Adobe Flex Builder 2 (EN) Mac, TLP Commercial 1500-14999 54021980TS User Manual
Product codes
54021980TS
Adobe Flex 2
The evolution of rich Internet applications
Macromedia (now part of Adobe) introduced the term rich Internet application in 2001 to
describe a new kind of Internet-based application being delivered by the vanguard of the web
development community. RIAs combine best practices in user interaction design—for example,
avoiding page refreshes, expanding information in place, and using interactivity and video to
guide or train users—with sophisticated use of web-based technologies such as Macromedia® Flash®
from Adobe, HTML, and JavaScript to deliver a better user experience.
describe a new kind of Internet-based application being delivered by the vanguard of the web
development community. RIAs combine best practices in user interaction design—for example,
avoiding page refreshes, expanding information in place, and using interactivity and video to
guide or train users—with sophisticated use of web-based technologies such as Macromedia® Flash®
from Adobe, HTML, and JavaScript to deliver a better user experience.
Since then, the interest in RIAs has exploded. While consumer-facing sites have been the most
aggressive adopters of RIA technology, many enterprises are now moving to apply that technology to
internal and external business applications as well. For example, SAP has made improvement of the user
experience using RIAs a major element of its 2006 product roadmap.
aggressive adopters of RIA technology, many enterprises are now moving to apply that technology to
internal and external business applications as well. For example, SAP has made improvement of the user
experience using RIAs a major element of its 2006 product roadmap.
RIAs are more than just “eye candy”; rather, they provide measurable value to the enterprise.
According to leading researchers, adoption of RIA technology is accelerating. Forrester Research
foresees “a significant swing in 2006 toward the thin client model for enterprise application
development and deployment,”
According to leading researchers, adoption of RIA technology is accelerating. Forrester Research
foresees “a significant swing in 2006 toward the thin client model for enterprise application
development and deployment,”
1
while Gartner believes that by 2010 over 60% of new projects
will include RIA technology
2
.
As enterprises move to develop and deploy RIAs, however, they are finding that delivering on the
vision requires two important ingredients:
vision requires two important ingredients:
• A new class of client runtime that can support the range of needs inherent in rich Internet
business applications
• Tools and technology that can provide a productive environment for building, maintaining,
and managing these applications throughout their lifecycle
The need for a service-oriented client
Over the past five years, IT organizations have made significant investments in modernizing their
back-end systems to take advantage of service-oriented architecture (SOA). By exposing core business
systems (and the processes they embody) as a set of services, IT organizations hope to become more
agile as well as reduce the cost of system maintenance or updates. As a result, many organizations
can now make business processes more efficient and implement new business processes that
integrate existing systems through web services or an enterprise service bus.
Over the past five years, IT organizations have made significant investments in modernizing their
back-end systems to take advantage of service-oriented architecture (SOA). By exposing core business
systems (and the processes they embody) as a set of services, IT organizations hope to become more
agile as well as reduce the cost of system maintenance or updates. As a result, many organizations
can now make business processes more efficient and implement new business processes that
integrate existing systems through web services or an enterprise service bus.
While the move to SOA has steadily improved the efficiency and stability of back-end applications,
web browsers—the main client-side application runtime—have not advanced beyond their
original role as document browsers. To realize the full benefits of a SOA, developers need a richer set
of technical capabilities to modernize the client-side components of their applications. This new set of
capabilities will provide a service-oriented client (SOC)—a runtime environment that can deliver
not only the enhanced usability promised by RIAs but also reliable and secure connectivity to
back-end systems.
web browsers—the main client-side application runtime—have not advanced beyond their
original role as document browsers. To realize the full benefits of a SOA, developers need a richer set
of technical capabilities to modernize the client-side components of their applications. This new set of
capabilities will provide a service-oriented client (SOC)—a runtime environment that can deliver
not only the enhanced usability promised by RIAs but also reliable and secure connectivity to
back-end systems.
While the full set of services required for SOCs will continue to evolve as RIAs become more
commonplace, at a minimum organizations should seek the following capabilities:
commonplace, at a minimum organizations should seek the following capabilities:
• High-performance, cross-platform runtime—Business applications must handle large
amounts of data and support complex client-side business logic and data processing. As a
result, the SOC must be able to manipulate large amounts of data in memory and update the
user interface without a user-perceivable degradation in performance.
result, the SOC must be able to manipulate large amounts of data in memory and update the
user interface without a user-perceivable degradation in performance.
• Integrated support for text, graphics, animation, and audio/video—The most usable applications
combine multiple modes of presentation to deliver information more effectively. The SOC must
provide an integrated programming model that allows developers to control all of these modes
within their application.
provide an integrated programming model that allows developers to control all of these modes
within their application.
1
“The Rise of Rich Internet Applications,” Forrester Research, April 10, 2005.
2
“Rich Internet Applications Are the Next Evolution of the Web,” Gartner, May 5, 2005.