Recently we have seen a lot of progress with the capabilities of Javascript to leverage the capabilities of HTML to do things that was previously only possible using Flash.
Thanks to for example mootools and jQuery you can now create sites that looks like they are made with Flash with nice tweening animations, and of course AJAX have already for a few years been an option to update the content without reloading the page.
Does this mean that the future of Flash looks bleak?
Somerandomdude seems to think so, and points to some of examples if the impeding demise of Flash. John Resig’s Processing.js and experiments with HTML 5’s video element.
First of all, does any of these developments offer improvements over what Flash have been capable of for years?
Maybe if a site that is heavy on information but you might want to jazz it up a bit with some nice transitions.
When it comes to presenting text HTML has some advantages, mainly due to the browser integration.
Using the browsers built in search or select and right click to google a phrase for example.
Usually those advantages are greater than the possibility to embed font outlines with Flash.
But most implementations I have seen of for example slideshows and menus does not offer any advantages what I can see. Implementing them in Javascript still performs worse, gives you less possibilities and makes it less accessible.
When it comes to video on the surface I cannot see any reason why a video playback native to the browser would be preferable.
Of course one could argue that since you have a limited choice of compression formats with Flash it would open up to more options there. But to deploy content you will still have to make sure you use a codec that is included with a majority of browsers. It remains to be seen if it will mean much of an improvement in practice, and personally I do think that h264 is quite satisfactory.
All the above is true for the HTML5 audio element as well.
Of course the technical merits is only a part of the parameters that decide the acceptance of a technology. There are a lot of developers that really dislike Flash for various reasons and they are just really happy that they now can do the same things as has been possible for a long time with Flash.
The fact that it can be more tedious to implement and performs worse is not as important as various factors like avoiding proprietary formats or using a environment they are already accustomed to.
But even if Flash is not necessary to do a lot of things that previously was it’s exclusive domain to me it seems like it’s constantly gaining acceptance with developers.
Flash is still quite far ahead of the capabilities of DHTML/AJAX and how long will it take before HTML5 is widespread enough to make it a viable option?
Flash is still developing rapidly and the new versions of the plug-in is spreading extremely fast, so by the time HTML5 capable browsers is widespread enough probably 95% will have the Flash 15 plug-in installed.
I think the main issue here is the different ways in which Flash and HTML is being developed.
A lot of the hate against Flash is based on the fact that swf is a proprietary format, and even if that is not entirely true any more it’s certainly not based on an open standard.
And that what makes it possible for it to stay on the cutting edge, and that’s why the capabilities of DHTML, XHTML, Javascript, SVG etc. always is one step behind.
Even if I prefer open standards in theory it just doesn’t seem to work as well in practice.
Rather than being impressed how HTML and Javascript is catching up with the capabilities of Flash I’m continuously surprised at how slowly it’s happening.
I have been fanatic about Flash since I first discovered it in 1999, and I really have trouble being completely neutral even I try. But IMO Flash is not going anywhere. With AS3, AVM2 and FLEX a lot of new possibilities has opened up that DHTML will not be capable of any time soon, like for example decent 3d engines, socket connections and sound synthesis.
Overall I do see a trend though that the web is getting less and less fixated with certain technologies.
On the server side we have seen Python and Ruby gaining acceptance. MS will be trying with Silverlight to present an alternative to Flash and HTML will be able to compete as well.
But it’s not a war where anyone has to die…there is certainly room for more than either ASP, perl or PHP on the server and HTML, Shockwave or Flash on the client, which pretty much used to be the case.
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I agree.
Flash, as a platform, offers the capabilities to deliver the most robust and complete interactive experiences available on the internet. Countless times a Flash opponent will point at a poorly designed or counter-intuitive interface and claim proof of a faulty toolset – though the same could be said of the thousands upon thousands of cross-browser incompatible websites or even the few websites with animated GIF backgrounds.
At least Adobe have managed to knock out the properietary format arguments by offering SWF as an open format and the language as an SDK (a move largely made to attract mobile platform developers).
From a guy who had his hands in HTML/CSS/Javascript for a few years Flash is a godsend, and once the format is released there will be no stopping it – I doubt anyone can stop it now.
It’s certainly nice to see how Adobe is opening up the SWF format and the SDK.
It still seems very hard for them to overcome the proprietary label the Flash platform has, but hopefully things are changing.
I wonder if not one of the main reasons that SWF integrates so badly with the browser is the aversion many developers have towards it mainly based on the fact that they dislike anything that is not open source or open standard.
I can imagine the folks at Mozilla not wanting to spend too much effort into aiding that integration, and it’s mainly the lack of integration that has been a reason not to use Flash for a lot of applications. If Flash had been fully integrated to the browser it would have been suitable also for developing full sites even when they are heavy on information.
But even if I do find HTML and CSS to be very flawed in many aspects and find Flash to be superior in many ways I can agree with the sentiment that it would have been a somewhat scary development if the swf format would have ended up in a position where it could have become a replacement for HTML.
The foundation of the web should be a totally open format and Flash should know it’s place as a plug-in.
I do think that comparing HTML to Flash the open standards committee approach to developing technology is not as efficient as the corporation driven way.
But it’s somewhat like comparing democracy to a dictatorship…the latter might be a more effective type of government but that doesn’t make it better.
But even if we want a society based on democratic principles doesn’t mean that every part of the society has to be run that way.
Ok…enough with the political allegories from me
I know, I’m a little late to the party. I recently was recruited to do some freelance work and two of the requirements for the job were the ability to develop Flash projects and be able to develop a little bit of AJAX. I knew nothing of AJAX, and about halfway through some training for it had kind of an “A-Ha!” moment, realizing that I was now learning what I could already do with Flash but seemingly the hard way. Of course I will finish the training, there’s no damage ever in gaining more knowledge, but really—what true advantages are there over just developing a project with Flash? It seems like it makes as much sense as knowing how to produce old-fashioned typesetting when I have InDesign ready to roll. Is it really just a matter of developers doing things the “developer way” and creatives using a creative-intuitive authoring environment?