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The Benefits of Out-of-Browser Rich Internet Applications

Posted on: Monday, 17 December 2007, 09:00 CST

The momentum behind rich internet applications has been largely driven by interest in browser-based rich web applications. The main benefit of taking web-based applications out of the web browser is exploiting the local resources of the client machine, and this also results in a more natural application user experience.

Development languages such as C++, Java, and those running in the .NET Common Language Runtime let users build distributed applications that connect using the TCP/IP protocol, whether across the internet or intranet. The web browser is one such example application. The browser was designed originally to navigate hypertext documents, but with the advances in internet technology and standards adoption, it was possible to give the illusion of sustained interactions with a web application. The limitations of this approach and the widespread adoption by browser makers of application programming interface (API) enhancements has led to rich internet applications (RIA), whether through Ajax or other client-side engine approaches, such as using Adobe Flash and, more recently, Microsoft Silverlight.

Today, we have moved full circle to a new breed of client-side engines that take all the benefits of web standards and browser-initiated interactions to applications that are true desktop, and also internet, server-centric applications. The notion of a 'true' desktop application essentially means that there is local access to the client machine: local files, local databases, etc. Naturally, an administrator is necessary to govern the environment and control which applications these new frameworks are allowed to host; what access to resources these applications will have; and to manage end-user access.

The IT players now active in this market include Adobe, which has been a pioneer in RIA since its acquisition of Macromedia, and which this year introduced the Adobe Integrated Runtime (Adobe AIR); Microsoft, which has launched the Windows Presentation Foundation under the latest .NET Framework, making it possible to span the full range of possible internet applications with .NET, given the new browser plug-in and Flash rival, Microsoft Silverlight. (One view of these two players is that Adobe has extended outside the browser whereas Microsoft has extended into the browser.) Mozilla recently launched Mozilla Prism; and Sun is expected to enter this space with future releases under the JavaFX project.

For information workers, the coupling of client-side machines that are fully functional when offline with mobility means that they can work in the office, on a train, from customer sites, or from home with equal ease. Out-of-browser RIAs allow the resources of these client machines to be used to the full, so an internet-based application can access local files and make use of local databases. Applications can be designed to work offline by replicating sufficient functionality on the client-side to allow standalone interactions, with back-end transactions stacked up. When the machine goes online again, the application synchronizes with the server.

Taking Mozilla Prism as an example, any web-based application that runs in Firefox can be split out of the browser and onto the desktop without any changes. The look and feel becomes that of a single application, so the usual browser menus and URL address bar do not appear. In all respects the benefits of a server-centric application are enjoyed. These include easier administration, simple deployment and updating, better control of the resources needed to support the application by having these reside on the server side, and now with optimum use of resources available on the client side (i.e. supporting offline running).

These advances in RIA technology will lead to its use as a natural way to build software applications. The distinguishing advantage of Adobe AIR and Mozilla Prism is their platform agnosticism, while client-side Windows users will be happy to include .NET as an option.

Source: OpinionWire by Butler Group (www.butlergroup.com)

Source: Datamonitor

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