Revolution => Flash

[Derek Bump]

Richard,

I agree with Luis, very well written!  Regarding a compelling must-have
business case to give you, well, there are a LOT of talented programmers
in this forum and I'd hate to miss out on a good idea (if you catch my
drift).

So, a simple question:  Why should Runtime Revolution build a plugin to
allow Revolution projects to be viewable on the web?

Answer:  Why should a company choose to program in Revolution when they
can use technologies that already work within a web browser?


The current software market suggests that "all-in-one" web solutions are
successful.  It's easy to suggest that due to the popularity of Google
Earth or Widgets that the web is dead, but it's not.  People still use
the web, and companies are still banking on 'web' products...

   Google Docs, http://docs.google.com
   Zoho, http://writer.zoho.com
   ThinkFree, http://www.thinkfree.com

   - And the not so obvious 'web products' -

   MySpace, http://www.myspace.com
   Facebook, http://www.facebook.com
   Google, http://www.google.com

I feel that developers need to realize that the web itself has become a
psudo-platform.  Revolution embodies the "Build Once, Deploy Everywhere"
motto, I think that the Web should be included in the 'Everywhere' part.


Derek Bump
Dreamscape Software
http://www.dreamscapesoftware.com


Richard Gaskin wrote:
> Ken's post raised the question of the cost/benefit ratio of developing a
> Rev plugin, and while it touched on many of the highlights on the cost
> side it didn't address much of the benefit side.
> 
> I can't really call that an omission from his post, as I don't believe
> there are many, if any at all.
> 
> The few ostensible benefits are seductive but generally haven't held up
> well to analysis in previous discussions.  Let's take a look at them:
> 
> The main ostensible benefit of a plugin is that it lightens the load for
> deploying Rev-based media.  Just hand out a URL, the story goes, and
> that's all the user needs to run your stuff.
> 
> That's true only to the degree that someone takes up the suggestion of
> building a JavaScript library for common Rev tasks, and writes an
> exporter to translate Rev stuff for true browser-only deployment.  Thus
> far no one has pursued this, and it remains the only option that truly
> addresses the central issue of zero-installation.
> 
> Even if a browser plugin were available, you still wouldn't be able to
> run Rev media until you first convince IT staffers among your target
> audience that they should locate, download, and install this plugin on
> all systems expected to run Rev.
> 
> If you could win that argument with IT over plugins in the future, you
> can win it today to deploy a standalone that acts as a browser's helper
> app, downloading and running any Rev stacks it needs, right now.
> 
> But if you can't win that argument, whether it's a plugin or a helper
> app standalone won't matter: it won't get installed, and your user still
> won't be able to run your Rev stacks.
> 
> Rev-based helper app standalones provide all of the benefits of a
> plugin, and much more.  They aren't limited by the browser UI, can
> retain state information locally, can provide an offline mode if
> desired, can have multiple windows, etc. etc.
> 
> And best of all, there's nothing stopping any of us from deploying such
> systems with the technology we have in hand right now.  Many of us do.
> 
> Details on this issue have been covered in depth before -- these three
> posts may serve as a reasonable summary:
> 
> <http://lists.runrev.com/pipermail/use-revolution/2006-November/089327.html>
> 
> <http://lists.runrev.com/pipermail/use-revolution/2006-November/090333.html>
> 
> <http://lists.runrev.com/pipermail/use-revolution/2004-February/031316.html>
> 
> 
> 
> So what about sites where IT requires true zero-install?  Well, even if
> RunRev saddled themselves with the expense of such a venture, taking
> time away from more critical priorities to put this in our hands, it
> still wouldn't be zero-install, and you'd be having the same
> installation discussion with your customers that you can have today,
> leaving RunRev free to pursue things with a higher cost/benefit ratio.
> 
> I have one client whose product market is expanding into segments which
> require a true zero-install solution.  For that product we're writing an
> exporter which splits the program's logic into two halves, so that on
> the client we'll deliver the UI and content in HTML/JavaScript, and use
> a combination of Rev CGI and MySQL providing the other half of the
> functionality on the server side.
> 
> Translating the UI to JavaScript, Java, or Flash is the only option for
> delivering media in a browser which doesn't require an additional
> installation.
> 
> If there's a compelling must-have business case to be made for a plugin
> I'd like to hear it.  Over the many years this has been discussed I
> haven't seen it yet.  Sure, it'd be nice to have, but there are a lot of
> nice-to-haves and a long list of must-haves too.  I'd prefer to see
> RunRev address this nice-to-have after all the must-haves are shipping.
> 
> 
> And while we wait another few years for RunRev to clear their plates to
> get into a position where a plugin could be responsibly considered, take
> a look at all the energy Adobe's putting into AIR:
> <http://labs.adobe.com/showcase/air/>
> 
> Web 2.0 was about moving ever more functionality into the browser.  But
> as AIR, Google Earth, and other significant initiatives suggest, Web 3.0
> is taking place beyond the browser.
> 
> You can join that revolution right now, 'cause Rev's been doing that
> extremely well for years.
>