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Topic: Re: Convert .pdf to .exe (Via Email)
Conf: (P-PDF) Developers, Msg: 37691
From: prodok
Date: 4/1/2002 12:25 AM

Well, this reasoning does make sense. However, considering the
functionality of the file format, there is (still) quite a bit of a
difference between the PDF and the Flash format.

The main difference in the concept between the Flash and the PDF
viewing from within a web browser is that the Acrobat plug-in is NOT
a viewer, but an intermediaire between the viewer and the browser. It
sets the framework that the viewer can work within the browser
window, and it opens the communication channels. This is the reason
why Acrobat will always open.

Why that? It is much easier and less time consuming to maintain that
intermediaire instead of a full-fledged PDF viewer. The slightest
change in the browsers architecture would then require a complete
rework of the viewer. It still requires a complete rework of the
intermediaire (and considering how long it takes Adobe to get
something functional out for Netscape 6/Mozilla, I am glad that they
did not create "browser viewers", because then we would still wait
for something for Netscape 4.08...)

Back to the file format differences: PDF carries way more features
with it than the Flash format. Flash does rely on vector paths, and
it does not embed much of font information (or if it does, it is not
the high-quality font you have in a PDF). Flash does not provide the
complete font display/replacement system Acrobat/PDF provides.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Flash graphics are usually
physically smaller and less contents rich than PDF. This has a lot to
do with the creation tools as well...

The question of a "mini-executable" is of course legitimate. Well, it
would in no way lead to a platform independent file ... a Flash
projector is neither; in any case, you would have to make it up for a
very specific platform, which then completely defeats the concept
behind the portable idea. So, you have the Flash movie, or the PDF
document which are portable. The projector file or the
"mini-executable" are not portable. But still, assuming we had a
"mini-executable" available, it would, even with very little
functionality, add a few hundred kBytes to the file size. And then,
you can very easily make some calculations and see with how many
documents, you schlepp along more (potentially dangerous and
attackable) code around on your disk ... the number will be pretty
small...


Max Wyss
PRODOK Engineering
Low Paper workflows, Smart documents, PDF forms
CH-8906 Bonstetten, Switzerland

Fax: +41 1 700 20 37
e-mail: mailto:max@prodok.com
http://www.prodok.com



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>But in the web there are people using flash movies
>to distribute & display information instead of using
>PDF. Here, I'm talking about information that does
>not need to be animated to be understood.
>
>Why? Because a flash movie is very small, self
>contained, and one only needs a player to be able
>to open it - the movie can even be made an
>executable.
>
>It's very annoying (at least for me) to see Reader or
>Acrobat launching over my browser every time we
>click on a PDF link on the web - a player (as a web
>plug-in) would be very much appropriate - when
>you open a flash movie or site from a browser it
>simply plays.
>
>In my opinion this is leading people to use flash
>movies in a wrong way and distribute info in a
>format that is less effective than with PDF.
>
>And Macromedia is going towards the forms and
>other areas, including more and more scripting
>capabilities to flash.
>
>But... you can't print a flash movie! They are for no
>way as portable as PDF.
>
>So why a small PDF player or a PDF executable is
>such a bad idea?
>