Adobe Systems Inc. later this month plans to launch the beta of a new runtime that will allow rich Web-based applications to run offline, technology that could threaten the popularity of programming platforms such as Java and Microsoft Corp.'s .NET.

The release of a developer preview of the runtime, dubbed Apollo, will coincide roughly with an ApolloCamp event Adobe will hold in San Francisco on March 16, according to sources familiar with the company's plans. ApolloCamp will give developers a chance to kick the tires of the new runtime.

Apollo delivers on the promise of technology Macromedia originally introduced in 2003 called Macromedia Central. Adobe purchased Macromedia in December 2005. Macromedia Central was an environment that allowed Flash-based applications to run offline so they didn't need to make continuous calls to servers on the back end, allowing them to run more quickly and efficiently.

"Macromedia Central was an early [version] of Apollo," said Pam Deziel, director, Platform Business Unit, for Adobe. Apollo will allow developers to take applications built not only in Flash, but also in HTML, AJAX and other Web development languages and create them to run locally on a user's desktop, she said.

According to Sean Christmann, senior developer at EffectiveUI -- a Denver-based company that has had an early look at Apollo -- the technology acts as a wrapper, which makes it easy to take code from an existing Web application, wrap it in Apollo and transfer it to the desktop. The key to making this transfer is Adobe's Flex Builder tool, which developers can use to wrap their code with the technology, Christmann said.

The Apollo runtime must be installed on the desktop or embedded directly in the application to enable it to run locally, similar to how the Flash player runs Flash applications in the browser, Deziel said. Apollo will be available for free to both users and developers.

Anthony Franco, founder and managing partner of EffectiveUI, said Adobe plans to use Apollo to promote revenue-generating products such as Flex Builder and Flex Data Services, which connects the Flex application framework to back-end data and business intelligence.

It also could lure developers away from Java and languages used to develop .NET applications on Windows, Christmann said. "A lot of users start learning programming online and now they don't have to learn a new language when they want to go to the desktop," he said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.