Company executives are today expected to announce Macromedia Central. The environment allows the logic of internet applications built using Flash MX to download to a PC’s hard-drive so users can interact with internet applications while offline.

The company said Central, to be announced at Macromedia’s Flashforward 2003 conference in San Francisco, California today, would help smooth the experience for end-users who go in and out of a network connection. Changes made to an application off-line will be uploaded once a user goes back online.

Online applications can today run offline on a PC but in a limited capacity. Functionality is provided through code such as Java servlets and macros that are downloaded but which don’t provide access to the complete application.

If you are using a web browser to interact with the application logic on a server there’s no way to save the application logic, Macromedia’s chief software architect Kevin Lynch said.

Central is also a nod towards digital rights management, an issue being explored by vendors like Microsoft. Central helps ISVs enforce software distribution and licensing rights, helping protect intellectual property (IP).

Flash applications built with Central use an XML file to describe attributes such as payment and expiration date for the application’s use. The latter feature is useful for evaluation copies of software.

When a user downloads an ISV’s application they will also receive a copy of Central, for free. Macromedia Central then reads the XML file and effectively polices its use.

Macromedia believes its product will help ISVs who are unwilling, or unable, to build their own infrastructure for the administration of payment or time-outs. It’s a lot of overhead for them [ISVs] to build a transaction infrastructure. Now, they can just built the application and put it on their web site, Lynch said.

Macromedia will use Central to grow its own business by charging ISVs who embed Central in their applications a percentage on any sale that they make. Central is due this summer but Macromedia will launch a software development kit in April, which includes APIs that enable applications to work offline.

Source: Computerwire