Adobe Flash: Difference between revisions
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In the Draft Recommendation of the HTML 5, the W3C has a section named "Relationship to XUL, Flash, Silverlight, and other proprietary UI languages", which says, "This specification is independent of the various proprietary UI languages that various vendors provide. As an open, vender-neutral language, HTML provides for a solution to the same problems without the risk of vendor lock-in." <ref> [http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/introduction.html "HTML 5 Draft Recommendation — 2 August 2008"]</ref> | In the Draft Recommendation of the HTML 5, the W3C has a section named "Relationship to XUL, Flash, Silverlight, and other proprietary UI languages", which says, "This specification is independent of the various proprietary UI languages that various vendors provide. As an open, vender-neutral language, HTML provides for a solution to the same problems without the risk of vendor lock-in." <ref> [http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/introduction.html "HTML 5 Draft Recommendation — 2 August 2008"]</ref> | ||
Flash files do not depend on an open standard such as SVG. Also, Flash Player cannot ship as part of a pure open source, or completely free operating system because its distribution is bound to the Macromedia Licensing Program and subject to approval. Currently, there are some third party tools which use and generate the SWF file format. IrfanView can play SWF files. Other open-source flash players such as Gnash and Swfdec are in development. | |||
=== Features & Functions === | === Features & Functions === | ||
| Line 190: | Line 192: | ||
== Market == | == Market == | ||
=== Why and Where to use Flash? === | |||
The main reasons of people using Flash are as follows: | |||
*Flash files load fast and save on download time because Flash is vector based whereas HTML is not. | |||
*Flash intelligently "caches" it’s movies so they don’t have to be reloaded. | |||
*Flash tools are easy to use. | |||
*Compared to other plug-ins such as Java, Acrobat Reader, QuickTime or Windows Media Player, the Flash Player has a small install size, quick download time, and fast initialization time. | |||
The Flash technology can be used on CD-ROMs and TV, but its main usage is for web sites. Because of the player's wide distribution in multiple browsers and operating systems, Flash is increasingly used as a way to display video clips on web pages. It is not only available for many platforms and devices such as Windows, Mac OS 9/X, Linux (only 32 bit x86), Solaris, HP-UX, Pocket PC, OS/2, QNX, Symbian, Palm OS, BeOS, and IRIX, but used as the basis for many popular video sites such as YouTube and Google Video. | |||
=== Market Share === | |||
According to a survey from Adobe, "Adobe Flash Player is used by over 2 million professionals and reaching 99.0% of Internet-enabled desktops in mature markets as well as a wide range of devices."<ref> [http://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/ "Flash Player Penetration"]</ref> | |||
<table border="1px"> | |||
<tr><th>Product Name</th><th>User's Percentage(%)</th></tr> | |||
<tr><td>Adobe Flash Player</td><td>99.0</td></tr> | |||
<tr><td>Java</td><td>85.1</td></tr> | |||
<tr><td>Microsoft Windows Media Player</td><td>79.3</td></tr> | |||
<tr><td>Apple QuickTime Player</td><td>65.5</td></tr> | |||
<tr><td>Adobe Shockwave Player</td><td>59.2</td></tr> | |||
<tr><td>RealOne Player</td><td>46.2</td></tr> | |||
<tr><td>SVG</td><td>7.9</td></tr> | |||
</table> | |||
=== Competitors === | === Competitors === | ||
== Future | == Future Developments == | ||
Adobe AIR is a cross-operating system runtime being developed by Adobe since November 2007 that allows developers to leverage their existing web development skills (Flash, Flex, HTML, JavaScript, Ajax) to build and deploy rich Internet applications (RIAs) to the desktop.<ref> [http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Apollo:developerfaq "AIR:Developer FAQ"]</ref> | Adobe AIR is a cross-operating system runtime being developed by Adobe since November 2007 that allows developers to leverage their existing web development skills (Flash, Flex, HTML, JavaScript, Ajax) to build and deploy rich Internet applications (RIAs) to the desktop.<ref> [http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Apollo:developerfaq "AIR:Developer FAQ"]</ref> | ||
Revision as of 20:15, 2 August 2008
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Adobe Flash, a multimedia authoring software developed by Adobe Systems (formerly by Macromedia), is used to create vector graphics-based animation programs, rich content, user interfaces and web applications, and combine videos with web pages.
Adobe Flash is written in C++, and contains ActionScript (a scripting language) for building almost all the interactivity (buttons, text entry fields, drop down menus) in its applications. In order to view standalone Adobe Flash (SWF) multimedia files and interact with Flash content, users need to download and install Adobe Flash Player, which is a multiple-platform client runtime software application.
History
Flash program was built by Jonathan Gay, who began his professional Programming life as a Macintosh software engineer early in high school. After years of game design, he focused on building graphics editors and started FutureWave Software company with Charlie Jackson in 1993. In order to make drawing on the computer easier than drawing on paper, they built software called SmartSketch.
As a competitor of Illustrator and FreeHand, SmartSketch didn't gain success until 1995, it was turned into an animation product FutureSplash Animator for people sending graphics and animation over Internet. The ancestor of Flash Player was also born at that time.
In August of 1996, FutureSplash got big support from Microsoft and Disney Online. Microsoft used FutureSplash on MSN to create the most TV-like experience on the Internet. And Disney Online adopted FutureSplash to build animation and the user interface for the Disney Daily Blast.
In December 1996, FutureWave Software was sold to Macromedia, and FutureSplash Animator became Macromedia Flash 1.0. Since then, Flash becomes synonymous with animation on the Internet.[1]
Authoring tool released timeline
| Product Name | Released Year |
|---|---|
| FutureSplash Animator | 1996 |
| Macromedia Flash 1 | 1996 |
| Macromedia Flash 2 | 1997 |
| Macromedia Flash 3 | 1998 |
| Macromedia Flash 4 | 1999 |
| Macromedia Flash 5 | 2000 |
| Macromedia Flash MX (version 6) | 2002 |
| Macromedia Flash MX 2004 (version 7) | 2003 |
| Macromedia Flash Basic 8 | 2005 |
| Macromedia Flash Professional 8 | 2005 |
| Adobe Flash CS3 Professional | 2007 |
Player released timeline
| Product Name | Released Year |
|---|---|
| Macromedia Flash 2 | 1997 |
| Macromedia Flash 3 | 1998 |
| Macromedia Flash 4 | 1999 |
| Macromedia Flash 5 | 2001 |
| Macromedia Flash MX | 2002 |
| Macromedia Flash MX 2004 | 2003 |
| Macromedia Flash 8 | 2005 |
| Adobe Flash 9 for Windows and Macintosh | 2006 |
| Adobe Flash 9 for Linux | 2007 |
| Adobe Flash CS3 | 2007 |
| Adobe Flash Player 10 | 2008 |
Technology
Standard
Flash hasn't complied to W3C standard perfectly, alough there is a way to use <object> tag to insert flash files into web pages, the common usage of <embed> is a illegal tag, which is a private tag of Netspace, but not recognized by W3C.
In the Draft Recommendation of the HTML 5, the W3C has a section named "Relationship to XUL, Flash, Silverlight, and other proprietary UI languages", which says, "This specification is independent of the various proprietary UI languages that various vendors provide. As an open, vender-neutral language, HTML provides for a solution to the same problems without the risk of vendor lock-in." [2]
Flash files do not depend on an open standard such as SVG. Also, Flash Player cannot ship as part of a pure open source, or completely free operating system because its distribution is bound to the Macromedia Licensing Program and subject to approval. Currently, there are some third party tools which use and generate the SWF file format. IrfanView can play SWF files. Other open-source flash players such as Gnash and Swfdec are in development.
Features & Functions
Examples
How to make an animation using Flash?
An animation is constituted by a series of frames. Each frame represents a single static motion. When they are shown in sequence, it looks like the object on the picture is moving. Here is a simple example of making an animation:
First, new a flat file and make two layers as follows:
Second, set the 10th frame as the keyframe for the first layer and the 20th frame as the keyframe for the second layer.
Finally, export, save as a swf file and display the animation:
How to put Flash into a web page?
For the compatibility among different kinds of browser, the format of embedding Flash in HTML is as follows:
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hE1K0ZeTtAw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hE1K0ZeTtAw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Or write as follows to comply with W3C standard:
<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/hE1K0ZeTtAw&hl=en&fs=1" width="400" height="300"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hE1K0ZeTtAw&hl=en&fs=1" /> </object>
Market
Why and Where to use Flash?
The main reasons of people using Flash are as follows:
- Flash files load fast and save on download time because Flash is vector based whereas HTML is not.
- Flash intelligently "caches" it’s movies so they don’t have to be reloaded.
- Flash tools are easy to use.
- Compared to other plug-ins such as Java, Acrobat Reader, QuickTime or Windows Media Player, the Flash Player has a small install size, quick download time, and fast initialization time.
The Flash technology can be used on CD-ROMs and TV, but its main usage is for web sites. Because of the player's wide distribution in multiple browsers and operating systems, Flash is increasingly used as a way to display video clips on web pages. It is not only available for many platforms and devices such as Windows, Mac OS 9/X, Linux (only 32 bit x86), Solaris, HP-UX, Pocket PC, OS/2, QNX, Symbian, Palm OS, BeOS, and IRIX, but used as the basis for many popular video sites such as YouTube and Google Video.
According to a survey from Adobe, "Adobe Flash Player is used by over 2 million professionals and reaching 99.0% of Internet-enabled desktops in mature markets as well as a wide range of devices."[3]
| Product Name | User's Percentage(%) |
|---|---|
| Adobe Flash Player | 99.0 |
| Java | 85.1 |
| Microsoft Windows Media Player | 79.3 |
| Apple QuickTime Player | 65.5 |
| Adobe Shockwave Player | 59.2 |
| RealOne Player | 46.2 |
| SVG | 7.9 |
Competitors
Future Developments
Adobe AIR is a cross-operating system runtime being developed by Adobe since November 2007 that allows developers to leverage their existing web development skills (Flash, Flex, HTML, JavaScript, Ajax) to build and deploy rich Internet applications (RIAs) to the desktop.[4]
As of February 2008, Adobe Systems is working on a research project to make programs written in various languages easier to run on Adobe's ubiquitous Flash Player client runtime. This technology would allow for cross-compiling existing code from C, C++, Java, Python, and Ruby to ActionScript. So these languages can cross-compile to the virtual machine inside Flash and AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime). For example, an alternative PDF renderer providing a lighter version of PDF could be cross-compiled, and the Flash Player could read it and display PDFs.[5]
Another project is called Open Screen Project, which is dedicated to driving rich Internet experiences and creating a consistent application interface across all devices like personal computers, mobile devices or consumer electronics. This project includes abolishing licensing fees for Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Integrated Runtime, removing restrictions on the use of the Shockwave Flash (SWF) and Flash Video (FLV) file formats, publishing Application Programming Interfaces for porting Flash to new devices, and publishing Flash Cast protocol and Action Message Format (AMF) to let Flash applications receive information from remote databases.[6]
The next version of Flash will have two additional components designed for large scale implementation. Adobe is adding in the option to require an advertisement to be played in full before the main video piece is played, and gives companies the option to link an advertisement with content and make sure that both are played and that they not be changed, which would bring advantages to large scale video sites.[7]
Reference
- ↑ Gay, Jonathan. "The History of Flash"
- ↑ "HTML 5 Draft Recommendation — 2 August 2008"
- ↑ "Flash Player Penetration"
- ↑ "AIR:Developer FAQ"
- ↑ Krill, Paul, 02.26.2008, "Adobe extending Flash platform"
- ↑ "Open Screen Project"
- ↑ "Adobe unveils Flash video control"