Comparison & tradeoffs between HTML5, Silverlight/Flash PDF document viewer

[Support]

Q:

We need to decide on our approach for PDF rendering support and markup
in a browser for our product based on PDFNet WebViewer (http://
www.pdftron.com/pdfnet/webviewer/demo.html).

We have questions around the use of HTML5 vs Silverlight vs Flash and
any tradeoffs we might find.

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A:

The advantage of HTML5 WebViewer is that it is supported on more
platforms than Silverlight/Flash (e.g. Linux and mobile - iPhone/iPad,
Android, etc.) and does not have extra requirements (i.e. plug-in)
besides a modern browser. Some clain that HTML5 has brighter future
than Silverlight/Flash.

On the other hand, Silverlight/Flash may provide a bit smoother user
experience and (at the moment) faster rendering. If the Silverlight/
Flash plug-in is available the solution can work even on older
browsers (e.g. IE6). You can also load documents across domains, there
is built-in print support, development is simpler and IDEs are better
than what is available for HTML5 apps.

Having said this the idea behind WebViewer is that it can completely
encapsulate the viewing technology. You can at any time switch between
HTML5, Silverlight, or Flash. Furthermore if a user tries to access a
document through an old browser without Canvas support (e.g. IE8),
WebViewer will try to use Silverlight or Flash viewer. If another user
tires to access the same document from a mobile device or a browser
without Silverlight/Flash, WebViewer will try to present the content
via HTML5 Canvas. This way the content can reach maximum readership.