HC: What’s all the fuss about RIA (Rich Internet Technology) all of a sudden? We now have three major companies all announcing new developments in this area - Adobe has open sourced Flex, Sun has released Java FX and Microsoft has launched Silverlight. Are these three technologies just different flavours of the same thing or are they fundamentally different?
Jaspal Sohal: Silverlight has certainly been developed as Microsoft’s answer to the growing popularity of Flash, based around Microsoft’s own XAML and .NET framework. One of Silverlight’s strongest points is its video streaming capability; much has been made of this in the media and will undoubtedly attract developers because of this tentative lead.
The problem that Microsoft has yet to overcome with this new technology is an infiltration of Flash’s stronghold upon the end user. Flash is everywhere, it is very highly developed and highly regarded. With the development of Flash CS3, Adobe has only begun to scratch the surface of the places that they can take Flash.
Java FX is the latest in a long line of upgrades from Sun Inc. What we have to ask ourselves is “why?” - Java for many years was and, in reality, still is the leader in the area of cross platform technology, which is used to build web and desktop applications. However Java is now under pressure from the ‘new boys’ on the block, Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight.
Sun Inc. has had to do something to reinvigorate Java, to make it more appealing to the designer and developer. Java’s biggest problem is the threat from Flash; they both play in the same ball park and do the same thing. Flash is available on all the territories that Java is and does, in essence, take the lead through usability. Java is really a developer’s technology; Flash is more accessible to the non-developer and, because of this, is able to attract a large share of the audience. JavaFX is more about the revival of a technology in my opinion.
As for the RIA “Gold Rush” I think that Microsoft, Sun and Adobe are ultimately trying to establish their respective technologies as the primary and most predominant platforms to build upon. Adobe are trying to exploit their Macromedia acquisition; Sun are trying to reinvigorate an entirely new generation of developer; and Microsoft are doing what they always do … trying to conquer every corner of the Technology Industry.
HC: From the programmer’s point of view, Silverlight has a huge advantage over Flex or Java FX by virtue of the fact that it can be programmed using a variety of different languages. Microsoft has already committed itself to support for JavaScript, Visual Basic, Python and Ruby. Speaking personally, I have to say that I would much prefer to program applications in Ruby than in ActionScript. That alone will make Silverlight the developer’s technology of choice, won’t it?
Jaspal Sohal: Just as you would prefer Ruby to ActionScript, there’s somebody else who would prefer Python to Ruby, and someone who prefers Visual Basic to Python, and someone who prefer ActionScript over all of them! There’s no definitive “right” language to use; it usually just comes down to the preference of each particular developer.
Also, a lot of RIA Developers are not necessarily “conventional” developers; they have never used Visual Basic, Python etc. in a commercial capacity. For that reason, ActionScript will remain their preferred choice for delivering Rich Internet Applications.
It’s an interesting proposition by Microsoft, however, which really will test just how loyal RIA developers are to Flash and ActionScript. I suspect Silverlight will sit in the background, slowly gnawing away at Flash’s user base
HC: Your company specializes in tools for Flash developers. Doesn’t Microsoft’s announcement of Silverlight introduce a degree of uncertainty about the future of Flash? I mean, Flash may be dominant at the moment but that certainly doesn’t guarantee its long-term future, does it?
Jaspal Sohal: Flash has been one of the most important technologies in the evolution of the Internet and the footing it has in the development and creative space is unrivaled.
That being said, Microsoft is really starting to show us what Silverlight is all about, and I think it has made a lot of the community sit up and take notice. One thing that excites me about Silverlight is that it really does seem to be re-invigorating the market in a way that Flash hasn’t for a while. I love Flash, but I have always felt it has taken too long to evolve, and since there has never been a viable alternative, there was no “rush” for it to evolve either.
Silverlight is going to challenge Flash, for sure, but it certainly won’t topple its dominance. But it doesn’t have to; there’s more than enough room for two Rich Internet Technologies.
HC: Do you have any plans to support Silverlight?
Jaspal Sohal: We constantly evaluate new technologies and Silverlight is definitely a front runner at the moment.
HC: MDM has its own scripting language, {mdm}Script, for creating applications. Is this a replacement for ActionScript or an addition to it? What advantages does {mdm}Script provide over other languages?
Jaspal Sohal: {mdm}Script is an extension of ActionScript. It is a collection of ActionScript classes which perform functions that are otherwise not possible from Flash.
For example, writing to a txt or xml file, connecting directly to a local or remote database or even accessing an external DLL and calling its embedded functions. {mdm}Script provides Flash Developers with the power of conventional development languages without actually having to learn them.
HC: Your flagship product, Zinc, can create desktop Flash applications. But why would anyone want a desktop Flash application? Wouldn’t I be better creating standalone applications using tried-and-tested application programming languages and IDEs such as C#, C++, VB, Java or Delphi?
Jaspal Sohal: The majority of Flash Designers and Developers don’t know C#, C++, VB etc and, in most cases, the majority wouldn’t want to know them!
In the early days of Flash, ActionScript was once described to me as the “lazy man’s coding language”. Whilst it was implied in a negative tone, it actually had a huge impact on me. Why shouldn’t there be a “lazy” way to develop otherwise monotonous functionality? I would much rather spend time perfecting the user experience than trying to prompt “Hello World”.
This is the ethos behind {mdm}Script and building Desktop Applications with Zinc – every single command available via {mdm}Script is a single line of code which can even be copied and pasted from the help file, and it just works. This means that an experienced or even novice Flash/Zinc Developer can build Desktop Applications that match the functionality of any C++ or Delphi App.
Furthermore, the Flash Application will look a lot slicker too, and unlike C++ and Delphi Apps, can be deployed to multiple platforms with no code changes.
HC: Is there more to Flex and Flash than just animated graphics? Is it an appropriate platform for creating complex web applications to rival those created using PHP, say, or Ruby On Rails?
Jaspal Sohal: There is definitely more to Flex and Flash than just animated graphics, a lot more. As with all the best technologies, it’s how they are used that sets them apart.
In my opinion, we shouldn’t be pitting one technology against another where the technologies are actually complimentary. Flash works great alongside PHP, for example, and often the best web applications are built around a number of supporting technologies.
HC: Finally, how do you think these technologies will change the face of the web over the next few years?
Jaspal Sohal: Well, I’m hoping we start to see some “real” web applications surface. Not dinky web widgets which find yet another unique way to tell me the time or the weather, but web applications with some real power and use.
Video has just been getting better and better, and I’m hoping Silverlight or Flash will start to be a vehicle for delivering High Definition video (along with faster broadband) in real-time. I’m pretty sure we’ll start to see very slick web applications soon which the next generation of internet user will take for granted… just like we do now 
Jaspal Sohal is co-founder and CEO of UK based Multidmedia Limited (MDM), the software company behind the industry-leading and much acclaimed ZINC v2.5. MDM’s current user base includes Activision, AOL, IBM, Lexmark and Sony Pictures. Sohal founded Multidmedia Limited in 2002 and is currently responsible for operations at MDM; he also conceived and co-developed the current range of MDM Software. In 2005, Sohal founded Amayeta Limited, another UK based software company which focuses on Flash and SWF Encryption Technologies for ActionScript Developers.
Prior to his entrepreneurial career, Sohal worked for various Interactive Media Agencies and worked on projects for clients such as Aston Martin, Jaguar and Nestle. Sohal has spoken at Flash Conferences globally, and has been a guest lecturer at leading UK Universities.
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