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Rich Internet application
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Rich Internet applications (RIAs) are web applications that have some of the characteristics of desktop applications, typically delivered by way of an Ajax framework, proprietary web browser plug-ins, advanced javascript compiler technology, or independently via sandboxes or virtual machines. Examples of RIA frameworks that require browser extensions include Adobe AIR, Java/JavaFX and Microsoft Silverlight, whilst examples of RIA frameworks that make comprehensive use of JavaScript include GWT and Pyjamas.
The term was introduced in the 1990s by vendors like Macromedia who were addressing limitations at the time in the "richness of the application interfaces, media and content, and the overall sophistication of the solutions" by introducing proprietary extensions.
As web standards (such as Ajax and HTML 5) have developed and web browsers' compliance has improved there is less need for such extensions, and Javascript compilers such as GWT, Pyjamas and , with their associated desktop-like widget sets reduce the need for browser extensions even further.
very few exceptions (most notably YouTube which currently relies on Adobe Flash for video playback) the vast majority of the most popular web sites are native web applications.
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Encyclopedia
Rich Internet applications (RIAs) are web applications that have some of the characteristics of desktop applications, typically delivered by way of an Ajax framework, proprietary web browser plug-ins, advanced javascript compiler technology, or independently via sandboxes or virtual machines. Examples of RIA frameworks that require browser extensions include Adobe AIR, Java/JavaFX and Microsoft Silverlight, whilst examples of RIA frameworks that make comprehensive use of JavaScript include GWT and Pyjamas.
The term was introduced in the 1990s by vendors like Macromedia who were addressing limitations at the time in the "richness of the application interfaces, media and content, and the overall sophistication of the solutions" by introducing proprietary extensions.
As web standards (such as Ajax and HTML 5) have developed and web browsers' compliance has improved there is less need for such extensions, and Javascript compilers such as GWT, Pyjamas and , with their associated desktop-like widget sets reduce the need for browser extensions even further.
Deployment
With very few exceptions (most notably YouTube which currently relies on Adobe Flash for video playback) the vast majority of the most popular web sites are native web applications. Online gaming is one area where RIAs are prevalent and applications (such as Dimdim) which require access to video capture also tend to use RIAs (with the notable exception of Gmail which uses its own task-specific browser plug-in).
Key characteristics of RIA plugins and sandboxes
- Accessibility of data to search engines and web accessibility can be impaired. For example it took over a decade from release for Adobe Flash to be universally searchable.
- Advanced communications with supporting servers can improve the user experience, for example by using optimised network protocols, asynchronous I/O and pre-fetching data (eg Google Maps). Accordingly, reliable broadband connections are often required.
- Complexity of advanced solutions can make them more difficult to design, develop, deploy and debug than traditional web applications (but typically less so than application software).
- Consistency of user interface and experience can be controlled across operating systems. Performance monitoring and fault diagnosis can be particularly difficult.
- Installation and Maintenance of plug-ins, sandboxes or virtual machines is required (but applications are smaller than their predecessors and updates are typically automated). Installation is typically faster than that of application software but slower than that of native web applications and automation may not be possible.
- Offline use may be supported by retaining state locally on the client machine, but developments in web standards (prototyped in Google Gears) have also enabled this for native web applications.
- Security can improve over that of application software (for example through use of sandboxes and automatic updates) but the extensions themselves are subject to vulnerabilities and access possible is often much greater than that of native web applications.
- Performance can improve depending on the application and network characteristics. In particular, applications which can avoid the latency of round-trips to the server by processing locally on the client are often a lot faster. Offloading work to the clients can also improve server performance. Conversely the resource requirements can be prohibitive for small, embedded and mobile devices.
- Richness by way of features not supported natively by the web browser such as video capture (eg Adobe Flash).
Frameworks
An appropriate Rich Internet application framework is usually required to run an RIA, and needs to be installed using the computer's operating system before launching the application. The software framework is typically responsible for downloading, updating, verifying and executing the RIA.
External links
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