Adobe rolls out new open-source projects
Web developers should appreciate two of Adobe's latest open-source initiatives announced Tuesday, both designed to help media companies and other publishers build richer Flash applications.
The first project, Open Source Media Framework (OSMF), lets designers create more sophisticated media players to run Adobe Flash presentations. The second, Text Layout Framework (TLF), helps developers add more advanced typography and font layouts to their Flash apps.
Both OSMF and TLF are available for free as open-source applications.
OSMF is the open source piece of the Adobe project formerly known by the codename Strobe, a framework for Flash media players. Using OSMF, developers can create Flash players with not only advanced playback and navigation controls but also plug-ins for advertising and tracking, a key benefit for media companies. OSMF can work with any kind of Flash content, including video, audio, and images.
Developers can learn more about OSMF and download the source code and components at the OSMF Web site.
TLF lets developers add sleeker and higher-quality typographic layouts and effects to Flash presentations. In conjunction with the new text engine in Flash Player 10, TLF offers support for vertical and bidirectional text, flowing text around images and across columns, and multiple languages.
More information and a demo of TLF can be found at the Adobe Labs TLF site.
These latest two initiatives are part of Adobe's strategy to provide more robust programming tools for Flash. For the first time, Adobe is facing potential competition for Flash from other Web technologies, notably Microsoft's Silverlight.
Lance Whitney wears a few different technology hats--journalist, Web developer, and software trainer. He's a contributing editor for Microsoft TechNet Magazine and writes for other computer publications and Web sites. You can follow Lance on Twitter at @lancewhit. Lance is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and he is not an employee of CNET. 
