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DESCRIPTION
Adobe AIR is a cross-operating system runtime that allows web application developers to use their existing web development skills (HTML, Javascript, Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, Ajax) to build and deploy rich Internet applications on the desktop.
Adobe AIR enables developers to create applications that combine the benefits of web applications - network and user connectivity, rich media content, ease of development, and broad reach - with the strengths of desktop applications - application interactions, local resource access, personal settings, powerful functionality, and rich interactive experiences.
Adobe AIR enables familiar application interaction models, including drag-and-drop support, rich clipboard access, and desktop and system shortcuts. Adobe AIR applications run as regular applications, and do not have to run within another application or shell (as web applications do by running within the browser).
WHAT'S NEW
Version 2.0:
- Open documents with the user's default application
You can open document files in the application the user has set up as the default opening application. Launching executables or script files is not permitted unless the application is packaged in a native installer. See File.openWithDefaultApplication() and Opening files with the default system application.
- Microphone data access
You can access the sound data from a microphone directly for recording or other processing. See Microphone.sampleData and Capturing microphone sound data.
- Mass storage device detection
You can now detect when a mass storage device, such as a USB drive or a camera, has been connected to the user's computer. See StorageVolumeInfo.
- Updated WebKit version
- WebKit in AIR is based on the version shipped with Safari 4.0.3
- Support for JavaScript profiling
- SquirrelFish Extreme JavaScript engine resulting in 50% faster performance using SunSpider tests
- CSS3 Module support (2D transformations, transitions, animations, gradients, zoom and WebKit CSS selectors, etc.).
- Styling scrollbars via CSS
- Latest Canvas enhancements.
- Global Error Handling
Global error handling lets you handle all uncaught errors (both synchronous errors and asynchronous error events) in one place in your code. See UncaughtErrorEvent.
- New networking support
- Packaging an AIR application in a native installer
You can package an AIR application in a native install program instead of an AIR file. Applications packaged and installed using a native installer have access to platform-specific features such as the Native Process API. See Packaging an AIR application in a native installer.
- Native process API
You can launch and communicate with native processes. Applications that use this API must be installed using a native installer. See NativeProcess and Communicating with native processes in AIR and the following quick start articles: (For HTML developers) Interacting with a native process, (For Flex developers) Interacting with a native process, and (For Flash developers) Interacting with a native process.
- Database transaction savepoints
You can commit or roll back multiple database changes as a single transaction. See SQLConnection.setSavePoint().
- Screen reader support (Windows only)
Users can use screen reader software with AIR applications. See Accessibility.
- Printing enhancements
- Vector printing is now supported on the Mac.
- PrintJobOptions.printMethod allows you to control whether vector or bitmap printing is performed. You can also let the runtime choose the best method (using an internal heuristic based on analyzing the content to be printed). See PrintJobOptions.printMethod.
- Idle time-out settings for URL requests
You can override the default idle time-out setting for URL requests. See idleTimeout.
- Improved IPv6 support
IPv6 format addresses can now be used with all APIs that accept an IP string as input.
- Increased maximum size of NativeWindow
The maximum size of a NativeWindow has been increased to 4095x4095 pixels (from 2880x2880 pixels). See NativeWindow.bounds.
- File promises (Win/Mac only)
You can now allow users to drag a file that has not been created yet out of an AIR application and provide the data for that function after the file promise has been dropped. For example, you could provide a list of files available on a remote server. When the user drops an item from that list onto their desktop, you can download the data and write it to the dropped file. See URLFilePromise and Dropping file promises.
- Multi-touch events
You can listen for multi-touch and gesture events on computers that have multi-touch hardware and operating system support. See TouchEvent.
- IME API and IME text input enhancement
Input Method Editors (IMEs) can be used with any InteractiveObject, not just TextField objects. This allows you to support IME input when using the Flash Text Engine or the Adobe Text Layout Framework, for example. See IME.
- Native runtime install packages for Linux
Native install packages are now provided for the rpm and debian package managers.
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.5 or later.
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| Adobe AIR User Reviews (13 posts) | Write A Review |
 | Jul 30 2007 |
MORI57 For those of you too busy to do more than make snide comments about a product you haven't bothered reading even the simplest introductory article on (many readily available from Adobe's wiki), I thought I'd take a few minutes out of my own busy schedule: 1) AIR (formerly "Apollo") is to the desktop what Flash Player is to the web browser. That is, you write content for AIR, compile it, and then people can download it and run it like a regular desktop application. And, yes, this means that you now have access to desktop-side faculties, such as the filesystem. 2) One chief difference between AIR and other dev tools is that you can use a mixture of HTML, XML, Javascript, Actionscript, Flex, etc. You're not limited to the script libraries that Adobe provides, either. Jack Slocum's Ext library, for example, is used to create a really nifty looking Task tracking app. 3) Adobe's purpose is to create an application development platform that allows the huge community of web developers use of their already-existing skills for desktop development. A secondary purpose, of course, is to allow web apps to be brought to the desktop for offline-enabled apps... apps that update when you're connected, but are still usable (in a limited sense, like composing email using Mail offline) when you're not. 4) The fact that Adobe has put more effort into bringing this technology out in a beta form shows more interest in creating a grassroots community. Branding can come later; the hardest part is getting developers interested in using the tools. 5) AIR is cross-platform. There is a runtime for Mac and for Windows, and I'm certain that if the Linux community gets pushing, there will be one for them as well. 6) Not only that, but Aptana has plug-ins that allow you to develop HTML/Javascript based AIR apps, for free, at the moment. Whether that will stay that way, I haven't heard, but you can at least give it a try.
(Version 1.0b1) | |
| [ 1 Reply - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Nov 27 2007 |
PETER DA SILVA It sounds like Konfabulator with less transparency and more overhead. Konfabulator is already as cross platform as AIR, and has been around for years...
(Version 1.0b2) | |
| May 28 2008 |
SZABESZ "So, it is a development system?" No, it is not. It is a runtime environment like one Java has, and needs to be installed in order to run applications developed for it. "There aren't enough development systems in the world?" Yes, you are right. There aren't enough development systems in the world. Period. "Why do I want to run on the Adobe servers?" Obviously you don't want, and you don't have to. Except for de download time of the installed package. "If I loose internet connection I'm down, instantaneously? Sounds like back to "Save Often or loose it all!" " In this case, you miss the point. It has nothing to do with continuos internet connection.
(Version 1.0.1) | |
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| Oct 10 2009 |
MACLOVER1.1 AIR: possibly the worst piece of crap ever invented on mac.
(Version 1.5.2) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Nov 17 2009 |
REVCO Looks like Public Beta is Intel only.
(Version 2.0.0.10760) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Oct 10 2009 |
MACLOVER1.1 I've never had issues as I have with Adobe products, I'll vote them most horrendous company after Microsoft.
(Version 1.5.2) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Nov 25 2008 |
RPPHOTO Does Air actually work on Apple computers? It probably does, but not for me: every time I try to install an Air application, I get an error box that says Air is not installed properly. So, I uninstall every element I can find, go to Adobe and run the new installer. No luck. I've tried every version, always with the same result. Anyone know how to fix it?
(Version 1.5) | |
| [ 2 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Feb 27 2009 |
ALBION Of course it works. This could be a sign that something else about your system needs troubleshooting.
(Version 1.5.1) | |
| Jun 17 2009 |
ROGER KATZ I get the same problem.
(Version 1.5.1) | |
| May 27 2008 |
MEGAMOOSE To the earlier reviewer who was wondering how this is different than Flex, AIR allows developers to write stand-alone applications using Flex, HTML, and/or Javascript. In other words, it allows us web developers to create stand-alone applications using the technologies we use every day. This is not like Google Gears or Firefox's offline data storage -- these are full blown applications that have much the same capabilities as a native application (with the huge advantage of being cross-platform). I've already used it to convert some of my Flex apps into standalone applications for use at trade-shows.
(Version 1.0.1) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Feb 25 2008 |
TIM27 I don't understand what AIR is for, especially since Flex is out. You already have Flex, Flash, Widgets and Gadgets. They all can do similar things. And Flash content can be integrated into Widgets and Gadgets. And on top of that, now you have another app to download and install rather than just a widget or gadget, which is integrated into the operating system of either Windows or Mac OS. This seems like a complete waste of time or resources. Either that, or Adobe should be combining Flex with this? But it seems like they do pretty similar things already.
(Version 1.0) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Jul 28 2007 |
BRIAN KENDIG So, what is this? Is it a free tool to let me write Flash applications? Or some kind of front-end if I already purchased the Flash developer kit, or what?
(Version 1.0b1) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Mar 19 2007 |
SCHMELDING This is a serious question: Is this worth the download? I fear Adobe's bent for bloatware. If that's the case, I'll continue coding by hand, thank you very much.
(Version 1.0a1) | |
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