"Understanding Apollo" - Mike Chambers

Mike Chambers, the Senior Product Manager for Developer Relations, gave us the lowdown on one of Adobe's exciting new products for 2006: Apollo, a run-time engine which will bring rich internet applications and Flash applications to the desktop.

• Not a general application framework - focussed on RIA feature set


• Install size for the RTE is aimed to be around 5-9mb


• Aim is to eventually be cross device as well as cross platform - in future Apollo will go to devices


• HTML engine is webkit
  
  
  
  • Open source
  
  
  • Safari
  
  
  • HTML is fully integrated
  
  
  • Really makes content format independent (Ed note)
  
  
  
  
• Plugins within HTML
  
  
  
  • Some will - initially Flash, PDF
  
  
  • 2 different ways to do Flash
    
    
    
    1. Object embed - uses default player version on the user's machine
    
    
    2. Another way will use Apollo's built-in player
    
    
    
    
  • No Quicktime or WMV yet
  
  
  
  
• Synchronous or Asynchronous loading
  
  
  
  • So loading smaller files will be automatic (configs etc)
  
  
  
  
• Apollo apps have to feel like accepted desktop applications
  
  
  
  • So standard desktop functionality is a given
  
  
  • Includes system level notification events (bouncing toolbar in the mc/bubble menu bar alert in windows)
  
  
  
  
• AS & JS interaction at a low level - i.e. seamless interaction between the two, including passing whole objects


• Install options
  
  
  
  • 1. AIR file - installation bundle (ZIP based format) - requires Apollo RTE to already be installed
  
  
  • 2. Native installer - create win or Mac installer
  
  
  • Checks for Apollo
  
  
  • If not there, installs Apollo, then application
  
  
  • 3. Web install - click on a link - if no Apollo it'll prompt to install RTE and then app
  
  
  
  
• All applications have a application XML which defines metadata for app


• Full control over the app chrome


• Timeline for release - early 2007 (labs), v1.0 sometime 2nd half of 2007


• Apollo info:
  
  
  
  • www.adobe.com/go/apollo
  
  
  • Weblogs.macromedia.com (Apollo smart category - aggregates)
  
  
  
  
• You'll be able to go full screen and push to selected monitors if more than one available


• Security model
  
  
  
  • In development so couldn't say too much
  
  
  • Aim to have different "sandboxes"
  
  
  
  
• An Apollo app can be installed from a CD-ROM but won't run from a CD-ROM - big distinction - maybe SWFKit ain't going to go out of business after all


• Aiming to have framework APIs to take the grunt work out of common functionality, i.e. file saving, online/offline syncing and caching


• Admin rights to install on Win - you may need admin rights to install the RTE. You won't to install apps (he couldn't be definitive on this as its still in dev)


• Aiming to make dynamic updates to apps possible!


• Benefits over similar technologies such as WPF
  
  
  
  • Leverage over web technologies
  
  
  • Cross-platform support
  
  
  
  
• But its not for everyone - some reqs may make WPF a better options