Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 1, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Developers in the Linux community can now use established web technologies such as HTML, Ajax, Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex to create rich Internet applications (RIAs) that run independently of platform on all desktops. RIA developers can extend the reach of their desktop applications created with Adobe AIR to Linux users without writing additional platform-specific code. This gives the Linux community access to innovative, individual desktop applications previously available only to Mac and Windows users.
An update to the alpha version of Adobe Flex Builder3 for Linux is also available in Adobe Labs as of today (www.adobe.com/go/flexbuilder_linux). It offers additional support for creating AIR applications. The combination of Flex, Adobe AIR and Adobe Flash Player 9 for Linux forms a well-supported, freely available RIA platform that enables developers to create, test and make RIAs accessible across browsers and desktops in Linux.
“With the alpha version of Adobe AIR and the alpha update for Adobe Flex Builder for Linux, we are providing the Linux community with early versions of an application runtime and a tool for creating next-generation RIAs for browsers and desktops,” explains David Wadhwani, General Manager of the Platform Business Unit at Adobe Systems. “This allows us to engage in an open exchange with users during development and receive valuable feedback.”
Adobe Joins the Linux Foundation
Both Adobe AIR for Linux and Adobe Flex Builder 3 for Linux demonstrate Adobe’s commitment to the Linux community. As also announced today, Adobe has joined the Linux Foundation to accelerate the development of RIA technologies on the Linux platform. Adobe has also recently made the freely available Flex framework and BlazeDS accessible as open source. Adobe also continues to support the Mozilla Foundation’s Tamarin Virtual Machine open-source project, which forms the core of Adobe Flash Player.
“Today, RIAs in the browser and on the desktop are increasingly central elements of the Internet experience, and the Linux community plays an important, innovative role in the future of RIAs,” says Randy Linnell, Business Development Manager at Canonical, a sponsor of Ubuntu. “We are pleased that Linux is a high priority for Adobe and that together we can ensure AIR and Flex Builder 3 are made accessible to our developer community. Adobe supports the integration of open-source technology into RIA development and drives innovation in this way.”
Flex, AIR and Flash Player are central components of Adobe’s technology platform. The freely available, open-source-based Flex framework can be used to develop interactive, engaging RIAs that run on the desktop thanks to Adobe AIR or in the browser with Flash Player. Adobe Flash Player is present on 98 percent of all computers with Internet access and enables unique creative options, exciting user experiences, very good sound and image reproduction and virtually unlimited reach.
