Adobe AIR Programming Unleashed

Version 1.5 of Adobe AIR is included in this fine guide illustrating the application through a series of examples based on the official 1.5 release. Libraries strong in Adobe AIR development guides will appreciate a programmer's guide covering how to customize and tweak the program for maximum benefit. Included are downloadable examples and source code on the web, making for an even more valuable study tool.

Adobe is making a pitch to the javascript and open source community with its AIR. The attraction is to move towards a unification of the browser and desktop application environments and capabilities. Think of AIR perhaps as an extension of the browser. Long overdue to those of you who have chafed at the limitations of HTML compared to running a full native application on the desktop. The book shows how with AIR you can use skills built up in Ajax, HTML and Flash. A strong point is the multilanguage capability. Plus the means of using it on linux, Mac and MS Windows. In essence, AIR is a software layer between your code and the operating system. Not unlike the way that java operates, come to think of it.