Air vs mProjector or others

[SoftCore]

I'm spending too much time deciding what to go for. Check the brief:

Build a desktop application that can handle:

- Copy and delete files
- Create folders
- Write XML files
- Upload and download via FTP
- Cross platform

Considerations:

- I'm not familiar with Flex
- I'm still in AS2
- I've got 1 1/2 month left of the project

= go for mProjector?

Air looks right, but mProjector seems like an easy way out. And requiring the user to install Adobe AIR runtime puts me a bit off. Or should I not worry about that?

Advice anyone? Thanks.

[CyanBlue]

Howdy and Welcome... :)

First of all, AIR is not a completed project which you are not supposed to create a commercial project out ot... I think 1.5 month is just too short time period to learn AS3 and AIR platform... mProject should be an easy solution...

As for the runtime for the user, I think it will follow a similar step as Flash Player... It simply takes time to get it spread around... That's all... ;)

[SoftCore]

Thanks for that. Feels good to finally make a decision, your comment helped :-)

[tg]

cyanblue is noted around here for making helpful comments.

[media636]

What about Zinc?

[CyanBlue]

What about it??? Generally speaking, Zinc is good one as well... Each product has its own strong/weak points... You will have to try them and see what best suits your need... ;)

[senocular]

Just so you know, you don't need to know Flex to work with AIR. You can create AIR applications using just HTML and even with Flash through the Flash authoring environment using the Flash AIR update (currently available on labs.adobe.com).

Both AIR and alternate projectors have their strengths and weaknesses. What you choose to use could depend on the requirements of your application. Discussions covering this in greater detail are around; you're best bet for finding them is probably google : )

[panel]

...You can create AIR applications using just HTML...
There is also Dreamweaver update that allos you to create AIR apps

[SoftCore]

Thanks for the input. I reckon the app will be rewritten to Air at a later stage. As CyanBlue mentions; can't bet on mastering the details of AS3 in time for my deadline.

Building apps in Flash for AIR is the future tho, but perhaps its success will depend on the penetration of runtime for the user. However, I've seen an interesting idea at the mProjector forums: distribute the runtime and Air app in mProjector / Zinc executables to ease the installation. Dunno if it's doable, but sounds interesting.

I followed Sen's advice and had a second Google-look at Zinc vs mProjector. My highly undocumented and non-scientific impression is that mProjector is simpler and slightly more stable than Zinc. Zinc on the other hand offers standard installers and an impressive range of FTP functions (which my project needs). But there's also chatter about Zinc showing a tendency of frequent patches and fixes, plus a less consistent cross-platform API compared to mProjector. Again, this is just a few comments I've picked up, not a solid conclusion. I guess it boils down to personal preference, experience and the specific needs of the project.

[wilbur99]

so no version of AIR can deploy a self contained projector like zinc say?


(need installed runtime)

[SoftCore]

My understanding is that the user will have to have AIR runtime installed in order for any AIR app to run. Dunno if you can wrap up AIR runtime in the self contained app installation file tho.

[wilbur99]

So for example you couldnt really make a typical interactive CDROM with AIR the way you could with (macromedia) director as some things need to be installed to hard drive

[SoftCore]

That sounds right, as I understand it at least. The user will have to have AIR runtime installed for the AIR app on the CDROM to work. Perhaps AIR runtime can be compared to .NET framework... But, I'm not sure whether you can distribute AIR runtime on the CDROM though - which would of course make it possible. Would be good if someone with a definitive answer could weigh in on this.

[panel]

At the moment AIR dosen't support 'standalone CD Applications'.
Propably over time posibility to run app (and install runtime if needed ) will be added by Adobe.

[SoftCore]

How will the Adobe AIR runtime be distributed?
Useful info over at http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/AIR:Developer_FAQ

Concerning installation of runtime:

Adobe AIR will be distributed in a number of ways, including but not limited to:
* Installed along with the AIR application (in case the user does not have Adobe AIR installed) via the badge install process
* Download from the Adobe website as a standalone installer

[summer]

You could try out this solution that somebody at the adobe forums pointed out to me: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/webforums/forum/messageview.cfm?forumid=72&catid=641&threadid=1318603&enterthread=y
haven't tried it myself though.

[evride]

to install the runtime with the app i think you could use NSIS to bundle the two together and install it successfully. I havent tested it and it would only work for windows. if theres a mac installer maker out there let me know. but the idea is to combine the mac runtime with the mac installer, the windows runtime with the windows installer and your application with both, then you can just create an auto update feature to install just the AIR file afterwards to conserve space.

[beantickler]

Odd. I saw a post about an AIR wrapper that seems to have been deleted from this thread. It was actually a very relevant post so am surprised!
For anyone interested, the product was called Shu.

Now before anyone attempts to call me an advertiser or fanboy, I want to make clear that I simply am a developer who has put up with Zinc for far too long. I love what AIR offers but it has lacked in key areas too. For me, Shu neatly fills a gap. I am well aware of other people who will feel like me and hence why I have posted.

[evride]

it's up to the mods to decide if its an ad or not and the fact that that was the guy's first post made it seem more like and ad than not.

[beantickler]

Yeah I understand that, I just feel whether its an add or not, it is relevant to this thread, especially as there is no other alternative.

[Galt]

I agree on the relevance of Shu. I'm currently in the process of figuring out Air so I can evaluate Shu for CD/DVD stand alone. mProjector doesn't work well because of it's poor memory management on windows, Zinc doesn't work for me because of it's large filesize. I'm hoping Shu may offer a good solution.

Big question, is Shu even legal. Adobe hasn't created a way for AIR to run without being installed, why would a 3rd party work around app be allowed?


Never mind... Using Shu on a simple "Hello World" app = 63 mb. Wow.

[evride]

haha, dang dudez. thats why we won't use Shu.

Thanks for testing that for us. ;)

[beantickler]

Never mind... Using Shu on a simple "Hello World" app = 63 mb. Wow.

You sure?? I just compiled a simple hello world and Win exe was 18mb and Mac app was 30mb (Finder lied, as usual, so I did a du to see real size).
When I zipped each one up, they were about 10mb each.

Too big if you need really small apps (<3mb), but for us, we ship CD's and offer downloads so its fine.