The concept is closely related to a single-page application, and may allow the user interactive features such as drag and drop, background menu, WYSIWYG editing, etc.
[2] Throughout the 2000s, the term was generalized to describe browser-based applications developed with other competing browser plugin technologies including Java applets, Microsoft Silverlight.
The terms "Rich Internet Application" and "rich client" were introduced in a white paper of March 2002 by Macromedia (now Adobe),[2] though the concept had existed for a number of years earlier under names including: "Remote Scripting" by Microsoft in April 1999[3] and the "X Internet" by Forrester Research in October 2000.
[4] In November 2011, there were a number of announcements that demonstrated a decline in demand for Rich Internet Application architectures based on browser plug-ins in order to favor HTML5 alternatives.
[13][14][2] RMAs are "energy efficient, multi-tier, online mobile applications originated from the convergence of mobile cloud computing, future web, and imminent communication technologies envisioning to deliver rich user experience via high functionality, immersive interaction, and crisp response in a secure wireless environment while enabling context-awareness, offline usability, portability, and data ubiquity".
These applications can be executed inside the mobile device with a web browser regardless of the architecture, operating system and technology.
Adobe Flash manipulates vector and raster graphics to provide animation of text, drawings, and still images.
It supports bidirectional streaming of audio and video, and it can capture user input via mouse, keyboard, microphone, and camera.
The current release (JavaFX 12, March 11, 2019) enables building applications for desktop, browser and mobile phones and comes with 3D support.
The sandbox limits visibility and access to the file-system and to the operating system on the client to the application server on the other side of the connection.