Hi Stack Overflow!
I've seen a few questions asked here about Adobe AIR, although an overall viability review is hard to find (both here and on Google). Some questions that could contribute to such a review:
Thanks in advance!
Java is probably still the best cross compatible runtime, but it comes with its own set of problems. If you are looking for something that can cross OSs, and work and out of browsers, Flash targeted rutimes are a very good option.
Drawbacks to AIR are its deployment model, the difficulty in getting Enterprise to adopt it as it is an installed product which makes changes to the registry. Download and run jars have the advantage.
Positives are its deployment model, it's easy to stick up a new version and have people update automatically.
I don't think there's anything Unique to AIR other than Adobe's commitment to the runtime. No-one else seems to be fully committed to supporting Java / Silverlight / AN other.
I'd expect AIR to increase it's market share against Java for off the cuff applications, and increase its share in other spaces. AIR for Android is a great example, virtually the same set of code can be deployed on the desktop or on the mobile.
The only danger to Flash / Flex / AIR is how much traction HTML gets in the forthcoming years. However the browser is becoming a bit of a kitchen sink development with everyone trying to use it for everything, and the browser wars putting the kibosh on cross compatibility.
I think it'll wash out eventually. People will come to the same conclusions with HTML as we came to with Flash. Don't build a website using Flash, don't build an RIA using HTML.
Conclusion? AIR is an excellent runtime, well supported, and with promises of more enterprisey support in the future. It stands up well to its competitors, and offers plenty of scope to expand off the desktop and into the web if required.
- Is Adobe AIR the best cross-OS-compatible, browser-less runtime for RIAs?
"Best" is very subjective. A better question is "Does it solve a problem you're having". I would argue that AIR is not browserless. It embeds the webkit engine and you can build AIR apps using HTML without Flex.
I might argue that AIR is a browser. Adobe built it to provide a slightly looser security sandbox for Flash Platform applications. I also think of AIR as a way to deploy web applications to the desktop, not as a way to build desktop applications. this is slowly changing as AIR introduces features, such as NativeProcess, however such tools also ruin the cross platform compatibility.
* What are drawbacks unique to AIR? What are positives unique to AIR?
It's really cool if you want to deploy applications to the desktop and the browser. Games come to mind as one thing. I think it'd work real well as a desktop front end to a "cloud" style service.
The AutoUpdate features are nice.
It is still stuck in a security sandbox, though, so AIR applications have limited access to the desktop. this is good from a security standpoint, but can be frustrating from some applications. The NativeProcess functionality expands the desktop integration, but also interferes with cross compatibility.
* Is AIR expected to grow and develop for years to come? Who's the industry leader?
Yes. I expect AIR to grow and develop for years to come. Why is the industry leader for what?