Digital Workshop

Hi,

An interesting discovery for me: having purchased an Android tablet (Nexus 7 with JellyBean 4.1), while I knew it wouldn't be able to run Flash SWF's in a Flash player (not supported for this new OS), the Adobe AIR player can display Flash SWF's if... If they are packaged for AIR.

Flash Pro CS6 (and probably CS 5 and CS 5.5) uses the AIR/Flex SDK's to package AS3 (not AS2) for AIR 3.4 (latest with 3D, etc.). The output is an APK, the native file extension for Android.

Opus Flex is probably AS2-based. However, if these AIR/Flex SDK's are open source and could be integrated into Opus Flex, then Opus Flex SWF's could continue to run in Android even with Adobe dropping support for Flash players in upcoming Android versions. (I'm assuming that AIR would be backward compatible to run AS2?)

So, a lot of "if's." But this may be a path forward for Opus Flex. To get it running in AIR on Android. Unfortunately, Flashpiper depends on having a Flash player installed on the Android platform. With the current release of Android 4.1 (JellyBean) and withdrawal by Google Play (store) of the Flash plugin, that is no longer possible.

Maybe, some possibilities for Android deployment of Opus Flex.

Regards,

Hi Stephen,

It's an interesting post and it would be good to know whether AIR is truly feasible as a long term cross-platform solution for Opus applications.

As you point out, Jelly Bean has no Flash Player support, but I believe that it's been removed completely from Play - so any Android OS will no longer be able to install - could be wrong on that - and I'd also guess that people will work out a way around - but that's not really helpful for professional development. Also I was under the impression that Google were building a Flash variation directly into Chrome - will this also be the case for the Mobile version

As for the AIR, you're right that Opus is AS2 but unfortunately AIR APIs don't support this - it's not just a case of new versions of AIR. AS2 and AS3 are chalk and Cheese - so it's understandable.

But oddly and interestingly, there is nothing stopping you dropping an Opus AS2 SWF into Flash / FB and publishing as an AIR application. I did something similar when looking at combining FB and Opus Flex and had various degrees of success but I was focusing on communication between the two and getting irate with Opus BUT if AIR / FB was just containing the Opus Flex then, maybe, just maybe it would be acceptable.

FB and AS3 are really great, but HTML5 with jQuery were better for me and I've not been back to an Opus / FB mash-up - but maybe with the AIR idea...

Perhaps an Opus that plays nice with other Flash toys is on the cards?

Mack

Hi Mack,

Thanks for these clarifications about AS2, AIR, FB and Flex

It would be great if all of the work that went into my Opus Flex projects could still be leveraged on new mobile platforms. Of course, with the imminent release of Windows 8 Pro and a line-up beginning 10/26/12 of full X86 Window 8 Pro tablets, the Opus Windows EXE's (and probably Opus Flex SWFs as well) will be able to run on these (pricier) X86 tablets.

My sense is that there are a huge number of Android and IOS devices out there, and figuring a way to at least get Opus Flex projects continuing to work in one of them (for me, Android), would be helpful.

I am hoping that DW may lend a hand with this in the long run, though it looks like to get Opus Flex working fully in an AIR player would require an enormous reworking of it into AS3, then even more effort for integrating with the AIR/Flex SDK's. Probably not a viable business model.

Regards,

Possible apology - having formated my ICS device, it seems that you can still install Flash - guess you can't believe everything you read on the web - lol!
Mack

Hi Mack,

Yes, ICS OS can still run Flash player. Adobe stopped supporting the new JellyBean OS which is on my Nexus 7. Various work-arounds are posted on the web, but the results reported are disappointing. The Flash player formatting doesn't hold up on systems it is not meant for ("hit or miss").

My sense is that the emergence of Adobe's AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) player as an alternative to run Flash has not received the attention it deserves. AIR and AIR player (which as pointed out requires Flash authoring in AS3), I've found, is a great substitute for Flash player. It plays AS3 Flash (exported as an APK) with native options for Android (and, I think also available for IOS) flawlessly on my Nexus 7. AIR player is available for JellyBean at Google Play, and reportedly will be maintained and updated for mobile platforms, unlike Flash player.

Regards,

Sorry, that wasn't my point.

The impression I was under was that the Play store was removing the Flash download regardless of O/S version. There has been a load of internet chatter about backing up your existing installation as you wouldn't be able to re-install.

But having had to restore the other day - it seems this is not the case (yet anyway).

Mack

Hi Mack,

That's good news! The issue for me is having an OS (JellyBean) that is unsupported. Plus, as new Android OS permutations are released, no Flash player. However, AIR player will likely be kept up to date.

If only there was a way for Opus Flex to leverage the AIR/Flex (Adobe Flex) SDK. But, it would need to be re-done in AS3, and as pointed out earlier, probably not a viable business decision for DW.

Best Wishes,