Despite being web-based applications, Rich Internet Applications function like desktop applications. Typically, they have features and functionalities of desktop applications but they can easily access data and programs residing upon remote web servers.

So why so much fuss over Rich Internet Applications? First of all they demolish the boundaries of traditional web-based applications. Up till now the web-based applications, in the name of interactivity, could only offer text boxes, drop-down boxes and other form-based and link-based controls. Every action depended on page refreshes. Every processing happened on the server side and the client side only handled the static data. This meant whenever the application needed to access new or updated data it had to access the server. Accessing the server again and again might not be a problem if very few people are using the application but it tremendously slows things down if lots of people are using the application at the same time. This also created constraints for application developers who were itching to create applications that could use strengths of both the desktop and the Internet environment. Both users and application creators terribly missed the level of interactivity and flexibility offered by even mediocre desktop applications. (more…)