I find it both fascinating and a tad depressing that one of the founders of Macromedia dislikes the company so much. Tim Anderson did an interview with Marc over on his blog, and they about Vista (with which Marc seems very impressed). Marc took the chance to contrast WPF and Flex:

Flash and Flex are toys at best,” he says. “Flex is a rip off of Laszlo. Laszlo will be able to output SWF, DHTML and Avalon (Ryan’s note: I assume he means AJAX). Flex will never do that. The handwriting is on the wall for old-school companies like Adobe.

Since I’ve started reading Marc, I’ve grown to like his writing a lot. He’s smart, he’s got experience, and he writes well. In fact, I agree with half of that post. Adobe is an old-school company (more on that in a second) and Flex will never be able to output SWF, DHTML and AJAX.

First, Flex should never try to output SWF, DHTML and AJAX (or Avalon). It should output SWF, allow connections with AJAX (it does), and play nicely with DHTML (Apollo?). AJAX is a 5 year old technology that tons of smart people have breathed new life into. It will not be a robust way to build Rich Internet Applications 2-3 years from now. It simply won’t be able to handle the multimedia and real-time communication that are going to be so key in RIA space down the road.

Now, the second part. Adobe is an old-school company. They’ve been squeezing PDF like a stone trying to get water from it. But Bruce Chizen is pretty smart, and he realized that the stone approach just wasn’t working. Hence, he went out and bought a company Marc is familiar with – Macromedia. Macromedia has always been ahead of everyone else (sometimes to it’s detriment). They continue to innovate and all signs point to that innovation taking root at Adobe. So maybe Adobe isn’t that old school any more.

Note:This page can be accessed with this address: http://www.digitalbackcountry.com/apollo/ and was last updated on June 18th, 2006

I’ve seen questions about “What is Apollo” for a while now, but as Flex 2 use becomes more wide spread, I think more people are going to say “this is awesome, what’s next?” and the answer is Apollo. Apollo won’t replace Flex 2, but it will make Flex 2 more powerful, so its important to have an idea of what it is so you can keep it in mind while creating Rich Internet Applications in Flex.

If you have a question you want an answer to, send me an e-mail -ryan at ryanstewart dot net- (or leave a comment) and I’ll see if I can track it down. I’m going to keep this page updated so you can check back and see what’s added.

Apollo in the News

Apollo Press Links

What’s the next move for Adobe? – SiliconValley.com – June 16th, 2006
Developers See Potential in Adobe’s Apollo – PDFzone – May 19th, 2006
Adobe Reveals More Details on Apollo – PDFzone – May 17th, 2006
Flash to jump beyond the browser – News.com – May 11th, 2006

Ikezi Kamanu of Adobe Consulting posted some great questions/answers here that some of the questions below are pulled from.

Basic Apollo Questions

When did the idea of Apollo come about?

The first reference to Apollo, in its current form, I know about came when Adobe and Macromedia merged. An item appeared in the FAQ with the following text:

Our long-term plan is to develop a “universal client” by combining PDF, Flash and HTML in a single, integrated runtime. Of course, we will continue delivering the Flash Player as a small, efficient runtime for content and applications on the web, and Adobe Reader for viewing and interacting with PDF documents and forms. The integration of these technologies into a unified framework creates a ubiquitous platform that runs on virtually every device, and dramatically expands the opportunities to create compelling solutions.

source

This “universal client” is the project code named Apollo.

Apollo was also mentioned at MAX 2005 during Kevin Lynch’s keynote. The keynote video is posted on the MAX website here (check out Platform: Future) source

What Is Apollo?

To quote Mike Chambers, who works on the Apollo team: “Apollo is a cross platform / device runtime that will allow developers to deploy applications that leverage Flash, HTML and / or PDF to the desktop.” (source). It will be a runtime for Apollo applications.

What does that mean?

Apollo is meant to be part successor to Macromedia Central and part new technology that renders Flash, PDF, and HTML independently of the browser. Instead of requiring a Flash-enabled plugin, Apollo applications could be installed from a browser or totally independent of one much like current installers. It is also believed that freedom from the browser will allow Apollo to take advantage of OS-specific APIs.

source, Flash Forward 2006 keynote

Will Apollo applications require an installer or will it be a simple .exe that can run from a CD-ROM?

They will require the Apollo runtime (i.e. Apollo is not a projector creator). source

Is Apollo an executable SWF file?

No. First, Apollo is heavily focused on the offline/online synchronization problem. One of the stated goals is to allow people to use Apollo to take their content with them when they’re not online. The idea is that Rich Internet Applications developed in Flash can synchronize with applications leveraging Flash in Apollo. Second, during his keynote at WebDU, Mike Chambers stressed that Apollo will enable Flash developers to take full advantage of the desktop environment. source

This will essentially allow developers to build desktop applications using Flash, AJAX, and HTML. To quote Mike again, “You can build full featured desktop applications.” (with Apollo)

Another sound bite describing what Apollo does is from Ed Rowe, a senior Adobe Engineer: “Apollo is all about creating an environment — based on Flash, HTML, and PDF — that can do everything a browser can do and more.” source

When will Apollo be released

The developer release will be available on Adobe labs before end of calendar year so developers can start building and prototyping. Apollo 1.0 is slated to be available the first half of 2007. source

Will the Apollo player be free?

Yes.

Developing Apollo Applications

What programmming language does Apollo use?

You can use a variety of languages. It has support for Flash, HTML/Javascript, and some PDF support. For instance you can write a Flash application and run it as an Apollo application. The same is true for an Ajax application.

Will Apollo use a self built, opensource or licensed HTML rendering engine?

We [Adobe] haven’t announced the engine, but we will NOT be creating our own engine. source

Will interfaces be provided into the Apollo API be included for JavaScript, ActionScript, etc?

Yes. That is what [Adobe] is planning. source

Does the code need to be compiled into Apollo ‘bytecode’?

No. Apollo runs SWF based and HTML based applications. source

What is the IDE for Apollo development?

You can use whatever IDE you use to create your current web apps (flex builder, flash IDE, eclipse, notepad, etc…). source

Will Apollo be another public alpha/beta launch (question taken from Brandon Ellis)

We are currently planning for both private and public releases (via labs). -Mike Chambers

Do we get any input as developers?

Yes! Adobe has created a mailing list for developers to submit “ides, feature requests, and bribes” to the Apollo team. Requests can be sent to wish-apollo@adobe.com

Also, according to Mike’s podcast from May 10th they’re planning on releasing early versions on labs.adobe.com as they get closer.

Apollo Features

For communication between Apollo applications, will this be done by local connection or some other way?

Adobe looking into this. source

Can Apollo access the local machine file system?

Yes.

Will Drag & Drop from the OS to Apollo applications be supported?

Yes, that’s the plan. source

Apollo Misc

Can I see Apollo?

I have screenshots posted here from an Apollo demo that I attended as part of Adobe’s developer week.

Where can I find training for Apollo?

At Flashforward in Austin (Sept 11 – 14), Mike Chambers will be presenting two sessions on Apollo: Understanding Apollo and Building your First Apollo Application

Apollo Links

• http://weblogs.macromedia.com/mesh/ – Mike Chamber’s Blog
• http://weblogs.macromedia.com/emalasky/ – Ethan Malasky’s Blog
• http://weblogs.macromedia.com/mc/ – Adobe Consulting

On the same day I chastised Adobe’s marketing of ColdFusion they announced the Flex Developer Derby to make me eat a little bit of crow.

I think this is a fantastic idea, and they’re putting a lot of energy into it. I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of entries there are going to be and what kinds of people enter. I’m not sure when they’re going to show us the winners, but they’ll at least be available by the JavaOne Conference May 16-19.

Could we find a startup company building killer Rich Internet Applications in the mix?

The Flex 2 Beta 2 is available on Adobe Labs, now with more Bug-squashed goodness! Come on, everybody’s doing it.

Download link