RIA Extend ==> RADE (Rich/Rapid Application Development Evolved)

Rich Internet Applications which are mainly business applications online that replace traditional desktop applications bringing the same capabilities on to the web. During the last few years many technologies experimented on the RIA world trying to compete Flash Technology, some succeeded but most failed.

Flash technology as the founder of RIA is still the one leading the field. Traditional technologies such as HTML/JS are still massively used, even though they are not stable nor promising as technologies. The fact that they are still so much used might be due to the large number of developers or probably because of it the easy syntax (tag based syntax). Both technologies have their pros and cons where the best solution would be a combination of the easy tag syntax programing of HTML in conjunction with the superior, stable and impressive user interface Flash/Flex technologies offer. Flex alone is just a UI for client side depended on server technology to interact with data (data-base-source). What if you could write Flex equivalent code in XML tag syntax (similar to HTML and JavaScript) inside a server-side language and execute at run time, without the need for compilation, making possible a real time ready-rich-business-application output.

Adobe Flash with the Flex Framework has introduced a brand new world of RIA with impressive new look and feel of business apps. Flex technologies have opened new horizons to the developers and challenged entirely all traditional web technologies bringing the web world to a new era. Flex framework is a “what you see is what you get” anywhere-anytime technology . It is cross-browser and very stable technology that can interact with any server-side technology therefore with any data source.

HTML and JavaScript are the traditional way to do web, recently with the latest improvements in HTML 5 and AJAX developers are experimenting to make them work for the RIA world. We all know how frustrating is to build and style simple web pages and make them work cross browsers. Imagine having to build a complex business application on a tight schedule which was previously used on the desktop. And there are successful HTML applications from major companies that succeed, but the question and the problem is: are they really done(finished)?! Based on my experience with HTML, you are never done. Web browsers change everyday making the HTML development a never ending task. Not to mention the NON Object Oriented Programing which makes impossible the maintenance of large modern business applications, but for some reasons developers are fond of HTML due to it tag syntax programing. They find it easy, fast and efficient to program with components in tag syntax.

Our team has learned to appreciate the powerful capabilities and the amazing interface flash technologies have to offer. The output from Adobe Flex is great, but the development process slowed us down a bit in Flash Builder IDE and the fact that business applications require mainly input forms and data displays; we would code repeatedly the same components and functionalities over and over again, code and compile infinitely. Also business applications require a server-side language integration such as PHP, Asp.Net, JAVA etc. and this as well resulted to be a slog and very time consuming. Keeping different language scripts separately, with data integration issues and all the other complexities and obstacles we faced, our team decided to build a brand new framework to facilitate and speed up development.

Keeping Rich Internet Apps as our epicenter, integrating Flash Technologies Interface, XML Tag Syntax development, data manipulation and display wrapped all together inside a single server-side language environment such as (our favorite) PHP working naturally together in the same file. We have created loosely coupled advanced components and functionalities which are defined in a tag syntax model that can be controlled by the server-side script at run time with no need for compilation. This integration brings all the best things in one single framework:

• Rich User Interface, Interactive and user friendly
• Stable and Consistent across all browsers
• Written in simple tag syntax (like HTML) or ActionScript3
• Integrated directly in server-side language
• PHP ORM ready
• Advanced Loosely Coupled components (predefined)
• Bindable Properties and Lazy Manager
• Object Oriented
• Page-Based-Paradigm   (unlike Flex, single page)
• Non-Compilable    (unlike Flex)
• Usable with any server-side languages
• Easy IDE

This framework has resulted to be very efficient, solid and super easy to use, since it is a rich application (RIA) but now much more quickly developed we decided to call it Rich and Rapid Application Development Evolved  “RADE”

Business RIA revolution is coming soon for everyone to fly with the speed of RADE.
Stay tuned . . .