Rich Internet Applications (RIA)

Rich Internet Applications ( RIA ) with very strong interactivity of rich client technology to provide users with a higher and more comprehensive network experience.

RCP ( Rich Client Platform ) provides a common Eclipse platform, allows developers to extend and build your own application.

Brief introduction

Rich Internet Applications ( Rich Internet Applications, RIA ) with very strong interactive rich client technology to provide users with a higher and more comprehensive network experience. RIA integrated desktop application of interactive and traditional Web application deployment flexibility and cost analysis, in order to create a single, complete user experience. Rich client technology enables the creation of RIA possible, it provide a run-time environment for bearing is compiled by the client application, the client application is an agreement to use HTTP released documents. The client application using asynchronous C / S structure attached to the existing application server, which is a secure, scalable, and has good adaptability of service oriented model, this model consists of the current used by the Web service drive.

Rich client technology is constantly improving, but it does not mean that will replace HTML. On the contrary it will further expand the capabilities of the browser, to provide more efficient and friendly user interface. Many RIA are run in the browser, even it is part of the HTML, so HTML will continue to maintain its original role. In addition, due to the rich client technology can support the motion image, video, audio, bidirectional data communication and create complex forms, it is to create the application user interface provides an efficient and complete development environment.

RIA development must have three elements: the rich client technology, server technology and development tools. Rich client technology makes full use of the local machine processing capacity to process data, but do not need to be certain that send data to the server process, make full use of the local machine resources. Server technology provides a rich client connection mechanism, as the RIA server technology must be from an existing server technical inheritance, can provide a quick scripting environment, support the development and application of database, data communication, data communication, even using a new server, for example: ColdFusion Server and Flash Communication Server and so on. RIA must have a set of simple and effective development tool, if not a set of simple and effective development tool, then the rich client technology and server technology is meaningless. It is because the RIA C / S structure, it needs a set of development tools work together to complete.

Although there are many rich client technology, but Macromedia Flash Player has been widely used, it has gradually become a rich client technology network standard. Flash Player is a ubiquitous media client, it can be in a different browser and operating system is running, so it is a cross-platform, operating system network client.

" The rich" concept includes two aspects, which means it has a rich user interface and abundant data model.

The typical rich client model

Rich client model interface is decomposed into many can directly with the user interaction and the server can communicate and small unit module.

The application of design from a relatively independent of the page as the center shifted to the assembly as the center of the change will allow customers the design to a new level, and make customers become more flexible. Rich client layer will no longer be a server in response to the terminal, which also makes the program performance can be enhanced, the user feels as if procedures are not required and the server or only occasionally need to communicate.

Unlike the traditional model, the server receives the request from top to bottom. After creating the client interface, you don't have to predict the sequence of events. Since each component are independent, there is no need for a request to affect the whole view of the reaction. To make each component has the information transmitted to the server capacity needs of each form know how to handle server transmits information back. In RIA, client and server interaction data are not synchronized, so you can control components to create information sent to the server and the server response, can provide more scattered control decoupling and separation procedure function and the formation of service oriented program structure.

Rich Client is a relative concept, is mainly directed against the widespread application based on the WEB, because the client ( i.e. the various existing browser ) running environment does not provide a very good component model and interactive model that the application interface with service between the interaction becomes very strange, each interaction between both need to organize the entire interface, and that interface organization completed at the server, and therefore cause the presentation layer logical in the server, so called the Thin Client, while the relative is Rich Client, currently in the technology on Rich Client is not an even two unification and maturity and standard techniques, so Rich Client can say is a kind of Architecture, its characteristic is the service with the performance of the complete physical separation, presentation logic completely by the client to be responsible, and this is the key point. But I think it must be at the same time and Gu Yuan WEB application deployment characteristics such as zero.

C / S architecture, the client program release and maintenance has been more difficult and tedious. In the updated version, the need for customer client program carried out by downloading and installing and configuring and updating, which is a manual work, and it also has a large selection of WEB is to make the user program is one of the factors.

In the Rich Client era, the broadband network convenience, in the client do need from the server downloads have been updated program run, regardless of trival download, installation and configuration process. Here have to mention Java's WebStart technology.

WebStart

WebStart is to let the user only in the webpage clicking on a hyperlink will be able to run on a Java desktop application technology. For a WebStart has a capacity of Java applications, users use it and using the WEB application as a simple, but it has the interface capacity and local processing ability is WEB application cannot approach somebody's greatness.