Whew! This is the first time this year that I’m writing on this blog.

Time indeed flies when you’re having fun – (or not – let’s save that story for another day).

A rumble in the dark

Quite a lot has been happening on the Tandolin side – especially on the development of internal projects, which you can catchup with on the Tandolin Facebook Page.

Client projects are also steadily increasing, which (more…)

UPDATE: Enhanced code styling 30 June 2009

This post will show you how to write a basic AIR application in HTML/JavaScript and get it to speak AMF with your Joomla! 1.5 (and above) installation.

If you’re just starting out, see how to setup and run J-AMFPHP in Joomla first. We’ll be creating our AIR application based on that example.

Why HTML and JavaScript?

I’ve seen some tutorials on the web that dive straight into FlexBuilder’s MXML layouts and AS3 classes as a start. Although the thinking behind MXML is to mimic (X)HTML, I feel that starting out with (X)HTML is the easiest way for a (more…)

Adobe AIR has gotten a lot of online coverage lately and that’s a good thing. I’m an absolute fan and before I tell you why, let me tell you about the biggest perception mistake most being made about it.

Wannabe

I have found – on a number of occasions – articles comparing AIR and FLEX to Java and .Net, as if it’s another development suite trying to compete for space with the establishment (the incumbents, Ahem!!). I’ve made the same mistake too and this is far from correct.

The comparison is understandable if you are comparing application development on FLEX – in Flexbuilder – where you can develop anything in ActionScript3 from a small application to an enterprise monster. Your application can then be compiled to run inside a browser in a Flash player, or it can be made into a standalone desktop application.

To speed up development, it has time-saving components and libraries too.

So what’s the fuss? Java and .Net have been doing the same thing for years and they have far richer libraries than Adobe’s toy!

Correct.

You’d also be right to think that other similarities between these development suites pit them against each other as competitors. All three make heavy use of a specific runtime environment.

The Flipside

So they do compete, right?

Sort of, and the mistake comes in thinking that this is where the story ends.

This next part explains why I’m so excited about Adobe’s offering (soon to come out in the incarnation of FlashBuilder4 and FlashCatalyst).

The big difference is that Adobe’s suite aims to extend the reach and prowess of the web developer, while the others are made for a different breed, including folks who can hold a whole conversation in hexadecimal code (not that web developers can’t do this, but you get my drift).

A Different Animal

To do this correctly, Adobe had to keep in mind the typical type of person who would be attracted to their tools, one I’d like to refer to as the Social Geek. Let’s call this type of person MASH, because they are increasingly aware that the best solutions are often a result of a multivendor mix. This person would be:

• Purely focused on web applications
•  Someone who’s not too crazy about attaching their skill sets to a brand name (e.g. I’m a Banana™ certified developer)
• Someone who detests walled gardens (where software is concerned) and is always pleased to see them crumble

Alright Already! Sheesh! Get To The Point!

Right, let me tell you what’s so different about Adobe’s offering, and why that difference is so exciting and so powerful that Microsoft(.Net) and Sun(Java) are playing catch-up on similar development tools.

How does Adobe’s suite play to the Social Geek’s tastes appeal to MASH?

For one, the development runtime is Java and the development environment is Eclipse – the most widely used open-source development environment by professional developers. It’s already the best and well supported. Why re-invent the wheel?

Co-operation

Whether, you like developing in Java, Python, Perl, PHP, Ruby, HTML/JavaScript or a host of other languages, Adobe’s tools welcome you with open arms. You are presented with so many options for bringing your web applications to life.

And here’s the kicker

You are not limited to the web browser

For the first time, this tool opens the doors for web developers to venture into the world of desktop app development. The compiled applications run on Windows, Mac, and linux without the need for porting and they can seamlessly integrate with online applications as well as run offline.

Update:
Take a look at this basic example to get a better understanding.

Beauty To The Monitor

When you consider the fact that Adobe’s other tools are market leaders in the rich-media space, you start to realise that never before has the web developer been given so much power and so many options speed away into the future.

Open-source, open everything!

That’s exactly what modern web developers like to hear, and they’ve already started supporting the environment by building AIR applications. A good example of this revolution is the growing number of Adobe AIR desktop applications for twitter. There’s a new one almost every day and we’re only just seeing the start of the web developer’s foray into much more serious applications.

Even though there are still some issues with memory leakage and performance, these are minor issues and something we realise will be fixed in future releases.

Times Are A Changing

Instead of competing with Java and .Net, the Adobe suite aims to co-operate with all. The idea is to make new connections and build upon existing ones instead of cornering the market.

Naturally there will be technical hiccups with such a big undertaking but that I can put up with for the sake of the bigger picture.

Even giants like SAP and Intuit have built tools to make it possible for web developers to make AIR applications for their own platforms.

Picking Up Steam

With the unprecedented upsurge of Social media, Microsoft and Java have realised the need to give more power to the web developer, and are already working profusely on their development tools to make this happen.

Instead of new walls going up, existing ones are being demolished

That’s got to be frightening for traditionalists. It’s still early days and I can’t wait for tomorrow.

I’m more excited about the philosophy and thinking behind the software than by the tools themselves.

That said, am I the only one that thinks we’re talking about a game-changer here? Where do you see all this going?