Pre-release alpha version of Apollo has been released

Document directory

• What is Apollo?
• What type of applications does APOLLO target?
• What are some of the features encoded in the Apollo Alpha?
• What are some of the features that are not supported in the Apollo Alpha?
• What ide do I use to develop Apollo applications?
• What HTML and JavaScript engine is used within Apollo?
• Why did Adobe choose WebKit
• Where can I find more information on WebKit
• Where can I download Adobe's modifications to WebKit?
• Will Apollo applications be able to communicate directly with databases?
• Can I reuse existing flex 2 code in an Apollo application?
• Does Apollo provide an application update mechanic?

Some Questions about Apollo: http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Apollo:DeveloperFAQ

What is Apollo?

Apollo is the code name for a cross-operating system runtime being developed by Adobe that allows developers to leverage their existing web development skills (flash, flex, HTML, JavaScript, Ajax) to build and deploy rich Internet applications (RIAs) to the desktop.

Apollo is an integrated platform (flash, flex, HTML, JavaScript, Ajax) for development (javascript can do a lot of things that flex cannot do)

What type of applications does APOLLO target?

Apollo is targeted at allowing Web developers to build and deploy web applications to the desktop)

What are some of the features encoded in the Apollo Alpha?

Some of the features encoded in the Apollo Alpha include, but are not limited:

• Full HTML support within flex-and flash-based content.
• Full file I/O API (Flex only supports filereference and does not provide full paths. It is a bit depressing. This is good)
• Multiple window chrome modes (including native and custom/transparent)
• Native runtime wing API (partially implemented) (hopefully it supports more APIs)
• ActionScript/Javascript script bridging (does it mean that the as-to-js AMF gateway is not required ??)
• Flex components (inherited)
• Low-level update APIs
• Icon support

What are some of the features that are not supported in the Apollo Alpha?

Below is a partial list of features planned for Apollo 1.0, which are not implemented yet in the Apollo ALPHA:

• PDF support
• Online/offline APIs
• Full top-level HTML Application Support
• Settings/data persistence APIs
• Drag and Drop support (this is a good thing)
• Copy and paste support (good stuff)
• Native file picker dialog boxes (EXCITED)
• Full native window support (great)
• File Extension Registration
• Launching an application to handle a file type
• Full control of the right-click menu (good)
• Transparency in HTML

What ide do I use to develop Apollo applications?

You can leverage any existing ide that you already use for flash/flex or HTML/Javascript development (such as flex builder, Eclipse, Vim, Etc ...). apollo does not require a specific IDE.

We will be releasing a set of command line tools for Apollo that will make it easy for developers to do Apollo application packaging and development via their favorite ide or editor. you can download an alpha version of these tools in the Apollo SDK.

Basically, you can use anything that creates SWFs or HTML files.

What HTML and JavaScript engine is used within Apollo?

HTML and JavaScript within Apollo are handled by the WebKit html/JavaScript Engine.

Why did Adobe choose WebKit

We spent a considerable amount of time researching a number of HTML rendering engines for use in Apollo. We had four main criteria, all of which WebKit met:

• Open project that we cocould contribute
• Proven technology, that web developers and end users are familiar
• Minimum effect on Apollo runtime size
• Proven ability to run on mobile devices

While the final demo-was difficult, we felt that WebKit is the best match for Apollo at this time.

Where can I find more information on WebKit

You can find more information on WebKit:

• WebKit project home
• Surfin safari blog

Where can I download Adobe's modifications to WebKit?

You can download Adobe's changes to WebKit for Apollo alpha 1 here.

Will Apollo applications be able to communicate directly with databases?

Apollo 1.0 will not have built in support for communicating directly with databases. however, it will be possible to write database drivers in ActionScript (leveraging binary or XML sockets), which wowould allow Apollo applications to communicate directly with a database (both local and remote ). (coming soon ~~~)

Can I reuse existing flex 2 code in an Apollo application?

Yes. in fact, you shoshould not need to re-write any code to have an existing flex application run within Apollo, although you may need to write additional code to take advantage of Apollo specific APIs. (This is amazing)

Does Apollo provide an application update mechanic?

Yes. Apollo will provide a mechanism to make it easy to update applications. This is partially implemented in the Apollo Alpha.