Do you know about Rich Internet Applications?

Rich Internet Applications – often called RIAs, are web applications designed to offer functions that most desktop applications provide. Though the features of such applications are similar to that of many other desktop applications, benefits of rich internet applications lies in the fact that they offer a rich, engaging experience to the user, which in turn augments productivity and offers high levels of user satisfaction.

You can deploy rich internet applications across different browsers and varied desktops. Earlier, the traditional Internet applications that were page-based offered only a limited level of interaction via their interface, which were mostly about some standard controls like the radio buttons, checkboxes, and form fields etc. Thanks to the development of rich internet applications, your ability to create engaging and usable applications is no longer limited unlike the past. What’s more – you can easily use these applications with ease on desktops or your chosen browser. The term “rich internet applications” was used for the first time in March 2002 by Macromedia when it introduced proprietary extensions and praised their media and content, rich application interfaces, and their sophistication on the whole.

Perhaps you are now wondering why you need these applications. Well, here is the answer to your query:

• Since they separate the application from the device or platform where they are intended to be used, RIAs are more flexible as compared to traditional Internet applications
• Rich Internet Applications are cost-effective as you need not spend a lot of money on arranging support that other desktop applications require
• RIAs are small and weigh less, which make it easier to install them and quickly, whenever the need arises
• Unlike other desktop and web applications, you can use rich internet applications in either connected or disconnected form, since they are not restricted by their domain
• Rich Internet Applications add value to your business operations and applications by augmenting their flexibility, usability, efficiency and long-term effectiveness

It is time now to take a closer look at some RIAs and the ways that you can utilize them for your business:

If you are looking for RIAs that use the Adobe Flash platform, the software from Adobe Systems named Adobe Flex would be your best bet. For creating dynamic and responsive user-interfaces that are visually enticing at the same time, Flex would serve your purpose well. As compared to traditional technologies, the rich internet applications that are created using Flex have many advantages:

• You can use transitions and effects to build interactive applications that are more natural and intuitive as compared to their traditional counterparts
• Offer your users an engaging experience
• Do away with flashing that many websites with full page loads have
• Decrease the load on your web server by loading only those content that are required
• Irrespective of the platform that you or your users use, your Flex applications will look and react in a uniform way
• Flex applications are pretty faster than many other web applications as they usually send request to the server for only those information that they require, and not for the entire page

By using the Silverlight technology developed by Microsoft, you can play the audios, view animation and videos on the Internet. In other words, Silverlight allows you to play your media over the World Wide Web. By using Silverlight, you stand to gain the following:

• Enjoy support for applications across various domains
• The search engines can index and search Silverlight applications more easily as compared to many other Flash sites
• Content-wise, WMA, WMV and MP3 formats are all supported by Silverlight; you no longer need Windows Media Player plug-in or Active X control as Silverlight acts as your Internet multimedia solution, removing the need of downloading different plug-ins for running the same application
• You can easily download the Silverlight plug-in as it’s  just 1MB in size
• You get support for asynchronous calls

Being based on open standards is the major advantage of Ajax, as various browsers and platforms support it. So, thanks to Ajax rich internet applications, programmers can enjoy the flexibility and accessibility to use what they require across different browsers. Ajax plays an important role in improving the user-experience when web surfers view a particular web page. Usually, several applications need to function before the user can view or interact with the complete page. Ajax decreases this user delay, thereby making the Internet an even more popular place than it already is.

Some other advantages of Ajax rich internet applications are:

• It has a lesser bandwidth usage
• Works well with Flex and Flash
• Is a major element of Web2.0 applications
• Is cost-effective
• Supports asynchronous calls

The rich internet applications have a great role to play for improving the usability of various web applications. Though many of these RIAs still have a lot of perfection to attain, what they offer now is not something that can be ignored. We need to understand that getting the most out of these RIAs is not a “rocket science”. Many technology companies and developers are working to better these technologies so that the future can witness the utmost application of these rich internet applications and benefit the most from them.