5 ms·

Native Android Development Or Adobe AIR?

14 points by samiq 16y ago

pierrefar 16y ago
They don't talk about CPU utilization or memory requirements, two things that Flash users gripe about on desktops. Anyone has experience/info on these?
- joelhooks 16y ago
  In my experience the issues with CPU and memory on the desktop with Flash are largely related to the developers behind the applications. Adobe has done some really strong optimizations in the last year to enable Flash to perform on mobile devices. This has the side effect of a lower footprint on the desktop as well.
praeclarum 16y ago
MonoDroid
bad_user 16y ago
I would actually ask "why use AIR?", which is totally unclear to me. I mean, you can place a WebView in your application, and presto, you've got an HTML/Javascript based UI with all the access you want to native APIs: http://developer.android.com/resources/articles/using-webviews.html http://developer.android.com/resources/articles/using-webvie... The reason people don't do this is because you don't want HTML, you want native controls most of the time (God, I hate UIs that try being different) and you also don't want your stupid app that fetches content from the web to flicker on screen transitions. And why is this article giving reasons for the native API? Do they think AIR is appropriate for everything else? What else remains that couldn't be handled by a web page rendered in the browser?
- joelhooks 16y ago
  The article is directed at Flash Platform developers that are looking to leverage their existing skill-set to create Android applications. I know several people that develop Flash and get an Android app for "free" with Air. It isn't really a matter of Air doing something that you can't accomplish with a web page in a browser. I see it as making use of existing assets/skills.
  - bad_user 16y ago
    > I know several people that develop Flash ... I see it as making use of existing assets/skills. Air's selling point was that it enables the use of web-specific skillsets for making a desktop application. A strong accent has been placed on HTML + Javascript, because it has a lower barrier to entry (lower cost) then Flash / Flex (I know because I worked there). On a regular desktop this makes lots of sense, since Air also takes care of the distribution / updating of an app (i.e. making it almost as painless as using a web app). > get an Android app for "free" with Air You mean they'll get a shitty app for free: even web applications are optimized for mobile phones, even for specific architectures with stuff like: http://jqtouch.com/ http://jqtouch.com/ (for the iPhone) Flash devs also know Html+Javascript. On the iPhone it takes a couple of meta-tags to make it behave more like a native app (loading screen / no address bar). Add to that HTML5 capabilities that you can take for granted on Android/iOS (geolocation, local storage). The app store / os takes care of updating native apps (that in the case of Android at least, can have an UI made with web technologies). So again, what does AIR offer? (really, it's not a rhetorical question, I'm curios as they probably worked really hard on it)
    - joelhooks 16y ago
      Because native or web apps aren't "shitty"? The quality of the app isn't a direct correlation to the technology. > Flash devs also know Html+Javascript. This is not true. I am incredibly inefficient with html/css/js. I can rapidly create quality applications with Flash. My guess is that I am not unique in that regard. > So again, what does AIR offer? It offers clear wins for some people. You aren't in that group, which is fine. The Flash development community is excited about it and making use of it as we type. Arguments for or against preferred technologies doesn't change that. > HTML + Javascript ... has a lower barrier to entry (lower cost) Both are zero in terms of cost.
larrywright 16y ago
The first item answers the question: Native UI Controls There are many native UI controls available in the Android SDK. Most of the applications on the market make heavy use of these. They range from buttons, lists, form controls, layout containers, and much more. If you develop your application using Adobe AIR you will NOT have any access to these controls. The best thing you can do is to try and fake them, but from my experience it is never quite as good. So if you want to use native controls then you must go native. That, in my mind, sums up why you would never use AIR for anything. I've tried out a number of AIR apps over the years, and have promptly uninstalled them all after a short period of time. They don't look like native apps, and they don't act like native apps. An example: on Windows systems (which I have to use at work), hitting CTL+Backspace deletes the previous word. In AIR? It inserts a control character. Bottom line: If you want to write an app for a platform, write the app in that platform's native toolset.
- joelhooks 16y ago
  I'm a Flash Platform dev and have the same general opinion as you regarding AIR apps. Clunky and weird for the most part. I've had a lot of success with them for firewalled "enterprise" clients. I've built a lot of them and the clients really like them. As a consumer, I always go native. It is interesting that in a lot of cases you would likely not even know an app was built on AIR with mobile. There are a good number in both the Android and Apple stores.
gte910h 16y ago
I'd go appcelerator titanium if the api handles what you're trying to do.

14 points by samiq 16y ago

They don't talk about CPU utilization or memory requirements, two things that Flash users gripe about on desktops. Anyone has experience/info on these?

joelhooks 16y ago
In my experience the issues with CPU and memory on the desktop with Flash are largely related to the developers behind the applications. Adobe has done some really strong optimizations in the last year to enable Flash to perform on mobile devices. This has the side effect of a lower footprint on the desktop as well.

praeclarum 16y ago

MonoDroid

bad_user 16y ago

I would actually ask "why use AIR?", which is totally unclear to me. I mean, you can place a WebView in your application, and presto, you've got an HTML/Javascript based UI with all the access you want to native APIs: http://developer.android.com/resources/articles/using-webviews.html http://developer.android.com/resources/articles/using-webvie... The reason people don't do this is because you don't want HTML, you want native controls most of the time (God, I hate UIs that try being different) and you also don't want your stupid app that fetches content from the web to flicker on screen transitions. And why is this article giving reasons for the native API? Do they think AIR is appropriate for everything else? What else remains that couldn't be handled by a web page rendered in the browser?

joelhooks 16y ago
The article is directed at Flash Platform developers that are looking to leverage their existing skill-set to create Android applications. I know several people that develop Flash and get an Android app for "free" with Air. It isn't really a matter of Air doing something that you can't accomplish with a web page in a browser. I see it as making use of existing assets/skills.
- bad_user 16y ago
  > I know several people that develop Flash ... I see it as making use of existing assets/skills. Air's selling point was that it enables the use of web-specific skillsets for making a desktop application. A strong accent has been placed on HTML + Javascript, because it has a lower barrier to entry (lower cost) then Flash / Flex (I know because I worked there). On a regular desktop this makes lots of sense, since Air also takes care of the distribution / updating of an app (i.e. making it almost as painless as using a web app). > get an Android app for "free" with Air You mean they'll get a shitty app for free: even web applications are optimized for mobile phones, even for specific architectures with stuff like: http://jqtouch.com/ http://jqtouch.com/ (for the iPhone) Flash devs also know Html+Javascript. On the iPhone it takes a couple of meta-tags to make it behave more like a native app (loading screen / no address bar). Add to that HTML5 capabilities that you can take for granted on Android/iOS (geolocation, local storage). The app store / os takes care of updating native apps (that in the case of Android at least, can have an UI made with web technologies). So again, what does AIR offer? (really, it's not a rhetorical question, I'm curios as they probably worked really hard on it)
  - joelhooks 16y ago
    Because native or web apps aren't "shitty"? The quality of the app isn't a direct correlation to the technology. > Flash devs also know Html+Javascript. This is not true. I am incredibly inefficient with html/css/js. I can rapidly create quality applications with Flash. My guess is that I am not unique in that regard. > So again, what does AIR offer? It offers clear wins for some people. You aren't in that group, which is fine. The Flash development community is excited about it and making use of it as we type. Arguments for or against preferred technologies doesn't change that. > HTML + Javascript ... has a lower barrier to entry (lower cost) Both are zero in terms of cost.

larrywright 16y ago

The first item answers the question: Native UI Controls There are many native UI controls available in the Android SDK. Most of the applications on the market make heavy use of these. They range from buttons, lists, form controls, layout containers, and much more. If you develop your application using Adobe AIR you will NOT have any access to these controls. The best thing you can do is to try and fake them, but from my experience it is never quite as good. So if you want to use native controls then you must go native. That, in my mind, sums up why you would never use AIR for anything. I've tried out a number of AIR apps over the years, and have promptly uninstalled them all after a short period of time. They don't look like native apps, and they don't act like native apps. An example: on Windows systems (which I have to use at work), hitting CTL+Backspace deletes the previous word. In AIR? It inserts a control character. Bottom line: If you want to write an app for a platform, write the app in that platform's native toolset.

joelhooks 16y ago
I'm a Flash Platform dev and have the same general opinion as you regarding AIR apps. Clunky and weird for the most part. I've had a lot of success with them for firewalled "enterprise" clients. I've built a lot of them and the clients really like them. As a consumer, I always go native. It is interesting that in a lot of cases you would likely not even know an app was built on AIR with mobile. There are a good number in both the Android and Apple stores.

gte910h 16y ago

I'd go appcelerator titanium if the api handles what you're trying to do.