Trends Report

Does HTML 5 Herald The End Of RIA Plug-Ins? Not Really

The Pending Demise Of Popular Rich Internet App Platforms Is Wildly Overstated

April 21st, 2010
Jeffrey Hammond, null
Jeffrey Hammond
With contributors:
John Rymer , Adam Knoll

Summary

Will HTML 5 make rich Internet application (RIA) technologies such as Adobe Flash/Flex and Microsoft Silverlight obsolete? For at least the next five years, the answer is a definite "no"; inconsistent implementations of the draft HTML 5 specification and immature tooling make building HTML 5 apps that work consistently across browsers and operating systems a real challenge. Furthermore, this "either/or" scenario is driven only by vendor politics, not by developer realities. Ultimately, HTML 5 and RIA platforms will be complementary technologies, and enterprise development shops will need to invest in both approaches to deliver expressive applications that combine reach and richness.

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