[Appropriate Framework for Rich Internet Application Development]

by

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

Abstract

This thesis report describes and compares the three Rich Internet Application !RIA" frameworks Adobe Flex, JavaFX and Microsoft Silverlight. Through a qualitative study, their technical and non#technical characteristics have been identified and compared, together with an analysis of the current market. A prototype application has been implemented in JavaFX to evaluate its applicability in more detail. The purpose of this report is to provide guidance in choosing what plugin#based RIA framework to commit to. Flex has been on the market twice as long as Silverlight, and five times longer than JavaFX. It is the most mature and established framework, but Silverlight has experienced a rapid development with frequent releases, and established itself as the main competitor to Flex. The characteristics and features of these two frameworks do not differ much. The biggest difference is their market penetration, where Flex (Flash) has 95%of the desktop market, and Silverlight 26£. Both frameworks offer great tools and a designer-developer workflow that can enhance productivity. JavaFX reaches 71£ of the market by running on top of the Java Runtime, but it has several shortcomings such as accessibility and usability issues, as well as buggy components and no visual designer. The study concludes that JavaFX is not currently able to compete with neither Silverlight nor Flex. In addition to these plugin-based RIA frameworks, it is also important to follow the progress of HTML 5, the next generation markup language for the Web, which has been predicted to become a game-changer in web application development.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION7

Background7

Rich Internet Applications7

Capgemini9

Purpose10

Objectives10

Delimitations11

Challenges11

Cross browser issue12

Security issue at client side14

High development cost in RIA15

Fine-Grained Control over JavaScript Events15

Control over Application Flow17

State Equivalence17

Infinite Runs19

Slow Executions20

State Space Explosion20

Data Input Values21

Server States21

CHAPTER 2: METHOD22

Framework Comparison22

Identifying Sources22

Analysis24

Prototype Implementation25

CHAPTER 3: RIA FRAMEWORKS26

Rich Internet Applications26

JavaScript/AJAX-based Frameworks27

HTML 529

Plugin-based RIA frameworks30

Adobe Flex31

Adobe Flash33

Adobe AIR34

Tools34

JavaFX36

JavaFX Script39

JavaFX Mobile40

Microsoft Silverlight41

Tools44

Microsoft Expression Blend45

Technical Characterstics49

Non-Technical Characteristics53

Current Market and Statistics55

Adobe Flash Player55

Java Runtime55

Statistics Websites56

Google Insights for Search58

Online Book Store- Amazon.com60

Developer Forums61

Job Search Websites61

Prototype64

CHAPTER 5: RESULTS68

Framework Comparison68

Other's Work71

Prototype72

CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION78

CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION84

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background

The software industry is a constantly evolving ecosystem, where new techniques and new applications are frequently born. Thanks to increasingly faster devices powering this massive environment, and the fact that most of them are connected to the Internet, the possibility to create richer user experiences has indeed become tangible. New possibilities give rise to desires, and desires give rise to needs, which eventually turns into expectations. Therefore, to satisfy the users' needs and prepare for their expectations, it is of great importance to analyze new techniques and new ...