JavaScript Within AIR | 45Proven technology that web developers know
As discussed earlier, one of the biggest problems with com-
plex web application development is ensuring that content
works consistently across browsers. While something may
work perfectly in Firefox on the Mac, it may completely fail
in Internet Explorer on Windows. Because of this, testing
and debugging browser-based content can be a nightmare for
developers.
Adobe wanted to ensure that developers were already famil-
iar with the HTML engine used within Adobe AIR, so they
did not have to learn all of the quirks and bugs of a new
engine. Since Safari (which is built on top of WebKit) is the
default browser for Mac OS X (and is also available on
Windows), developers should be familiar with developing for
WebKit.
Minimum effect on AIR runtime size
The target size for Adobe AIR is between 5 and 9 MB. The
WebKit code base was well-written and organized and has
had a minimal impact on the final AIR runtime.
Proven ability to run on mobile devices
While the first release of Adobe AIR runs only on personal
computers, the long-term vision is to extend Adobe AIR from
the desktop to cell phones and other devices. WebKit has a
proven ability to run on such devices and has been ported to
cell phones by both Nokia and Apple.
JavaScript Within AIR
Adobe AIR has full support for JavaScript within HTML
content. JavaScript 1.5, which corresponds to ECMA-262 is
supported.
The JavaScript engine is implemented via WebKit, and works
the same as it does within WebKit-based browsers. In addition