title: Flash vs JavaScript for interactive maps
body: <p>I am developing a web application that is supposed to display land traffic in real time in any part of the world. For a couple months I've been developing it using JavaScript and OpenLayers (http://www.openlayers.org) framework. </p>
  
  <p>Unfortunately, this solution appears to be inefficient. There are hundreds (200-300) of objects on the map that are updated every couple minutes. The sheer operation of refreshing and rendering them takes significant amount of time that makes the
  application less usable (slow responsivity to user actions).</p>
  
  <p>At the moment I am considering changing the technology. Adobe Flex seems to be the most reasonable solution. There is at least one application written in it that does similar things to mine (<a href="http://casper.frontier.nl/" rel="nofollow">http://casper.frontier.nl/</a>). </p>
  
  <p>However, I have a couple of concerns regarding Flex:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>can it be easily integrated with the
  HTML/CSS/JavaScript based part of the
  application (for example, the
  graphical interface should be
  coherent when it comes to styles and
  colors)? </li>
  <li>I get an impression that
  with latest browsers (mainly Chrome
  9.0) JavaScript and CSS becoming more efficient. What are the chances that
  in a couple of months JavaScript+CSS
  will make it possible to implement
  efficient, flash-like rich internet
  application? (A note is needed here:
  famous Canvas tag is not a solution
  for my problem, at least not for now.
  Rendering objects on map with canvas
  proved to be less efficient than with
  traditional SVG because the size of
  the canvas is really big - a whole
  browser window) </li>
  <li>What are the chances
  that Flash technology will be
  abandoned (Apple policy, HTML5
  growing support etc.) in
  not-so-near-future (a couple of
  years)? </li>
  <li>There is a possibility that my client would like to view this application on mobile devices, including iPhone.</li>
  <li>Any other solution for web-based interactive maps?</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Can anybody address these issues?</p>