - we're used to - just because the tools used to perform the installation is different and their content nell'Adobe AIR runtime. But the functions are exactly the same place!

I have to download a particular version of AIR FOR MY OPERATING SYSTEM?

When you install the first time the environment ( Adobe AIR runtime ) you can choose the download according to your system: Mac or PC. AIR applications, however, brought about by environment installed, are "unique" work on any operating system that has previously installed the Adobe AIR runtime (currently Mac and Windows - the future of Linux and other).

AIR applications are light and fast?

No! Not a chance. The "weight" of an application, among other things, can not be measured by the size of the file. Air (among other things, a speech that is valid in general for the common application exe). First of all, there is a lightweight application for "definition". As with the normal desktop applications, AIR applications there will be "heavy" and AIR applications "read", according to their function and, moreover, depending on how they were developed (such as HTML / JavaScript or Flash / Flex) . In addition, the installation files. ... Compressed air are packages! Finally do not forget that when we run an AIR application that works with the Runtime (Adobe AIR runtime - that installed the first time) that in the end, is also a "program" that takes up space and resources.

The speed is the same thing! In principle, however, any application "native" will be necessarily more "rapid" an AIR application! (See next FAQ on languages ​​in development).

HOW TO DEVELOP an Adobe AIR?

There are various ways to develop an Adobe AIR application, both for purchase and free. With time it will also be new, most likely.

Those in charge are:

• Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 + extension (Free)
• Adobe Flash CS3 Professional + extension (Free)
• Adobe Flex

Those are free (there are others):

• Aptana IDE + extension
• Eclipse + extension

Whatever your choice you will still need:

• Install Adobe AIR Runtime
• Install Adobe AIR SDK
• Then, depending on what you choose, you will need to install the extensions on the environment (eg Aptana IDE has an extension to develop AIR ) with the probable Request for install Java (another run ...).

WHAT DO I KNOW PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE TO DEVELOP IN ADOBE AIR?

One of the strengths of Adobe AIR is not programming languages ​​have an owner! To develop an AIR application is sufficient to know or HTML / Javascript or Actionscript. In practice, if you're Web developers will find it extremely easy to write AIR applications, they can - in fact - even reuse the code that you've already written (or HTML / Javascript and Flash) for other applications. AIR also being a real browser, similar to FireFox or IE, you can develop with all the tools you need JavaScript written for this language, like prototype.js , scriptaculous.js , Dojo , Yahoo UI , jQuery , etc ...

WHAT TO CHANGE - SO - APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT OF AIR?

As we said Adobe AIR is in effect a browser! For this you can develop with HTML / CSS / Javascript, and Flash (who knows, tomorrow it could also support Microsoft Silverlight - if someone is ) Without any problem. What changes is the addition of an extension (the object air - a real object libreira "special"), accessible from both JavaScript and ActionScript, which allows to perform all the functions normally absent - is that in Actionscript Javascript - and languages ​​as instruments designed to an Internet browser.

For example, Javascript can read the contents of a folder of our HardDisk. By extending air will be possible to write a Javascript code that you browse a folder on our HD and that opens a file!

WHY 'SHOULD I WRITE AN APPLICATION IN ADOBE AIR?

An AIR application makes sense when you take advantage of the extensions provided by AIR itself. If I transform (no addition) a Web application into an AIR application, this is really not very significant. The application in AIR Rank BlogBabel I wrote, for example, is useless because it does not perform any operation Desktop vitally important and can work perfectly in a browser - among other things I want to do ! I of course I wrote it as an example, however, somebody has done similar things in mind ... who knows what benefits derive

Paradoxically, however, that "nonsense" of an application that simulates a fire at the computer screen ( Adobe AIR: sparariamo the screen ) takes advantage of some unique properties of Adobe AIR! properties can not be reproduced in a normal browser: type in a full screen transparent (window-less/topmost)!

WHICH FUNCTIONS 'IN THERE ARE NEW DEVELOPMENT WITH ADOBE AIR?

There are varied and, most likely, over time it will be also added new ones, as they will release new version of the Adobe AIR runtime. Among the most important features are:

• Read and write files on your computer
• Managing a SQL database that can be used to manipulate local data
• Desktop window manager with a number of interesting features such as transparency, the ability to iconify the taskbar or the tray-icon, ability to manipulate position and size, creating special windows with no title or borders.
• Viewing PDF Files

CONTRAINDICATIONS AND sore point?

First of all, for developers, set the development environment for Adobe AIR takes a few steps very articulate! In short, the Flex, the rest of the environment must be set properly and that takes time and patience!

There are still some important differences between the possibilities offered by Adobe AIR depending on the type of development environment you choose. Surely Flex contains the most advanced functions (such as bitmaps and JPEG compression to save the entire library mx.) And this affects the activity of many developers JavaScript and Flash. In practice, it forces the programmer to adopt Flex! And this is not nice!

This article was useful to you?:

Loading ...

• 

• Tweet