CAMBRIDGE, Mass., October 20, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE)--At the 9th Annual SVG Open Conference today, Silicon Publishing presented a prototype for an HTML5 version of their popular Silicon Designer online editing platform.
The reference implementation of Silicon Designer, expected mid-2012, will be free to all licensees of the original, Flash-based, version, and will include both Flash and HTML5 versions of the web client.
Chad Siegel, Director of Product Management at Silicon Publishing, expressed satisfaction that “this will be a milestone that both validates and coincides with HTML5 coming of age.”
RENDER-AGNOSTIC DOCUMENT MODEL
Instead of accommodating all browsers that support HTML5, Silicon Designer will target Webkit, the engine that powers Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Adobe AIR. The Webkit and Flash forms of Silicon Designer will vary only in terms of the web client, with shared tooling for document setup and rendition for print. This is made possible by what the company calls the “render-agnostic document model” that has been central to Silicon Designer from its beginning.
“Deploying the Flash player and Webkit with parallel forms of the same application lets us reach the entire browser base, from legacy PC browsers to the full spectrum of mobile devices, without degrading user experience. We write once, and don’t have to test everywhere,” said Max Dunn, Silicon Publishing CEO and co-founder, in the company’s blog. "Our approach is: ‘Flash where Flash goes, HTML5 where Flash doesn't go.’ And we don’t see Flash going away anytime soon in the online editing space; it still provides the richest experience in many contexts. Targeting the most powerful media available on each distinct client lets us ensure the optimal user experience across all devices.”
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