High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A Rich Internet Application (RIA) is a Web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software, typically delivered either by way of a site-specific browser, via a browser plug-in, independent sandboxes, extensive use of JavaScript, or virtual machines.Adobe Flash, JavaFX, and Microsoft Silverlight are currently the three most common platforms, with penetration rates around 96%, 76%, and 66% respectively (as of August 2011). Although new Web standards have emerged, they still use the principles behind RIAs.