Introducing Adobe Apollo
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Apollo is the code name for a cross-operating system runtime that allows you to leverage your existing web development skills (Flash, Flex, HTML, JavaScript, Ajax) to build and deploy Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) to the desktop.
Apollo enables you to work in familiar environments, to leverage the tools and approaches you find most comfortable, and by supporting Flash, Flex, HTML, JavaScript, and Ajax, to build the best possible experience that meets your needs.
For example, applications can be developed using one or a combination of technologies below:
- Flash / Flex / ActionScript
- HTML / JavaScript / CSS / Ajax
- PDF can be leveraged with any application (PDF support is not included in the public Alpha)
As a result, Apollo applications can be:
- Flash- or Flex-based: Application whose root content is Flash/Flex (SWF)
- Flash- or Flex-based with HTML or PDF. Applications whose root content is Flash/Flex (SWF) with HTML (HTML, JS, CSS) or PDF content included
- HTML-based. Application whose root content is HTML, JS, CSS
- HTML-based with Flash/Flex or PDF. Applications whose root content is HTML with Flash/Flex (SWF) or PDF content included
Users interact with Apollo applications in the same way that they interact with native desktop applications; Apollo leverages familiar interaction models. The Apollo runtime is installed once on the user's computer and then Apollo applications are installed and run just like any other desktop application.
Since Apollo is an application runtime, it has little or no visible user interface and developers have complete control over the application and the experience they provide to users. The Apollo runtime provides a consistent cross-operating system platform and framework for deploying applications and therefore eliminates cross-browser testing by ensuring consistent functionality and interactions across desktops. Instead of developing for a specific operating system, developers instead target the Apollo runtime. This has a number of benefits:
- Applications developed for Apollo run across multiple operating systems without any additional work by the developer. The runtime ensures consistent and predictable presentation and interactions across all the operating systems supported by Apollo.
- Applications are built faster by enabling you to leverage existing web technologies and design patterns. This allows you to extend your web based applications to the desktop without learning traditional desktop development technologies or the complexity of native code. This is easier than using lower level languages such as C and C++, and does away with the need to learn complex low-level APIs specific to each operating system.
When developing applications for Apollo, you can leverage a rich set of frameworks and APIs:
- Apollo-specific APIs provided by the Apollo runtime, and the Apollo framework
- ActionScript APIs used in SWF files and Flex framework (as well as other ActionScript based libraries and frameworks)
Apollo delivers a new paradigm that dramatically changes how applications can be created, deployed, and experienced. You gain more creative control and can extend their Flash, Flex, HTML, and Ajax-based applications to the desktop, without learning traditional desktop development technologies.
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