WebORB for AIR.

In my last post I talked a bit about the new WebORB for AIR that Mark Pillar showed at the Dallas stop of the Adobe onAir Tour. I mentioned that I wasn't sure of a reason for using it when SQLite was already available. Pillar left a comment clarifying that for me. I've been in CMS mode for a while and had gotten used to thinking of databases too generically. Obviously a lot of app development is built around manipulating an existing database and that's the big payoff on the new WebORB for AIR.

This way you can create an AIR app that can make direct connections to a database without going out to a web server. Not only a database but any .NET class could be potentially used this way. Combining AIR's graphically rich environment with direct connections to MSMQ for example has incredible potential for monitoring apps.

The huge number of Access projects still out there shows how often small businesses still lean on the LAN Client/Server app. I've always been quick to try and move those projects into a web setting even if just for internal use but I think it could be hard to beat the AIR/WebORB combination when creating business apps for Windows clients. Since this is all still WebORB you could even check if there was the local access and if not connect to an external WebORB conceivably allowing it to run locally on Windows yet still function on Mac/Linux boxes by using a web hosted WebORB.