First, let's address just what I meant by the term Rich Internet Application. RIAs, also known as web 2.0 applications, are typically defined as web applications that have the features and functionality of traditional desktop applications. RIAs typically transfer the processing necessary for the user interface to the web client but keep the bulk of the data (i.e. the state of the program, the data, etc.) back on the application server. In layman's terms it is using a web browser front-end and a web server and database back-end to create a "smooth" client-server application. "Smooth" and fast were very important to me. I had made other attempts at adding a web interface to my NASCAR databases but was very dissatisfied with the way the whole page was always being redrawn. It was slow and far from smooth. Seeing the data grids demonstrated at the summit scroll and update as if all the data resided in the web browser itself was just what I was looking for.

RIAs typically do the following:

- run in a web browser, or do not require software installation.
- run locally in a secure environment called a "sandbox", restricting its access from the rest.
- communicates "asynchronously" with a data source, typically a database over a network.