Adobe reignites Flash on iOS

But still not in Safari

By Bill Ray, 10th September 2010

Adobe is steaming ahead with Packager for iPhone,a recompiler of Flash applications as iOS apps - now that Apple has cleared the technology for distribution though iTunes.

Adobe dropped support for the Packager tool in Flash Professional CS5, when Apple said that Objective C was the only permitted development language. Apple recanted that position in the last few days, and Adobe reports that developers have already managed to get Flash applications approved for listing in the iTunes store.

Apple does not allow interpreters onto its iOS platform, so Adobe created the Packager tool as part of the Flash authoring package. The Packager recompiles the application to run native on iOS, fitting within the rules - so Apple changed them.

The new rules demanded developers use Objective C, so Adobe dropped support for Packager despite Apple's patchy administration of the rules (which, it turned out, only applied to Adobe).

Now Apple has had a change of heart, perhaps prompted by threats of anti-trust action, and will permit developers to work in any language they like so long as applications "surprise and delight users. Show them their world in innovative ways, and let them interact with it like never before." ®

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Highly Rated

Posted Friday 10th September 2010 15:01 GMT

Steven Knox

Darwinism

"If your Darwinian theory applied to the web, Flash would already be extinct."

The odd thing about Darwinian evolution is that it can lead to seemingly illogical results.

Since it's focused only on ability to reproduce (and survive until reproduction opportunity presents), traits that are beneficial to reproduction but harmful to other aspects of the individual can actually be selected for.

Flash has a trait (specifically, Adobe's development team working round the clock to make it work on every platform they can) which makes it very easy for it to reproduce. However, one aspect of this trait (the focus on "run everywhere" over stability and performance) can be considered very harmful to individual instances of Flash.

In other words, just because Flash doesn't meet your personal criteria for success, doesn't mean that it doesn't meet Darwinian criteria. Darwinian evolution doesn't select for some logical definition of "the best" -- it's solely about surviving and reproducing. Flash has done that.

Posted Monday 13th September 2010 10:21 GMT

Anonymous Coward