Rich Internet application - Wikipedia 05-01-18 23)18

Rich Internet application

A rich Internet application (RIA; sometimes called an Installable
Internet Application) is a Web application that has many of the
characteristics of desktop application software, typically delivered by way
of a site-specific browser, a browser plug-in, an independent sandbox,
extensive use of JavaScript, or a virtual machine.[1] Adobe Flash, JavaFX,[2]
and Microsoft Silverlight are currently the three most common platforms.
[3]

Google trends shows (as of September 2012) that frameworks based on a

plug-in are in the process of being replaced by HTML5/JavaScript-based
alternatives.[4][5]

Users generally need to install a software framework using the computer's

operating system before launching the application, which typically
downloads, updates, verifies and executes the RIA.[6] This is the main
differentiator from HTML5/JavaScript-based alternatives like Ajax that
use built-in browser functionality to implement comparable interfaces. As
can be seen on the List of rich Internet application frameworks which
includes even server-side frameworks, while some consider such interfaces
to be RIAs, some consider them competitors to RIAs; and others, including
Gartner, treat them as similar but separate technologies.[7]

RIAs dominate in browser based gaming as well as applications that

require access to video capture (with the notable exception of Gmail, which
uses its own task-specific browser plug-in).[8] Web standards such as
HTML5 have progressed and the compliance of web browsers with those
standards has improved somewhat.

Techniques

Adobe Flash

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Main article: Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash manipulates vector and raster graphics to provide animation

of text, drawings, and still images. It supports bidirectional streaming of
audio and video, and it can capture user input via mouse, keyboard,
microphone, and camera. Flash contains an object-oriented language
called ActionScript and supports automation via the JavaScript Flash
language (JSFL). Flash content may be displayed on various computer
systems and devices, using Adobe Flash Player, which is available free of
charge for common web browsers, some mobile phones and a few other
electronic devices (using Flash Lite).

Apache Flex, formerly Adobe Flex, is a software development kit (SDK) for
the development and deployment of cross-platform RIAs based on the
Adobe Flash platform. Initially developed by Macromedia and then
acquired by Adobe Systems, Flex was donated by Adobe to the Apache
Software Foundation in 2011.

Java applet

Main article: Java applet

Java applets are used to create interactive visualizations and to present

video, three dimensional objects and other media. Java applets are more
appropriate for complex visualizations that require significant
programming effort in high level language or communications between
applet and originating server.

JavaFX

Main article: JavaFX

JavaFX is a software platform for creating and delivering RIAs that can run
across a wide variety of connected devices. The current release (JavaFX 8,
July 2016) enables building applications for desktop, browser and mobile

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phones and comes with 3D support. RIA for mobile phones is called Rich
Mobile Application. TV set-top boxes, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players
and other platforms are planned. Java FX runs as plug-in Java applet or
via Webstart.

Microsoft Silverlight

Main article: Microsoft Silverlight

Silverlight was proposed by Microsoft as another proprietary alternative.

The technology has not been widely accepted and, for instance, lacks
support on many mobile devices. Some examples of application were video
streaming for events including the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing,[9]
the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver,[10] and the 2008 conventions for
both major political parties in the United States.[11] Silverlight was also
used by Netflix for its instant video streaming service.[12] Silverlight is no
longer under active development and is not supported in Microsoft Edge,
Microsoft's most recent browser.

Other techniques

RIAs could use XForms to enhance their functionality.[citation needed][original

research?]
Using XML and XSLT[13] along with some XHTML, CSS and
JavaScript can also be used to generate richer client side UI components
like data tables that can be resorted locally on the client without going back
to the server. Mozilla and Internet Explorer browsers both support this.

History

The term "rich Internet application" was introduced in a white paper of

March 2002 by Macromedia (now merged into Adobe),[14] though the
concept had existed for a number of years earlier under names including
Remote Scripting, by Microsoft, c. 1999, X Internet, by Forrester
Research[15] in October 2000,[16] Rich (Web) clients, and Rich Web

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application.[17]

Design, distribution, and cost

Rich Internet applications use a Rich Client deployment model

(deployment of a compiled client application through a browser) rather
than a thin-client-server model (where the user's view is largely controlled
from the server).

Flash, Silverlight and Java are application platforms accessed by the user's
web browser as plug-ins. These application platforms limit the amount of
data downloaded during initialization to only what is necessary to display
the page. The browser plug-in is only downloaded once, and does not need
to be re-downloaded every time the page is displayed; this reduces
application load time, bandwidth requirements, and server load.

Proponents of RIAs assert that the cost of RIA development and O&M is
typically lower than that of HTML-based alternatives due to increased
developer productivity and standardized, backwards compatible nature of
the application platform runtime environments. A 2010 study conducted
by International Data Corporation predicted an average savings of
approximately $450,000 per application in the case of Flash platform
development (in conjunction with use of the open source Flex SDK), a 39%
reduction in cost over a three-year period.[18]

Characteristics

RIAs present indexing challenges to Web search engines, but Adobe Flash
content is now at least partially indexable.[19]

Security can improve over that of application software (for example

through use of sandboxes and automatic updates), but the extensions
themselves remain subject to vulnerabilities and access is often much
greater than that of native Web applications. For security purposes, most

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RIAs run their client portions within a special isolated area of the client
desktop called a sandbox. The sandbox limits visibility and access to the
file-system and to the operating system on the client to the application
server on the other side of the connection. This approach allows the client
system to handle local activities, reformatting and so forth, thereby
lowering the amount and frequency of client-server traffic, especially
versus client-server implementations built around so-called thin clients.[20]

New trends

This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent
events or newly available information. (December 2015)

In November 2011, there were a number of announcements that

demonstrated a decline in demand for rich internet application
architectures based on plug-ins in order to favor HTML5 alternatives.
Adobe announced that Flash would no longer be produced for mobile[21] or
TV[22] (refocusing its efforts on Adobe AIR). Pundits questioned its
continued relevance even on the desktop[23] and described it as "the
beginning of the end".[24] Research In Motion (RIM) announced that it
would continue to develop Flash for the PlayBook, a decision questioned by
some commentators.[25] Rumors state that Microsoft is to abandon
Silverlight after version 5 is released.[26] The combination of these
announcements had some proclaiming it "the end of the line for browser
plug-ins".[27]

See also

HTML5
List of rich Internet application frameworks
PIGUI

References

1. ^ RIA War Is Brewing

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2. ^ "JavaFX Docs". oracle. oracle.

3. ^ "Rich Internet Application Market Share", Data from StatOwl.
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28.
Retrieved 2011-07-24. -- StatOwl data is from ~28m unique visitors
per month.; This data is consistent with that reported from
RIAStats.com, which is based on ~4m daily visitors "Archived copy".
Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-07-27..
These statistics clearly indicate consistent evidence that Flash,
Silverlight, Java, and HTML5 are available to over 50% of web users
as of summer 2011. See also "Rich Internet Applications: The Next
Frontier of Corporate Development" by Larry Seltzer. 2010-08-25.
eWeek. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Rich-Internet-
Applications-The-Next-Frontier-of-Corporate-Development-732651/
4. ^ "RIA Trends (Google Trends: adobe
flex,silverlight,javaapplet,HTML5 )". Retrieved 2012-09-19.
5. ^ "RIA Trends (Google Trends: Adobe flex, ExtJS, GWT, Vaadin )".
Retrieved 2012-09-19.
6. ^ "Laszlo: An Open Source Framework for Rich Internet
Applications". Retrieved 2 May 2015.
7. ^ "MarketScope for Ajax Technology and RIA Platforms". 29
December 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
8. ^ "Hangouts". Retrieved 2 May 2015.
9. ^ "Microsoft Silverlight Gets a High Profile Win: 2008 Beijing
Olympics". Retrieved 2010-02-23.
10. ^ "Microsoft Wins The 2010 Olympics For Silverlight". Retrieved
2010-02-23.
11. ^ "Microsoft Working to Make Political Conventions
Unconventional". Archived from the original on 2010-05-19.
Retrieved 2010-02-23.
12. ^ "Netflix Begins Roll-Out of 2nd Generation Media Player for
Instant Streaming on Windows PCs and Intel Macs". Archived from
the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2010-02-23.

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13. ^ "Transformation". 2012-09-19.

14. ^ Macromedia Flash MX—A next-generation rich client
15. ^ Forrester Research
16. ^ Erick Schonfeld. "JavaFX Tutorial". JavaFXTuts. AOL. Retrieved 2
May 2015.
17. ^ Nations, Daniel. "Web Applications". About.com. Retrieved 20
January 2014.
18. ^ Adobe Flash in the Enterprise: The Case for More Usable Software
19. ^ Erick Schonfeld. "Once Nearly Invisible To Search Engines, Flash
Files Can Now Be Found And Indexed". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved
2 May 2015.
20. ^ Living in the RIA World: Blurring the Line Between Web and
Desktop Security, 2008
21. ^ "Adobe Flash Player Turfed for Mobile Devices". Retrieved 11
November 2011.
22. ^ "Adobe Scrapping Flash for TV, Too". Retrieved 11 November 2011.
23. ^ "PlayBook has a Flash-filled future; RIM's worst decision to date?".
24. ^ "The beginning of the end for Adobe's Flash". Retrieved 11
November 2011.
25. ^ "PlayBook has a Flash-filled future; RIM's worst decision to date?".
Retrieved 11 November 2011.
26. ^ "Silverlight 5 - the end of the line". Retrieved 11 November 2011.
27. ^ "Flash, Silverlight and the end of the line for browser plug-ins".

External links

Accessible rich Internet applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 - W3C

Candidate Recommendation 18 January 2011
Rich Web Client Activity Statement, W3C

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