Rich Internet Applications (RIA) is a completely new kind of web experience that offers the flexibility of an intelligent desktop applications. It combines the vital strengths of both web-based and desktop applications. It provides the facility to transfer the processing necessary for the user interface to the web client.

Rich Internet Application can be built by using the following technologies:

AJAX: In AJAX the client and server interaction is asynchronous in other words the client server interaction is not based on requests. Making the best use of this technology, the server can upload data to the browser without waiting for a request. The best part of this technology is that rich internet applications built on AJAX are fast and easy to download.

Flash: In this case rich internet applications are built on Flash, where a flash player is used to render flash content to users. It is mostly used in RIA to integrate audio and video content. This technology is ideally suited for rich internet applications where the emphasis on animations and graphics is high.

Some of the major advantages of Rich Internet Applications are:

• It provides an enhanced and interactive browsing experience to the users. In rich internet applications most of the processing takes place at the client's end thereby reducing the server load and bandwidth consumption.
• It has a modular architecture and thus enables various components to be reused and integrated with a variety of solutions.
• It also helps in developing responsive applications that can be used to simplify complex processes within applications. Processes involving multiple steps can be combined into a single screen with different tabs for each process thereby enabling the user to collectively save the details of all the steps.
• It also helps in reducing the network traffic significantly. A rich internet application-specific client engine can be more intelligent than a standard Web browser when it comes to decide what data needs to be exchanged with servers. This can speed up individual requests or responses because less data is being transferred for each interaction, and overall network load is reduced.

At Software Services UK, based on the requirements of the clients, we combine AJAX and Flash with PHP to develop a variety of Rich Internet Applications. Some of the rich internet applications developed by us include the following:

Online Bingo Club: In this case our client was a UK based Bingo club operator who wanted to reach out to the ever increasing online gaming community. Our client wanted an online solution wherein users could play bingo and win case prizes online from the convenience of their homes. As per their requirements, we developed and provided a solution that further enabled administrators to create and administer online bingo gaming rooms. The administrators were provided with the option to schedule games. Apart from this players had the option to register with the club, make deposits and play the different versions of Bingo in a gaming room of their choice.

Music Cards Subscription: In this case, our client wanted a solution that would enable them to make and promote an online community of music lovers. In addition to this Bands/ Artists were required to be provided with options to create their own webpage that would further enable them to share information and interact with their fans.

After a detailed study of their requirements, we came up with an online music service solution wherein bands/artists could register with the website, generate their individual web pages and upload information on the same. We have also provided the solution of online prepaid music card subscription service wherein bands/artists could register with the website for prepaid cards. In this solution, an administrator module was also provided that enabled the website administrator to manage the entire website.

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