reasons for flash: flash development in an html5 and app store world

Reasons for FlashFlash development in an HTML5 and App Store world

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

RJ OwenSenior Software ArchitectEffectiveUI@rjowenrj.owen@effectiveui.com

Tweeting this session?Use the hashtag: #effectiveui

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

OMG HTML5 NATIVE APPS YIKES

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc. sugarpiefarmhouse.com

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Where is Flex going?

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Where has Flex been?

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Macromedia Flex 1-1.5 (2004, 2005)

• Server-side technology• Rich component set for Flash• MXML / AS compiled to SWF on the

server using a J2EE server• $15,000 per CPU (wikipedia)• Flex Data Services required

Product Goal:!Get Flash into Business

???

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Macromedia Flex 1-1.5 (2004, 2005)

• Server-side technology• Rich component set for Flash• MXML / AS compiled to SWF on the

server using a J2EE server• $15,000 per CPU (wikipedia)• Flex Data Services required

Product Goal:!Get Flash into Business

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Adobe Flex 2 (2006)

• AS3• Eclipsed-based Flex Builder• Client-side compiling• Free compiler• Charting• Flex Data Services 2

Product Goal:!Get Flash to Developers!Increase adoption in businesses

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Adobe Flex 3-3.5 (2008, 2009)

• Open Source• Integration with CS product line• AIR• Profiling and refactoring in Builder

Product Goal:!Increase Adoption, Community!Make Flex Builder a “real” product

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Adobe Flex 4 (2010)

• “Design in Mind”• Spark• Catalyst Integration• FlexUnit integration• Improved profiler• Network monitor• TLF

Product Goal:!Improve UX!Improve Enterprise tooling

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Adobe Flex 4.5 (2011)

• Multi-Screen (Mobile!)• Builder enhancements to support

enterprise, templating, etc.• More Spark• Spoon.as

Product Goal:!Mobile app development!Improve Enterprise development

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

1 1.5 2 3 3.5 4 4.5

Enterprise

Design

AIR

Developers

Mobile

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Flex’s current trajectory: reverse-engineering the business plan

Provide the tools required for enterprise-level workflows

Marketed to DevelopersTo solve a wide array of problemsWith good results

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Flex’s current trajectory: reverse-engineering the business plan

Provide the tools required for enterprise-level workflows

Marketed to DevelopersTo solve a wide array of problemsWith good results

Enterprise

Design

DevelopersUbiquity

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

So that Adobe can sell......Creative Suite

part of $2Billion creative solutions revenue 2010 (#1 source)

LiveCyclepart of $1Billion in Digital Enterprise

Solutions revenue 2010 (#2 source)

source: adobe.com/aboutadobe/invrelations/financialdocs.html

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Take-aways:Expect to see Flex continue growing in Enterprise

Business portalsCustomer facing app widgetsUX that can integrate with a server

Expect tighter integration with CS, marketing about DesignExpect investment in Developers, marketing to DevelopersExpect continued LiveCycle push

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Where will this plan take Flex in a post-HTML5 / post-Native App world?

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

I put this question to the Quora community: “What are the best reasons to learn Flash in an HTML5

web and native app world?”Answers:Consistent Experience (browser issues)Get to market quickerSingle technology to focus onFaster ROICore OOP educationand more.

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

That’s a great start. Here’s what I think.

Flex is and will continue to be valuable for....

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.1. Enterprise

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Enterprise RequirementsClient-Server integrationOO languagesDeveloper toolsetsMature languagesCode generationBest-practicesBigger logos

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Java :: Enterprise Back-EndFlex :: Enterprise Front-End

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

2. Multi-Screen Development

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Same content, multiple screensiOS, BlackBerry, Android, WebOS, WP7, and counting....

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Approaches to multi-screen:Web-onlyMultiple native applications

(avoid multi-screen ubiquity altogether)HTML5 app cache

(iOS doesn’t support!)PhoneGapTitaniumAIR mobile

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Multi-screen application development represents the best business case for Flex. Flex is an easy technology for multi-screen application development.

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

3. Community

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

SpringASSwizMateParsleyPureMVCRobotlegstinyTLFSpoon.ashamcrest-as3SwiftSuspendersFlexUnit

Signalsasmockas3corelibas3cryptoas3awss3libAway3DPaperVision3Das3ebaylibDegrafaReflexStealth

FlightFlexLibJestRibbitTweenLiteTweenerMerapiWOW 3Das3youtubelibas3syndicationlibFZip

4. Video

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Ogg Theora H.264 WebM

IE9 Manual Install

Firefox

Chrome

Safari

Mobile Safari

Opera

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Ogg Theora H.264 WebM

IE9 Manual Install

Firefox

Chrome

Safari

Mobile Safari

Opera

BROWSER INCOMPATIBILITY

FAIL

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Flash

IE9

Firefox

Chrome

Safari

Mobile Safari

Opera

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Flash

IE9

Firefox

Chrome

Safari

Mobile Safari

Opera

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

HTML5 video lacks the ability to “secure the content, handle reporting for our advertisers, to...ensure premium visual quality, communicate back with the server to determine how long to buffer and what bit-rate to stream, and dozens of other things that aren’t necessarily visible to the end user.”

- Hulu, 4/2010gizmodo.com/#!5538264/hulu-says-html5-isnt-ready-yet

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

“HTML5 Video doesn’t have a viable DRM solution at this point.”

- Netflix, 4/2010gigaom.com/video/netflix-no-plans-for-html5-video/

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

5. Games

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Flash is an animation engine.Will always perform better than Canvas.Molehill brings real hardware-

accelerated 3D

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

HTML5 games are okayCanvas tag makes things flexible

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Why move from HTML5 to Flash?Browser support is spotty at bestPerformance isn’t up to parThere is no FGL for html5 gamesSource: blog.tametick.com/2011/01/why-im-moving-from-html5-to-flash.html

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

“Is html5 the future? I sure hope so!Unfortunately, it isn’t the present.”

- TameTick.comblog.tametick.com/2011/01/why-im-moving-from-html5-to-flash.html

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

source: facebook.com/note.php?note_id=491691753919

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

6. Translating Interaction

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

(Don Norman’s) Experience Design VocabularyVisibilityAffordancesFeedbackMappingConstraintConsistency

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

VISIBILITYPerceiving interactive elements

AFFORDANCESUnderstanding interactive elements

FEEDBACKKnowing how your actions impact the system

MAPPINGHow well the interface reflects your understanding of the system

CONSTRAINTSPreventing errors in the system

CONSISTENCYObjects that appear the same function the same

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

VISIBILITYPerceiving interactive elements

AFFORDANCESUnderstanding interactive elements

FEEDBACKKnowing how your actions impact the system

MAPPINGHow well the interface reflects your understanding of the system

CONSTRAINTSPreventing errors in the system

CONSISTENCYObjects that appear the same function the same

COMPONENT SET

EVENT MODEL

CUSTOM CONTROLS & LAYOUTS

VALIDATION & ERROR HANDLING

CLASS-BASED VISUAL ARCHITECTURE

COMPONENT SET

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

HTML mark-up is SEMANTICMXML mark-up is VISUAL

Semantic mark-up is good for applying multiple views to a single data-structure and require external visual descriptors (CSS.)

Visual mark-up is good for defining an explicit visual representation of an external data object, semantic or otherwise.

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Places Flex is and will be weaker than HTML5

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Accessibility

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Search Engine Optimization

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Web-sites

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

The browser was made for semantic mark-up. Flash locks site content in a layer of abstraction.

Abstraction allows for generalization, ubiquity, and re-use.

Specificity allows for customization, perfection, and speed - an experience highly-tailored for each specific medium.

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Places Flex is and will be weaker than Native*

*probably.

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Performance

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Size

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Consistency

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Text

colinharman.com/portfolio/how-would-you-like-your-graphic-design/

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Software is about balanceConsistencyUbiquity

PerformanceMemory

AbstractionSpecificity

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

FEATURES SPEED

SIZEUBIQUITY

NATIVEAIR MOBILE

HTML5

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Take aways:Flex has a strong future.It looks different than its past.

HTML has a strong future.It looks different than its past and Flash’s past.

Native apps have a strong future.Mobile + App stores are highly disruptive.

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

There’s one final case for Flash I left out......

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

7. Pushing Boundaries

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

Thanks!

RJ OwenSenior Software ArchitectEffectiveUI

@rjowenrj.owen@effectiveui.com

© 2011 EffectiveUI, Inc.

This slide intentionally left blank.