Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR is a versatile runtime system designed to package Rich Internet Applications (RIA) that can be deployed on virtually any platform, including Windows, Mac OSX, iOS and Android.

Adobe has promoted its product as a browser-less runtime, avoiding to catalog it as an application framework. This is a valid statement if we take into consideration the fact that Adobe Air requires access to local storage, while a browser based runtime would be limited with regard to the locations it may access or store in.

Adobe Air allows the code written in HTML, Flash, ActionScript and JavaScript to be packaged in one single installer, which ensures an elegant and streamlined deployment procedure. It is advantageous for both developers, who benefit from more options than other runtimes can deliver and end users, who experience a shorter, more compact installation process.

Another advantage is that applications packaged with Adobe Air sport very modern and tasteful appearances, to the delight of the audience. Graphics can be enhanced with the aid of the GPU rendering technology, which pays outstanding results in game development or applications containing HD videos.

Adobe AIR is able to deliver state-of-the art animations via the high-resolution bitmap support and caching, while the 2D/3D GPU accelerated graphics produce the most advanced rendering level on the market.

The content stored inside AIR packages is fully protected using the Adobe Access technology, which is an approved DRM protection algorithm that works for a variety of business models, including electronic sell-through, subscription-based platforms, video on demand, etc. The performance of the code is optimized via LZMA and text compression, while developers are provided with the possibility to call into the code using Adobe Air extensions.

In conclusion, Adobe AIR is a highly reliable runtime that can be used to install applications developed with Adobe Air SDK. It manages to deliver a more streamlined, compact and complication-free deployment procedure.