How can I detect and invoke a user's local installation of the AIR runtime on a particular AIR application?

Question

I am writing a program that has an AIR front-end, but a back-end written in another language (Python, in this case). Since AIR can't invoke other executables, the relationship has to be the other way around, with Python running an AIR subprocess. How can I locate the user's AIR runtime? I'd like to be able to do this on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

(Ironically, this would be super easy if I could package the AIR debug runtime, but the licensing agreement requires that the user download the regular runtime themselves and run the installer.)

Answer 1

First, you can get a (free) licenses to redistribute the AIR runtime installed:

See:

http://www.mikechambers.com/blog/2008/04/07/redistributing-the-adobe-air-runtime-installer/

and

http://www.adobe.com/products/air/runtime_distribution1.html#license

As far as launching an AIR application, you can launch it like any other native applications (since the AIR app is just a native app once it is installed).

As far as finding where the user installed the app, at least on Windows, I believe you can get the info programatically from the registry, based on on the appid of the AIR app you want to launch.

Finally, you can find a proof of concept on this here:

http://www.mikechambers.com/blog/2008/01/17/commandproxy-net-air-integration-proof-of-concept/

and

http://www.mikechambers.com/blog/2008/01/22/commandproxy-its-cool-but-is-it-a-good-idea/

mike