Chapter 1. Introducing Adobe AIR

Whether you’re using HTML, Flash, Flex, or any of the other myriad technologies, there’s one common thread among them: all these applications are built using technologies that are designed for the Web. That’s fantastic if your goal is to build a web application, but it’s a real bummer if you want to build a desktop application. Adobe integrated runtime (AIR) solves this problem for you. Using Adobe AIR, you can leverage your existing web application skills with Flash and Flex (and HTML and JavaScript) to create desktop applications. This is an exciting prospect.

Every flight starts with a preparation for takeoff. Your journey through Adobe AIR is no different. We’ll start you off with a review of AIR and then delve into how you can use Flex and Flash to build AIR applications. Specifically, we’ll look at necessary introductory concepts for creating a solid foundation with AIR, such as these:

1.1. Anatomy of Adobe AIR

1.2. Running AIR applications

1.3. AIR application security and authenticity

1.4. Building AIR applications

1.5. Introducing AIR application descriptors

1.6. Building AIR applications using Flex Builder

1.7. Building AIR applications using Flash

1.8. Building AIR applications using the Flex SDK

1.9. Quick-start AIR application for Flex

1.10. Quick-start AIR application for Flash

1.11. Summary