RIA is what your business need today..!!

After a long gap, I am back verbalizing about RIA. Studying RIA over time, I smelt out RIA's have great future. RIA's are Rich internet Applications, applications that are heavily coupled with internet but can have fine characteristics to support offline mode. There are like desktop applications in a basic sense which expend processed data from both client and server. The Data exchange takes place in asynchronous way so that the client stays responsive in updating parts of the User interface and continuously interacting over user's response.
By definition RIA basically means as below:-
                   Rich internet applications are web applications that have some characteristics of desktop applications typically delivered by way of proprietary web browser plug-ins or independently via sandbox or virtual machines. Examples of RIA frameworks are Adobe Flex/AIR, Java Applets/JavaFx, Microsoft Silverlight and many more..
 
Typical Business needs:
We are in the transition of moving ahead of Web 2.0 since we encounter requirements from business which contains following needs in application design:-

1. Ajaxified, flashiness User Interface
   
2. Local Storage
   
3. Support and interaction on "offline mode"
   
4. Decoupling from the browser (even supports for Widgets and desktop applications too with browser based application).
   
5. Access to lower level OS resources like sockets, hardware devices
   
6. Appearance of a traditional desktop applications (may take advantage of OS UI functionality)
   
7. To increase user level responsiveness- distribute data stores between server and client.
   

Considering above as requirements there are supporting technologies which have caliber to achieve above. Technologies like

1. Adobe Flex which runs on AIR/Flash platform
   
2. Java Applets/ Javafx which runs of JVM
   
3. Microsoft Silverlight runs on silverlight sandbox
   
4. Google Gears runs on Gears sandbox
   
5. Google Web Toolkit, ExtJs et al
   

RIA not only leverages your business by reaching boundaries over OS to browser and vice-versa but provides you ability to design everything which you want to design in this today's loosely in actual and tightly in virtual connected world of Internet.

Choosing upon what can be the best option..?
Adobe Flex: - Adobe flex is focusing upon supporting Rich client from there evolution. Thus are greatly grounded to provide all what is needed in the design of lightweight smart client application. Best part it support of J2EE, PHP .NET Python etc, where you design standard ameliorated UI in flex/flash and can use any backend. AIR is the runtime which make really no difference is executing a web intended application to execute as a desktop application.
JavaFx:- The great option if u got a need to induce a FX applets of some Graphs/Charts animations (something that holds data visually) inside a JSP page. This is the best approach if your client need to upgrade with good visual content since javafx supports for browser based, desktop based kind of applications. The exclusive part of JavaFx is the FXApplet popping out of web browser and acting as a desktop application with almost no-install supporting a smarter protocol JNLP(Java Network Launch Protocol).
Silverlight:- The great option for a .NET application design. Since it had got components which looks good and supports for .NET coded applications.