So, what is RIA any way? It is a set of characteristics rather than a specific framework. To understand this, let’s look at 7 Difference Between RIA and Traditional Web Application:

1. Rich Assets

This is the fundamental difference. A traditional website is mainly made up of Text (plus a few pictures). No matter what kind of site it is (blog, forum, or e-commerce),  No matter what technology it uses (Static HTML, Java, or .NET), it is Text-Based.

RIA has more assets to deal with, such as Audio, Graphic, Video, State, Transition, and Effect. It is Interaction-Based.

2. Rich Experience

The richness of RIA means rich user experience. It is kind of paradigm shift from what we can provide more to how we can help users get more.

Thanks to the rich assets and their interaction-based design model, a well-built RIA often creates a WOW Experience for its users.

3. Rich Functionality

Powered by the latest web technologies such as Adobe Flex/Flash, AJAX, or Microsoft SilverLight, A RIA can provide functions way beyond traditional web pages. Just look at PhotoShop Express or Google Docs, you will see they act more like a desktop application. This is unbelievable in the past.

4. Rich Client

A traditional web application often puts heavy workload on the server side. Regardless of its development platform (Java, .Net, or PHP), the server has to maintain the user session, process the request, and render the results. The client side is merely a browser to display the final page.

On the contrary, RIA leverages the growing power of client machine. It installs a runtime (such as browser plug-in) on the client side, and executes most of functions locally.

5. Rich Communication

The traditional way to operate a web application is like:

Click a button => Wait for the result page showing => Click another button

Whenever users ask for something, the browser has to send a HTTP request to the server, wait for the response back from the server, and refresh the page. This synchronous communication method inevitably creates negative impact on usability.

While RIA normally uses Asynchronous communication method. It allows the application to get the data from the server without the page reload. It makes the application faster and more user-friendly.

6. Poor Security

While we enjoy the richness of RIA, it brings more security concerns than a traditional web application. The main reason is RIA is running on the client side. It tends to have more security flaws. Fortunately, the major RIA framework, like Adobe Flex/Flash, has realized this issue for long time. It applies restricted security protocol and provides security patches as fast as possible.

7. Poor SEO

This is another big challenge faced by RIA. Today’s major search engines are still Text-Driven. They have difficulty to fully index the content inside compiled file, such as Adobe Flash File (.swf).

On the other hand, because RIA is running independently on its own  browser plug-in, it is hard for the browse to capture the application state. For example, the URL keeps the same regardless of content changes. This causes problems with Bookmark, Page History, Back Button, and Search Engine Index.

Of course, the major RIA vendors are well aware of this challenge. For example, Adobe actively cooperates with Google and Yahoo to improve the search results. It also provides Deep Link capability to support URL based navigation in the browser.

In Conclusion

Like Web 2.0, RIA provides a new way to think, design, and build the next generation Internet application. Compared to a traditional web applicaiton, RIA is richer in terms of Assets, Experience, Functionality, Client, and Communication, while it faces some challenges in the areas of Security and Search Engine Optimization.

Flex 101 with Flash Builder 4 – Part 2

Flex 101 with Flash Builder 4 – Part 3

Flex 101 with Flash Builder 4 – Part 4

About the Author

Romin Irani is a software developer at heart, who has been developing software for 15 years and still wakes up every morning to learn something new in the changing world of software development. He has been a big fan of all things related to Flex, ever since he came across it 3 years back.

Develop rich internet applications quickly and easily using Adobe Flex 3, ActionScript 3.0 and integrate with a Java backend using BlazeDS 3.2 A step-by-step tutorial for developing web applications using Flex 3, ActionScript 3.0, BlazeDS 3.2, and Java Build efficient and seamless data-rich interactive applications in Flex using a combination of MXML and ActionScript 3.0 Create custom UIs, Components, Events, and Item Renders to develop user friendly applications Build an end-to-end Flex e-commerce application using all major features of Flex covered throughout the book http://www.packtpub.com/flex-3-with-java/book

You have seen all kinds of comparisons or reviews online, such as:

• AJAX vs. Flex vs. SilverLight
  
• 10 reasons to love AJAX (or Flex, or SilverLight, or …)
  
• 10 reasons to hate AJAX (or Flex, or SilverLight, or …)
  

At the end of the day, you may wonder: “Now What?”

The good news is, life can be much simpler! You are not here to select the best movie for OSCAR. Your job is to simply find the most suitable RIA framework for YOU!

As an example, I’d like to share with you why Flex is good for me. My top 5 reasons are:

1. Easy to Learn and Use

Before Flex, I was a Java developer. Before Java, I was a C++ and COBOL guy on IBM Mainframe. So I know exactly how painful it is to learn a new programming language. Just like switching from a manual transmission to an automatic one, it takes time for you to get used to that.

Surprisingly, the first time I saw Flex code, I thought it was Java. Considering the similar syntax, structure, and style, it is like the same coffee with different cream. With no time, I built my first fully functional application in Flex and Wow my colleagues.

Another beauty of Flex is its development tool – Flex Builder 3. It is built on the same platform – Eclipse as my J2EE IDE. So I don’t have to learn a new set of settings, shortcuts, or tricks. Plus Flex Builder 3 provides many useful features, such as design editor, build tools, integrated debugger. It makes your job so much easier! You can get your copy of Flex Builder 3 here.

2. Mature Language and Framework

Unlike JavaScript Based AJAX, Adobe Flex is built on a strongly typed Objected-Oriented programming language. I believe the Flex development team extends a lot of goodies from Java, making it suitable for developing enterprise level applications.

In addition,there are some mature frameworks to support Flex at the architecture level. Like Struts and Spring for Java, command-driven Cairngorm and event-driven Mate are two frameworks to implement the MVC (Model-View-Control) design pattern for Flex. And they both are open sourced projects.

3. Cross Browser Support

How many times do you have to deal with different browsers (IE 6, IE 7, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari …) just to make you web pages look right? JavaScript error, PNG image missing, layout broken, you are adding all kinds of patches or hacks to put down the fire. As a result, your code is messy and hard to maintain, you are frustrated and exhausted, but the new problems keep popping up…

Now I have Adobe Flex. With its runtime (Flash Player) having 98% market penetration and working consistently across different browsers, I finally can focus on building a great RIA instead of worrying about its compatibility.

4. Fast Development and Easy Integration

Time is money! It is especially true on Internet. Why is .Net taking much share from Java? One reason is that it provides a lot of build-in modules to fasten the development process. Like .Net, Adobe Flex was born with many convenient components (such us DataGrid, ProgressBar, RichTextEditor, Slider, Accordion, Charts …) to help create a RIA faster and easier. I worked on a Flex  project originally designed in Java. It was estimated as 6 months work, but finished within 4 months.

Moreover, Flex might be the best framework to easily integrate with different external systems. It provides components such as HTTPService, WebService, and RemoteObject, plus optional Data Service like LCDS or BlazeDS. In one of my Flex projects, I collected data from J2EE Server, SAP, and 2 other legacy systems to compose the final reports. Without Flex, my job would have been much more complicated.

5. Richest Visual Effect

Yes, RIA is supposed to be cool! The most amazing RIAs can maximize your sensation to nearly feel the target products, like BMW X5 or Sony HDTV. You know what? Most of those RIAs are done by Adobe Flash. Since Adobe Flex is built on top of Flash, it can access all of Flash’s rich libraries and assets. Not mention Adobe is working diligently to bind Flash and Flex seamlessly. Therefore, it is no doubt that Adobe Flex provides you everything you need to build a best-of-all RIA.

In Conclusion

RIA means not only giving a face-lift to your business but also providing a cutting edge over your competitors. When coming to the best RIA framework, different people might give you different options. But the most important is, you evaluate them based on your resources, systems, and requirements.  As an example, I put my top 5 reasons to choose Adobe Flex:

1.  Easy to Learn and Use

2.  Mature Language and Framework

3.  Cross Browser Support

4.  Fast Development and Easy Integration

5.  Richest Visual Effect

Now it is your turn.

The following table will help you find the answer.

In short, Adobe Flex and Adobe Flash are two RIA tools for developers and designers respectively; while Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) are two RIA runtimes for browser and desktop correspondingly.

To further compare Adobe Flex and Adobe Flash, you can look at the following table:

Have you ever wondered how to make your websites much cooler and richer? Have you ever thought if Internet applications could run just like your local desktop applications? Just imagine, inside a regular web browser, you could design your living room, drag and drop your new home theater system, and find best dealers on Google Map right away. Nowadays, web technologies are far beyond just a simple HTML page. So called Rich Internet Application, or RIA, has been adopted by more and more companies.

How can you build a Rich Internet Application (RIA) too? You need a RIA Framework, which is a collection of technologies and tools. In today’s market, the top 3 most popular RIA frameworks are:

• Adobe Flex/Flash
• Ajax
• Microsoft Silverlight

The question is: what RIA Framework is the best? It depends… …

It’s just like the question, what development language is the best, Java, PHP, or .Net? It depends… …

The bottom line is: they all do their jobs – they are all approved to be the good solutions to Rich Internet Application in the real world. Depending on your system environments and/or business requirements, you will choose one or another.

• Adobe Flex/Flash is a cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux, or Mobile) solution as long as your machine has Flash Player installed. It is widely used by designers to create highly animated and interactive websites. The biggest complaint is the size of its compiled file (.swf) . It is usually over 1M and takes a while to download.
• Ajax is a JavaScript and XML based asynchronous web solution. It becomes much more popular today with more and more open source libraries appeared in the market. Google even took one step further to provide a standardized platform to develop Ajax programs. Ajax is widely used by web developers. To run it, you just need a web browser with JavaScript enabled. Some issues with Ajax are, there is no good IDE to create and debug the code; it is hard to hide your JavaScript based source code; your Ajax based application might not be run properly on the mobile devices.
• SilverLight is the Microsoft’s solution to compete in the RIA market. It is relatively new and not many companies use it so far. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft to promote SilverLight (Microsoft’s wild card – bundled with Windows operation system and Internet Browser, I guess).

Adobe Flex vs. Adobe Flash

You might not be familiar with Adobe Flex, however, you probably already heard of Adobe Flash. It is such a successful RIA platform which installed by over 98% web users. Almost all big corporations (like Sony, Samsung, BMW, etc.) use Flash to add animation and interactions to the web pages, especially for the advertisement and marketing sites.

Even though Flash is so popular, it constantly faces one big challenge. It is a product mainly designed for Designers. Its interface is more like a video editing tool! As a developer, I never get comfortable with it. What I want to see is a nice code view and stuff behind numerous movie frames. But Adobe Flash is not designed for this purpose.
The reality is, with today’s complex Rich Internet application, you probably always need some programming, from simply parse a XML file to integrate with backend ERP system. As a result, it often requires at least 1 designer and 1 developer to work on a project. However, due to the unfamiliar working model and flow of Adobe Flash, developers often have a hard time to cooperate with designers on RIA applications.

So what is the solution?  Adobe Flex.

What is Adobe Flex

Adobe Flex allows you to create highly animated and interactive Flash movies from a developer point of view. No movie timeline, no key frame, just nice code and design view. Flex programs will be compiled into the binary code with the same file format (.swf) as Flash. Finally, developers are equipped well to fight in the RIA world.

Unlike Java or PHP, Adobe Flex is not just a programming language. It is a collection of web technologies, tools, and runtime environment for Rich Internet Application. It includes:

• Flex SDK and Add-on Components
• Flex Builder
• Server Side Integration Service
• Adobe Flash Player Runtime and Adobe’s Integrated Runtime (AIR)

Flex SDK

Flex Software Development Kit (SDK) is now an open source framework and can be downloaded for free. It includes the Flex component class library and Flex compiler. You may manually install it into your IDE (e.g. Eclipse). The add-on components include the Chart and Graphic support.

Flex Builder
A professional Eclipse based developer tool enabling intelligent coding, interactive step-through debugging, and visual design of the user interface and behavior for Flex applications. Includes support for building desktop applications with Adobe AIR. There are two versions of Flex Builder: Standard and Professional (with Add-on Components support).

Adobe Flash Player Runtime and Adobe’s Integrated Runtime (AIR)
Flash player is a browse plug-in to run the compiled Flash and Flex applications. Adobe’s Integrated Runtime (AIR) is a desktop-based runtime to run Flash and Flex applications outside browser even without network connection.

Server Side Integration Service

It enables Adobe Flex to seamless integrate into your existing backend system (can be based on Java, PHP, or .Net) and exchange data. The enterprise version  is called LiveCycle Data Services, and the community version is called BlazeDS.