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Bob Duffy Blog

Send Private Message Posted July 21, 2010 3:56 pm

Today Adobe & Intel release a new SDK which is the preview of the Melrose Beta SDK from Adobe that allows for Adobe AIR apps to be integrated into online stores such as the Intel AppUp Center. The Atom Develper Program will offer the SDK starting today and will be accepting AIR apps to our store starting August 14th.

Now that AIR applications are supported in AppUp, it’s probably a good idea to take inventory of what this means for developers. My thoughts are as follows:

For AppUp developers:

If you are an AppUp developer this is a bit of a proof point or watershed moment. You’re an early adopter to AppUp and you’ve been hearing Intel say this store framework will be evolving and broadening its developer model. AppUp started with C/C++ with the intention to expand into other runtimes and languages. The Adobe AIR SDK with support for AppUp is one step forward on that promise. Doesn’t mean we are done. It just means we are moving forward on this store framework that will allow developers to distribute apps to a broad market using the tools, languages, runtimes and platforms of their choosing.

For AIR developers:

If you’re an existing AIR developer this means you now have another marketplace to sell your apps. Netbooks represent a large 40+ million install base and as Intel broadens it’s partnerships with OEMs, Retailers & Service Providers, app submitted to AppUp will increase distribution through those partnered store fronts

New Automated Packaging Features

Note as Aug 2011, the InMarket service from Adobe shutdown and packaging of AIR is now done via AppUp Encapsulator.  Automation of building the .MSI is as it was, the difference is that .AIR files are first submitted to Encapsulator, then to the developer submission portal. 

If you're already familiar with submitting apps to AppUp you know a bit about the packaging process that requires you to integrate the AppUp authorization code into your application, create an MSI silent installer, etc. With the Adobe AIR SDK things have gotten simpler. With .AIR apps, Intel & Adobe have worked out a more automated packaging process, where authentication code & installer packaging are done on the backend behind the scenes, allowing you to just create the app and submit it to the store.

For more information on steps needed see our document regarding AIR for AppUp packaging process.

What AIR brings to the table

If you’re not familiar with AIR I invite you to learn more at the Adobe website, however I here's my perspective on what's cool about AIR especially as it pertains to AppUp and netbooks

Crossplatform:
Clearly one of the big advantages of AIR is that AIR applications are crossplatform. An AIR app is very much a like a Flash app that you’d have on a web page, i.e. YouTube video player and in-browser arcade games and fancy animated banners you see on CNN.com. Just as with Flash as long as the player is installed on the system then the app will run consistently across platforms. For AppUp this becomes a strong value proposition. AppUp is a store framework for multiple platforms and devices. The idea of coding once to get an app in a store that will work across platforms and devices is, well nothing short of nirvana.

Out of Browser:
As stated, Flash apps are also cross platform, so why is AIR so special. AIR can do all that Flash can do, but it’s a broader framework for apps that need to use web services, database calls & queries while be able to work off line as well as online outside of the browser. You get all the rich media and creativity you can muster in a Flash application but as a viable desktop app, without the browser. As a desktop app there are more interesting things you can do such as running a services in the background, integrating with other apps and with system hardware.   

Data:
AIR applications can make database calls, leverage web services and APIs to deliver data realtime from online or local data services. Data can also be cached allowing for offline manipulation of data from previous online sessions or saved states of the application

Multimedia: 
Like Flash, AIR applications excel in multimedia, slick animations, video streaming, and responsive UI’s that create the dazzling experiences. AIR apps can feel more analog a real world as windows, images, & objects can glide around, grow or shrink in view and accented with sound and video. Mix that with the real time and cached data services apps can provide some interesting visualization of real world data.

The mix of cross-platform development with strong multimedia, on & offline data, all running out of the browser is strong value proposition, and a perfect mix for AppUp as we advance it to support multiple platforms like MeeGo & Windows as well as various form factors like netbooks, phones, tablets, TVs, in car entertainment etc. 

Read my next post on Sample AIR apps, to look at some example AIR applications that deliver on the features I discussed above. And for more information on developing AIR for AppUp go to http://appdeveloper.intel.com/adobe-air