Rich Internet applications (RIA) are web-based applications which incorporates the features and functionality of traditional Desktop applications. Typically RIA not only moves the processing required for the user interface to the web client but also keep the bulk of the data (to maintain the state of the program, the data etc) back on the Application server.Basically, RIAs can be:
In short, RIA tools simplify testing different presentation and interconnection options early in the design cycle, thereby enhancing planning and prototyping.Simplicity, Integration, Openness, Generation, and Agility are the foremost advantages of RIAs.
What Rich stands for in RIA Development?
Rich stands for the wide range of media supported by RIA's such as :
HTML Applications were famous because of their Low cost, simple Architecture, Easy to learn and Use.
However HTML poses limitations for certain complex applications, which require many pages to redraw to complete a transaction. Consider a project management system: It can be handled as an HTML application, but it certainly works better when users can see and manipulate charts, schedules, and hierarchies. Furthermore although HTML is simple, even simple interaction requires a lot of scripting. It would be rather better if an HTML form could send and receive more-complex data structures in the form of XML documents instead of simple name/value pairs.
Application internet rich term (i.e RIA) make use of robust client-side rendering engines, which offers very dense, responsive, and graphically rich user interfaces. RIAs not only offer a dense variety of controls (sliders, date pickers, windows, tabs, spinners, gauges etc.) but also allow you to construct graphics on the fly either using Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) or some other mechanism. Some RIAs even offers full-motion animations to reflect data changes.
Another benefit of RIA development is that data can be cached in the client, allowing a vastly more responsive user interface and fewer round trips to the server than with HTML.
The typical architecture for an RIA development is shown in figure below. XML is generally used as the data transfer format and is sometimes also used to describe form layouts. In many instances, the client can stay connected to the data source, so a server can update the client in real time. Access to an Oracle database is accomplished with Web service calls.
Technologies for RIA Clients:
