What's new in Adobe AIR???

Pedro_Fernandez

"create their own browser"

What I think is Adobe wants to quit from the "runtimes development" market (not just now, but are doing it gradually). They let it to external companies / browser vendors, while they focus on tooling and contribution to the enhancement of this "virtual machines". But the Flash/AIR runtimes will be gradually dying.

The "only" solution for Flash/AIR would be to transfer it to the open source world (although there are small licenced parts, there are always a solution better than let it dead), or sell it to a company interested in continuing its long-term development.

jonathanhart

Pedro,

Just have a look at where the browsers are at in regards to supporting WebGL, and read up on the political climate regarding supporting WebGL on mobile devices, and you'll see how far away it all is from ever coming to fruition.

jonathanhart

http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/15/the-future-of-javascript/

Pedro_Fernandez

Hi Jonathan,

I know. And that's the problem. They (Adobe) are reducing resources to the Flash platform before they should. I say this not only to "save" the Flash platform, but for Adobe themselves. They sell or earn something now with html5 related tools?. I think not. Rather it is a long term investment for them.

I do not know. They will know ...

santanu4ver

Actually its Adobe's high time to grab the market again, the portion which it has loosen. Windows 8 Metro. No enough player poured-in yet in the scene, so I believe its the time to act.

PabiQC

I don't get all the fuse about air going to die???!!?

am i the only one that don't see that in the near future at all ? ok maybe in 5 years i don't know. But for now... everything is amazing about Air! They just release a new update 3.7. I got apps running on iOS and Android and with native extension and all... it's awesome how well everything run.

I don't understand why there isn't more done around Air. I tested almost every other possibilities for native apps and i don't see any NEAR equivalent as Air. Anyway i love air and i got new apps coming and all will be build in air so i hope you guy are just paranoid!!

BTW for any one curious , my apps was done with air : https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ifunface-talking-photos/id530299096?mt=8

Artemix

You are right Pabi, less type more code.

wrench

@PabiQC - I like the sentiment, but in the corporate world, where roadmaps and stability matter, Adobe has done nothing to reassure the stakeholders that they'll be continuing to support Air and Flash going forwards. A tweet here and a forum post there really does nothing to halt the landslide that is Flash/AIR. I see the results of their inaction (implicit or otherwise) on a daily basis. For instance, 12 months ago I would not be getting briefs come in that have the following wording (keep in mind this brief comes from a client) - "Requirements: All gfx will need to be deliverd in HTML5 not Flash..." (and yes, before anyone starts I realise full well that it is the developers responsibility to guide the client in the best technology to choose, but there's only so far you can rake shit up a hill)

Apply that same logic to Air and I think the stuff I've been getting away with for the last 12 months or so (mobile prototyping using AIR/Starling/Feathers) will probably be a no no as well.

The time's they are most certainly a changing.

sHTiF

Exactly wrench a lot of people don't see this, its a lot different to work on a huge company project where the future actually matters than a project that is made by one or two people. Adobe people either know this and want AIR/Flash to die in corporate world which means they lost my respect or they don't know this which means they are basically braindead. As I see it this is a lose lose scenario.

AIR will be pushed as a hobbyist platform and corporate world will be stuck with this shitty HTML5 mess. Corporate drones don't really care that its harder to do or that its painful to work with HTML5. They just want it done that way and they let someone do it for them. They don't care that AIR is overall better, why should they.

PabiQC

@wrench & sHTiF : I do have this problem in my other company. I direct the R&D and the future of the platform for a web to print company and we currently have a lot of difficulty to choose our mobile technology. I made a lot of testing with html5 with HaXE and createJS and the performance wasn't enough (think of it like a mini online photoshop to design flyer / business card). I hate web apps and i would prefer finding a way of doing it native and here the problem with Air. I really wanted to use air as all my previous platform was done in flash... lot of code would be re-used. But then i read all those forum about air going to die. I need a solid technology as the future of the mobile platform will be, for us, REALLY important in the viability of our company future.

richpixel

I agree with wrench- we do small games for corporate clients and as of the beginning of 2013 they are asking for HTML5 games, even with the performance problems and development difficulties vs. Flash. They just need their web games to run on mobile, period. I love AIR and still see it as a great technology, but the problem is it's geared toward standalone APPS, when it appears we are moving in the direction of pure HTML5 web apps as the standard:

http://www.businessinsider.com/html5-vs-apps-heres-why-the-debate-matters-and-who-will-win-2013-3

Adobe got stung once by Apple/Jobs on Flash and assumedly doesn't want to get creamed again betting on a losing horse. So it appears they are dumping everything they have into HTML5 web tools, while supporting AIR and Flash less and less. The big variable here is how long will it really take for HTML5 to catch up to Flash in terms of performance, and cross-platform ease of development. And who even knows if a massive, open-source, standards based collaboration like HTML5 can really ever match what Adobe has done with Flash/AIR?

Basically we are in a grey area right now and you have to be smart about picking the right technology for the job you are doing - consider the clients needs, and how future-proof it needs to be. As of now, Flash/AIR/Starling/Stage3D is still a very good fit for standalone APPS, especially games.

Framais

Meanwhile in a parallel universe:
http://unity3d.com/unity/whats-new/

skol

@richpixel, as much as they'll try to optimise node rendering and js execution there's a limit.

And I don't think whatever is out there on horizon (assembler optimised js code?) will reach same performance as adobe air.

Even best HTML5 PhoneGap apps have these quite noticeable jerkiness especially when you're changing views. Check this blogpost and load Healthtapp app to see for yourself http://www.tricedesigns.com/2013/02/22/featured-phonegap-apps/

Artemix

That's why full featured apps or games will never be as good/fast/nice as flash ones. Adobe needs to focus on that, and let HTML5/JS/etc to handle the basic stuff.

In this scenario, I think Flex is doomed to succumb.

RavalMatic

would it be possible once an AIR game has been published on google play or the app store to replace it for a port of cocos2d for example?

sHTiF

RavalMatic yep its all about the certificates once you have it you can replace it with pretty much anything on Android. Why would you do that though?

RavalMatic

for the case AIR doesn't work anymore on a new Android/iOS version.

Working with AIR is wonderful opposite to cocos2dx. But if the games don't run anymore we would switch to cocos2dx or unity.

jonathanhart

Anything made in AIR today will run forever and ever, and can be enhanced. If Adobe ever did decide to stop working on AIR it's not like any existing apps would be affected or unable to be updated.

Porting a game from AIR to cocos2d-x will be one miserable experience. Especially if you make use of ANE's, which don't exist in that platform.

Have fun loading up both Eclipse and XCode to do your development and testing, meanwhile having to juggle 3 languages in your head at once (JAVA, C++, Obj-C).

It's a blast, lemme tell ya.

RavalMatic

good to hear. I've developed a couple of games using cocos2dx and it was a nightmare.

Artemix

I've used xCode to develop at least 5 different games in the past and.. never again.

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