Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash is a deprecated[1] multimedia software platform used for
production of animations, rich Internet applications, desktop
applications, mobile applications, mobile games and embedded web
browser video players. Flash displays text, vector graphics and raster
graphics to provide animations, video games and applications. It
allows streaming of audio and video, and can capture mouse, keyboard,
microphone and camera input. Related development platform Adobe AIR
continues to be supported.
Artists may produce Flash graphics and animations using Adobe Animate.
Software developers may produce applications and video games using
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Builder, FlashDevelop, Flash Catalyst, or any text editor
when used with the
Apache Flex

Apache Flex SDK.
End-users can view Flash content via Flash Player (for web browsers),
AIR (for desktop or mobile apps) or third-party players such as
Scaleform

Scaleform (for video games).
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player (supported on
Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux) enables end-users to view Flash
content using web browsers.
Adobe Flash Lite

Adobe Flash Lite enabled viewing Flash
content on older smartphones, but has been discontinued and superseded
by Adobe AIR.
The
ActionScript

ActionScript programming language allows the development of
interactive animations, video games, web applications, desktop
applications and mobile applications. Programmers can implement Flash
software using an IDE such as Adobe Animate,
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Builder,
Adobe Director,
FlashDevelop

FlashDevelop and Powerflasher FDT.
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR enables
full-featured desktop and mobile applications to be developed with
Flash and published for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Xbox One,
PlayStation 4, and Nintendo
Wii U

Wii U and Switch.
Although Flash was previously a dominant platform for online
multimedia content, it is slowly being abandoned as Adobe favors a
transition to HTML5. Flash Player has been deprecated and has an
official end-of-life by 2020.[1] However, Adobe will continue to
develop Adobe AIR, a related technology for building stand-alone
applications and games.[2]
Contents
1 Applications
1.1 Websites
1.2 RIAs
1.3 Video games
1.4 Film and animation
2 History
2.1 FutureWave
2.2 Macromedia
2.3 Adobe
2.4 Open Screen Project
2.5 End of life
3 Format
3.1 FLA
3.2 SWF
3.3 3D
3.4 Flash Video
3.5 Flash Audio
3.6 Scripting language
3.7 Specifications
4 Animation tools
4.1 Official tools
4.2 Third-party tools
5 Programming tools
5.1 Official tools
5.2 Third-party tools
6 Players
6.1 Proprietary
6.2 Open source
7 Availability
7.1 Desktop computers
7.1.1 Flash Player
7.1.2 Adobe AIR
7.2 Mobile devices
7.2.1 Flash Player
7.2.2 Adobe AIR
7.3 Portable electronic devices
8 Alternatives
8.1 OpenFL
8.2 HTML5
8.3 Flash to HTML5
9 Criticisms
9.1 Mobile support
9.2 Vendor dependence
9.3 Accessibility
9.4 Flash blocking in web browsers
9.5 Security
9.6 Flash cookies
10 See also
11 Footnotes
12 References
13 External links
Applications[edit]
Websites[edit]
In the early 2000s, Flash was widely installed on desktop computers,
and was commonly used to display interactive web pages, online games,
and to playback video and audio content.[3] In 2005,
YouTube

YouTube was
founded by former PayPal employees, and it used Flash Player as a
means to display compressed video content on the web.[3]
Between 2000 and 2010, numerous businesses used Flash-based websites
to launch new products, or to create interactive company portals.[4]
Notable users include Nike, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, General Electric,
World Wildlife Fund, HBO,
Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network and Disney.[4][5] After
Adobe introduced hardware-accelerated 3D for Flash (Stage3D), Flash
websites saw a growth of 3D content for product demonstrations and
virtual tours.[6][7]
In 2007,
YouTube

YouTube offered videos in
HTML5

HTML5 format to support the iPhone
and iPad, which did not support Flash Player.[3] After a controversy
with Apple, Adobe stopped developing Flash Player for Mobile,
focussing its efforts on
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR applications and HTML5
animation.[3] In 2015,
Google

Google introduced
Google Swiffy

Google Swiffy to convert
Flash animation

Flash animation to HTML5, a tool
Google

Google would use to automatically
convert Flash web ads for mobile devices.[8] In 2015,
YouTube

YouTube switched
to
HTML5

HTML5 technology on all devices, however it will preserve the
Flash-based video player for older web browsers.[9][10][11]
RIAs[edit]
After Flash 5 introduced
ActionScript

ActionScript in 2000, developers combined the
visual and programming capabilities of Flash to produce interactive
experiences and applications for the Web.[12] Such Web-based
applications eventually came to be known as "Rich Internet
Applications" (RIAs).[12]
In 2004,
Macromedia

Macromedia Flex was released, and specifically targeted the
application development market.[12] Flex introduced new user interface
components, advanced data visualization components, data remoting, and
a modern IDE (Flash Builder).[12][13] Flex competed with Asynchronous
JavaScript

JavaScript and XML (AJAX) and
Microsoft Silverlight

Microsoft Silverlight during its
tenure.[12] Flex was upgraded to support integration with remote data
sources, using AMF, BlazeDS, Adobe LiveCycle, Amazon Elastic Compute
Cloud, and others.[14] As of 2015, Flex applications can be published
for desktop platforms using Adobe AIR.[12]
Between 2006 and 2016, the
Speedtest.net

Speedtest.net web service conducted over
9.0 billion speed tests using an RIA built with Adobe Flash.[15][16]
In 2016, the service shifted to
HTML5

HTML5 due to the decreasing
availability of
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player on PCs.[17]
As of 2016, Web applications and RIAs can be developed with Flash
using the
ActionScript

ActionScript 3.0 programming language and related tools such
as
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Builder. Third-party IDEs such as
FlashDevelop

FlashDevelop and
Powerflasher FDT

Powerflasher FDT also enable developers to create Flash games and
applications, and are generally similar to Microsoft Visual Studio.
Flex applications are typically built using Flex frameworks such as
PureMVC.[14]
Video games[edit]
Play media
Screenshots and footage of Flash games QWOP, Solipskier, and Hundreds
Flash video games were popular on the Internet, with portals like
Newgrounds

Newgrounds dedicated to hosting of Flash-based games. Popular games
developed with Flash include Angry Birds, Clash of Clans, FarmVille,
AdventureQuest, Machinarium, Hundreds, N,
QWOP

QWOP and Solipskier.
Adobe introduced various technologies to help build video games,
including
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR (to release games for desktop or mobile
platforms),
Adobe Scout

Adobe Scout (to improve performance),
CrossBridge (to
convert C++-based games to run in Flash), and
Stage3D

Stage3D (to support
GPU-accelerated video games). 3D frameworks like
Away3D

Away3D and Flare3D
simplified creation of 3D content for Flash.
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR allows creation of Flash-based mobile games, which may be
published to the
Google Play

Google Play and Apple app stores.
Flash is also used to build interfaces and HUDs for 3D video games
using
Scaleform

Scaleform GFx, a technology that renders Flash content within
non-Flash video games.
Scaleform

Scaleform is supported by more than 10 major
video game engines including Unreal Engine, UDK, CryEngine and
PhyreEngine, and has been used to provide 3D interfaces for more than
150 major video game titles since its launch in 2003.
Film and animation[edit]
Main articles:
List of Flash animated films and List of Flash animated
television series
Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate is one of the common animation programs for low-cost 2D
television and commercial animation, in competition with Anime Studio
and Toon Boom Animation.
Notable users of Flash include
DHX Media Vancouver

DHX Media Vancouver for productions
including Pound Puppies and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Fresh
TV for Total Drama,
Nelvana

Nelvana for
6teen

6teen and Clone High, Williams Street
for
Metalocalypse

Metalocalypse and Squidbillies,
Nickelodeon Animation Studios

Nickelodeon Animation Studios for
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, Danny
Phantom, and more.
Flash is less commonly used for feature-length animated films;
however, 2009's The Secret of Kells, an Irish film, was animated
primarily in Adobe Flash, and was nominated for an Academy Award for
Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards.
Several popular online series are currently produced in Flash, such as
the Emmy Award-winning Off-Mikes, produced by
ESPN

ESPN and Animax
Entertainment; Happy Tree Friends; Gotham Girls, produced by Warner
Brothers; Crime Time, produced by
Future Thought Productions and
Homestar Runner

Homestar Runner produced by Mike and Matt Chapman.
Various third-party software packages designed for traditionally
trained cartoonists and animators can publish animations in the SWF
format.
History[edit]
FutureWave[edit]
The precursor to Flash was a product named SmartSketch, published by
FutureWave Software. The company was founded by Charlie Jackson,
Jonathan Gay, and Michelle Welsh.[18][19][20][21] SmartSketch was a
vector drawing application for pen computers running the PenPoint
OS.[22][23] When PenPoint failed in the marketplace, SmartSketch was
ported to
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.[19][24]
As the Internet became more popular, FutureWave realized the potential
for a vector-based web animation tool that might challenge Macromedia
Shockwave technology.[18][19] In 1995, FutureWave modified SmartSketch
by adding frame-by-frame animation features and released this new
product as FutureSplash Animator on Macintosh and PC.[18][19][25][26]
FutureWave approached
Adobe Systems
.svg/400px-Adobe_Systems_logo_and_wordmark_(2017).svg.png)
Adobe Systems with an offer to sell them
FutureSplash in 1995, but Adobe turned down the offer at that
time.[19] Microsoft wanted to create an "online TV network" (MSN 2.0)
and adopted FutureSplash animated content as a central part of it.[19]
Disney Online

Disney Online used FutureSplash animations for their
subscription-based service Disney's Daily Blast.[18][19] Fox
Broadcasting Company launched
The Simpsons

The Simpsons using FutureSplash.[19]
Macromedia[edit]
In November 1996, FutureSplash was acquired by Macromedia, and
Macromedia

Macromedia re-branded and released FutureSplash Animator as Macromedia
Flash 1.0. Flash was a two-part system, a graphics and animation
editor known as
Macromedia

Macromedia Flash, and a player known as Macromedia
Flash Player.
FutureSplash Animator was an animation tool originally developed for
pen-based computing devices. Due to the small size of the FutureSplash
Viewer, it was particularly suited for download on the Web. Macromedia
distributed Flash Player as a free browser plugin in order to quickly
gain market share. By 2005, more computers worldwide had Flash Player
installed than any other Web media format, including Java, QuickTime,
RealNetworks

RealNetworks and
Windows

Windows Media Player.[27]
Macromedia

Macromedia upgraded the Flash system between 1996 and 1999 adding
MovieClips, Actions (the precursor to ActionScript), Alpha
transparency, and other features. As Flash matured, Macromedia's focus
shifted from marketing it as a graphics and media tool to promoting it
as a
Web application

Web application platform, adding scripting and data access
capabilities to the player while attempting to retain its small
footprint.
In 2000, the first major version of
ActionScript

ActionScript was developed, and
released with Flash 5. Actionscript 2.0 was released with Flash MX
2004 and supported object-oriented programming, improved UI components
and other programming features. The last version of Flash released by
Macromedia

Macromedia was Flash 8, which focused on graphical upgrades such as
filters (blur, drop shadow, etc.), blend modes (similar to Adobe
Photoshop), and advanced features for
FLV

FLV video.
Adobe[edit]
Macromedia

Macromedia was acquired by
Adobe Systems
.svg/400px-Adobe_Systems_logo_and_wordmark_(2017).svg.png)
Adobe Systems in 2005, and the entire
Macromedia

Macromedia product line including Flash, Dreamweaver,
Director/Shockwave, Fireworks (which has since been discontinued) and
Authorware

Authorware is now handled by Adobe.
In 2007, Adobe's first version release was
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash CS3
Professional, the ninth major version of Flash. It introduced the
ActionScript

ActionScript 3.0 programming language, which supported modern
programming practices and enabled business applications to be
developed with Flash.
Adobe Flex Builder

Adobe Flex Builder (built on Eclipse) targeted
the enterprise application development market, and was also released
the same year. Flex Builder included the Flex SDK, a set of components
that included charting, advanced UI, and data services (Flex Data
Services).
In 2008, Adobe released the tenth version of Flash,
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash CS4.
Flash 10 improved animation capabilities within the Flash editor,
adding a motion editor panel (similar to Adobe After Effects), inverse
kinematics (bones), basic 3D object animation, object-based animation,
and other text and graphics features. Flash Player 10 included an
in-built 3D engine (without GPU acceleration) that allowed basic
object transformations in 3D space (position, rotation, scaling).
Also in 2008, Adobe released the first version of Adobe Integrated
Runtime (later re-branded as Adobe AIR), a runtime engine that
replaced Flash Player, and provided additional capabilities to the
ActionScript

ActionScript 3.0 language to build desktop and mobile applications.
With AIR, developers could access the file system (the user's files
and folders), and connected devices suxh as joystick, gamepad and
sensors for the first time.
In 2011,
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player 11 was released, and with it the first
version of Stage3D, allowing GPU-accelerated 3D rendering for Flash
applications and games on desktop platforms such as Microsoft Windows
and Mac OS X.[28] Adobe further improved 3D capabilities from 2011 to
2013, adding support for 3D rendering on Android and iOS platforms,
alpha-channels, compressed textures, texture atlases, and other
features.[29][30]
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR was upgraded to support 64-bit computers,
and to allow developers to add additional functionality to the AIR
runtime using AIR Native Extensions (ANE).
In 2014,
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR reached a milestone with over 100,000 unique
applications built, and over 1 billion installations logged across the
world (May 2014).[31][32]
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR was voted the Best Mobile
Application Development product at the
Consumer Electronics Show

Consumer Electronics Show on
two consecutive years (CES 2014 and CES 2015).[33][34] In 2016, Adobe
renamed Flash Professional, the primary authoring software for Flash
content, to
Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate to reflect its growing use for authoring
HTML5

HTML5 content in favour of Flash content.[35]
Open Screen Project[edit]
On May 1, 2008, Adobe announced the Open Screen Project, with the
intent of providing a consistent application interface across devices
such as personal computers, mobile devices, and consumer
electronics.[36] When the project was announced, seven goals were
outlined: the abolition of licensing fees for
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player and
Adobe Integrated Runtime, the removal of restrictions on the use of
the Shockwave Flash (SWF) and
Flash Video

Flash Video (FLV) file formats, the
publishing of application programming interfaces for porting Flash to
new devices, and the publishing of The Flash Cast protocol and Action
Message Format (AMF), which let Flash applications receive information
from remote databases.[36]
As of February 2009[update], the specifications removing the
restrictions on the use of
SWF and FLV/F4V specs have been
published.[37] The Flash Cast protocol—now known as the Mobile
Content Delivery Protocol—and AMF protocols have also been made
available,[37] with AMF available as an open source implementation,
BlazeDS.
The list of mobile device providers who have joined the project
includes Palm, Motorola, and Nokia,[38] who, together with Adobe, have
announced a $10 million
Open Screen Project

Open Screen Project fund.[39] As of
2012[update], the
Open Screen Project

Open Screen Project is no longer accepting new
applications according to partner BSQuare. However paid licensing is
still an option for device makers who want to use Adobe
software.[citation needed]
End of life[edit]
Although Flash was previously a dominant platform for online
multimedia content, it is slowly being abandoned as Adobe favors a
transition to
HTML5

HTML5 due to inherent security flaws and significant
resources required to maintain the platform. Apple restricted the use
of Flash on iOS due to concerns that it performed poorly on its mobile
devices, had negative impact on battery life, and was deemed
unnecessary for online content.[40][41] As a result, it was not
adopted by Apple for its smartphone and tablet devices, which also
reduced its user base and encouraged wider adoption of
HTML5

HTML5 features
such as the canvas and video elements, which can replace Flash without
the need for plugins. In 2015, Adobe rebranded its Flash authoring
environment as
Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate to emphasize its expanded support for
HTML5

HTML5 authoring, and stated that it would "encourage content creators
to build with new web standards" rather than using Flash.[42] In July
2017, Adobe announced that it would declare Flash to be end-of-life in
2020, and will cease support, distribution, and security updates to
Flash Player.[43] After the announcement, developers have started a
petition to turn Flash into an open-source project, leading to
controversy.[44]
The Flash Platform will continue in the form of Adobe AIR, which Adobe
will continue to develop, and OpenFL, a multi-target open-source
implementation of the Flash API.[45]
Format[edit]
FLA[edit]
Flash source files are in the FLA format, and contain graphics and
animation, as well as embedded assets such as bitmap images, audio
files and
FLV

FLV video files. The Flash source file format is a
proprietary format and
Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate is the only available authoring
tool capable of editing such files. Flash source files (.fla) may be
compiled into Flash movie files (.swf) using Adobe Animate. Note that
FLA files can be edited, but output (.swf) files cannot.
SWF[edit]
Main article: SWF
Flash movie files are in the
SWF format, traditionally called
"ShockWave Flash" movies, "Flash movies", or "Flash applications",
usually have a .swf file extension, and may be used in the form of a
web page plug-in, strictly "played" in a standalone Flash Player, or
incorporated into a self-executing Projector movie (with the .exe
extension in Microsoft Windows).
Flash Video

Flash Video files[spec 1] have a .flv
file extension and are either used from within .swf files or played
through a flv-aware player, such as VLC, or
QuickTime

QuickTime and Windows
Media Player with external codecs added.
The use of vector graphics combined with program code allows Flash
files to be smaller—and thus allows streams to use less
bandwidth—than the corresponding bitmaps or video clips. For content
in a single format (such as just text, video, or audio), other
alternatives may provide better performance and consume less CPU power
than the corresponding Flash movie, for example when using
transparency or making large screen updates such as photographic or
text fades.
In addition to a vector-rendering engine, the Flash Player includes a
virtual machine called the
ActionScript

ActionScript Virtual Machine (AVM) for
scripting interactivity at run-time, with video, MP3-based audio, and
bitmap graphics. As of Flash Player 8, it offers two video codecs: On2
Technologies
VP6 and Sorenson Spark, and run-time JPEG, Progressive
JPEG, PNG, and GIF capability.
3D[edit]
Main article: Stage3D
Flash Player 11 introduced a full 3D shader API, called Stage3D, which
is fairly similar to WebGL.[46][47]
Stage3D

Stage3D enables GPU-accelerated
rendering of
3D graphics

3D graphics within Flash games and applications, and has
been used to build Angry Birds, and a couple of other notable games.
Various 3D frameworks have been built for Flash using Stage3D, such as
Away3D

Away3D 4,[47] CopperCube,[48] Flare3D,[49] Starling,.[50]:vii
Professional game engines like Unreal Engine[51][52] and Unity also
export Flash versions which use
Stage3D

Stage3D to render 3D graphics.
Flash Video[edit]
Main article: Flash Video
Virtually all browser plugins for video are free of charge and
cross-platform, including Adobe's offering of Flash Video, which was
first introduced with Flash version 6.
Flash Video

Flash Video has been a popular
choice for websites due to the large installed user base and
programmability of Flash. In 2010, Apple publicly criticized Adobe
Flash, including its implementation of video playback for not taking
advantage of hardware acceleration, one reason Flash is not to be
found on Apple's mobile devices. Soon after Apple's criticism, Adobe
demoed and released a beta version of Flash 10.1, which takes
advantage of GPU hardware acceleration even on a Mac. Flash 10.2 beta,
released December 2010, adds hardware acceleration for the whole video
rendering pipeline.
Flash Player supports two distinct modes of video playback, and
hardware accelerated video decoding may not be used for older video
content. Such content causes excessive
CPU usage

CPU usage compared to
comparable content played with other players.
Software Rendered Video : Flash Player supports software rendered
video since version 6. Such video supports vector animations displayed
above the video content. This obligation may, depending on graphic
APIs exposed by the operating system, prohibit using a video overlay,
like a traditional multimedia player would use, with the consequence
that color space conversion and scaling must happen in software.[53]
Hardware Accelerated Video : Flash Player supports hardware
accelerated video playback since version 10.2, for H.264, F4V, and FLV
video formats. Such video is displayed above all Flash content, and
takes advantage of video codec chipsets installed on the user's
device. Developers must specifically use the "StageVideo" technology
within Flash Player in order for hardware decoding to be enabled.
Flash Player internally uses technologies such as DirectX Video
Acceleration and
OpenGL
.svg/440px-OpenGL_logo_(Nov14).svg.png)
OpenGL to do so.
In tests done by
Ars Technica
.svg/400px-Ars_Technica_logo_(2016).svg.png)
Ars Technica in 2008 and 2009,
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player
performed better on
Windows

Windows than Mac OS X and
Linux

Linux with the same
hardware.[54][55] Performance has later improved for the latter two,
on Mac OS X with Flash Player 10.1,[56] and on
Linux

Linux with Flash Player
11.[57]
Flash Audio[edit]
Flash Audio is most commonly encoded in MP3 or AAC (Advanced Audio
Coding) however it can also use ADPCM, Nellymoser (Nellymoser Asao
Codec) and
Speex audio codecs. Flash allows sample rates of 11, 22 and
44.1 kHz. It cannot have 48 kHz audio sample rate, which is
the standard TV and DVD sample rate.
On August 20, 2007, Adobe announced on its blog that with Update 3 of
Flash Player 9,
Flash Video

Flash Video will also implement some parts of the
MPEG-4 international standards.[58] Specifically, Flash Player will
work with video compressed in
H.264

H.264 (
MPEG-4 Part 10), audio compressed
using AAC (
MPEG-4 Part 3), the F4V, MP4 (
MPEG-4 Part 14), M4V, M4A,
3GP

3GP and MOV multimedia container formats,
3GPP Timed Text
specification (
MPEG-4 Part 17), which is a standardized subtitle
format and partial parsing capability for the 'ilst' atom, which is
the
ID3

ID3 equivalent iTunes uses to store metadata.
MPEG-4 Part 2 and
H.263 will not work in F4V file format. Adobe also announced that it
will be gradually moving away from the
FLV

FLV format to the standard ISO
base media file format (
MPEG-4 Part 12) owing to functional limits
with the
FLV

FLV structure when streaming H.264. The final release of the
Flash Player implementing some parts of
MPEG-4 standards had become
available in Fall 2007.[59]
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player 10.1 does not have acoustic echo cancellation,
unlike the VoIP offerings of Skype and
Google

Google Voice, making this and
earlier versions of Flash less suitable for group calling or meetings.
Flash Player 10.3 Beta incorporates acoustic echo cancellation.
Scripting language[edit]
Further information: ActionScript
ActionScript

ActionScript is the programming language used by Flash. It is an
enhanced superset of the
ECMAScript programming language, with a
classical Java-style class model, rather than JavaScript's prototype
model.
Specifications[edit]
In October 1998,
Macromedia

Macromedia disclosed the Flash Version 3
Specification on its website. It did this in response to many new and
often semi-open formats competing with SWF, such as Xara's Flare and
Sharp's
Extended Vector Animation formats. Several developers quickly
created a
C library for producing SWF. In February 1999, MorphInk 99
was introduced, the first third-party program to create
SWF files.
Macromedia

Macromedia also hired Middlesoft to create a freely available
developers' kit for the
SWF file format versions 3 to 5.
Macromedia

Macromedia made the Flash Files specifications for versions 6 and
later available only under a non-disclosure agreement, but they are
widely available from various sites.
In April 2006, the Flash
SWF file format specification was released
with details on the then newest version format (Flash 8). Although
still lacking specific information on the incorporated video
compression formats (On2, Sorenson Spark, etc.), this new
documentation covered all the new features offered in Flash v8
including new
ActionScript

ActionScript commands, expressive filter controls, and
so on. The file format specification document is offered only to
developers who agree to a license agreement that permits them to use
the specifications only to develop programs that can export to the
Flash file format. The license does not allow the use of the
specifications to create programs that can be used for playback of
Flash files. The Flash 9 specification was made available under
similar restrictions.[60]
In June 2009, Adobe launched the
Open Screen Project

Open Screen Project (Adobe link),
which made the
SWF specification available without restrictions.
Previously, developers could not use the specification for making
SWF-compatible players, but only for making SWF-exporting authoring
software. The specification still omits information on codecs such as
Sorenson Spark, however.[61]
Animation tools[edit]
Official tools[edit]
Main article: Adobe Animate
The
Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate authoring program is primarily used to design
graphics and animation and publish the same for websites, web
applications, and video games. The program also offers limited support
for audio and video embedding, and
ActionScript

ActionScript scripting.
Adobe released Adobe LiveMotion, designed to create interactive
animation content and export it to a variety of formats, including
SWF. LiveMotion failed to gain any notable user base.[specify]
In February 2003,
Macromedia

Macromedia purchased Presedia, which had developed a
Flash authoring tool that automatically converted PowerPoint files
into Flash.
Macromedia

Macromedia subsequently released the new product as
Breeze, which included many new enhancements.
Third-party tools[edit]
Main article: Comparison of vector graphics editors
Various free and commercial software packages can output animations
into the Flash
SWF format, suitable for display on the web, including:
SWiSH Max

SWiSH Max is an animation editor with preset animation, developed by
an ex-employee of Macromedia, that can output Flash animations
Toon Boom is a traditional animation tool that can output Flash
animations
Apple Keynote allows users to export presentations to Flash SWF
animations
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer can output Flash animations
Ajax Animator

Ajax Animator aim to create a Flash development environment
KToon

KToon can edit vectors and generate SWF, but its interface is very
different from Macromedia's
Screencast and Screencam, produces demos or tutorials by capturing the
screen and generating a
Flash animation

Flash animation of the same
GoAnimate

GoAnimate is a software as a service tool to create animated videos.
Anime Studio

Anime Studio is a 2D animation software package specialized for
character animation, that creates Flash animations
Question Writer

Question Writer publishes its quizzes to Flash animations
OpenOffice Impress
Toufee
KoolMoves
Express Animator
CelAction2D
Alligator Flash Designer
Amara Web
Clash
Salasaga
Synfig
The Flash 4
Linux

Linux project was an initiative to develop an open source
Linux

Linux application as an alternative to Adobe Animate. Development
plans included authoring capacity for 2D animation, and tweening, as
well as outputing
SWF file formats. F4L evolved into an editor that
was capable of authoring 2D animation and publishing of
SWF files.
Flash 4
Linux

Linux was renamed UIRA. UIRA intended to combine the resources
and knowledge of the F4L project and the Qflash project, both of which
were Open Source applications that aimed to provide an alternative to
the proprietary Adobe Flash.
Programming tools[edit]
Official tools[edit]
Adobe provides a series of tools to develop software applications and
video games for Flash:
Apache Flex

Apache Flex SDK – a free, open source SDK to compile Flash-based
rich Internet applications from source code. The Apache Flex
ActionScript

ActionScript 3.0 compiler generates
SWF files from
ActionScript

ActionScript 3
files. Flex was the primary
ActionScript

ActionScript 3 compiler and was actively
developed by Adobe before it was donated to Apache Software Foundation
in 2011.
Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate – primarily used to design graphics and animation, but
supports
ActionScript

ActionScript scripting and debugging.
Adobe Flash Builder

Adobe Flash Builder – enterprise application development &
debugging, contains the Flex SDK with UI and charting components.
Adobe Scout

Adobe Scout – a visual profiler to optimize performance of Flash
content.
CrossBridge – a free SDK to cross-compile
C++

C++ code to run in Flash
Player.
Third-party tools[edit]
Third-party development tools have been created to assist developers
in creating software applications and video games with Flash.
FlashDevelop

FlashDevelop is a free and open-source Flash
ActionScript

ActionScript IDE, which
includes a project manager and debugger for building applications on
Flash Player and Adobe AIR.
Powerflasher FDT

Powerflasher FDT is a commercial
ActionScript

ActionScript IDE similar to
FlashDevelop.
Haxe

Haxe is an open source, high-level object-oriented programming
language geared towards web-content creation that can compile SWF
files from
Haxe

Haxe programs. As of 2012,
Haxe

Haxe can build programs for
Flash Player that perform faster than the same application built with
the Adobe Flex SDK compiler, due to additional compiler optimizations
supported in Haxe.[62][unreliable source?]
SWFTools (specifically, swfc) is an open-source
ActionScript

ActionScript 3.0
compiler which generates
SWF files from script files, which includes
SVG

SVG tags.
swfmill and
MTASC also provide tools to create
SWF files by compiling
text,
ActionScript

ActionScript or XML files into Flash animations
Ming library, to create
SWF files programmatically, has interfaces for
C, PHP, C++, Perl, Python, and Ruby. It is able to import and export
graphics from XML into SWF.
Players[edit]
Proprietary[edit]
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player is the multimedia and application player originally
developed by
Macromedia

Macromedia and acquired by Adobe Systems. It plays SWF
files, which can be created by Adobe Animate, Apache Flex, or a number
of other
Adobe Systems
.svg/400px-Adobe_Systems_logo_and_wordmark_(2017).svg.png)
Adobe Systems and 3rd party tools. It has support for a
scripting language called ActionScript, which can be used to display
Flash Video

Flash Video from an
SWF file.
Scaleform

Scaleform GFx is a commercial alternative Flash player that features
fully hardware-accelerated 2D graphics rendering using the GPU.
Scaleform

Scaleform has high conformance with both Flash 10
ActionScript

ActionScript 3[63]
and Flash 8
ActionScript

ActionScript 2.
Scaleform

Scaleform GFx is a game development
middleware solution that helps create graphical user interfaces or
HUDs within 3D video games. It does not work with web browsers.
IrfanView, an image viewer, uses Flash Player to display
SWF files.
Open source[edit]
OpenFL

OpenFL is an open-source implementation of the
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash API[45]. It
allows developers to build a single application against the OpenFL
APIs and simultaneously target multiple platforms including iOS,
Android,
HTML5

HTML5 (choice of Canvas, WebGL,
SVG

SVG or DOM), Windows, macOS,
Linux, WebAssembly, Flash, AIR, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3,
PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Wii U, Tivo, Raspberry Pi, and
Node.js.[64]
OpenFL

OpenFL mirrors the Flash API for graphical operations. OpenFL
applications can be written in Haxe,
JavaScript

JavaScript (EcmaScript 5 or 6+),
or TypeScript.[65]
Lightspark

Lightspark is a free and open source
SWF player that supports most of
ActionScript

ActionScript 3.0 and has a Mozilla-compatible plug-in.[66] It will
fall back on Gnash, a free
SWF player supporting
ActionScript

ActionScript 1.0 and
2.0 (AVM1) code.
Lightspark

Lightspark supports OpenGL-based rendering for 3D
content. The player is also compatible with
H.264

H.264 Flash videos on
YouTube.
Gnash aims to create a software player and browser plugin replacement
for the
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player. Gnash can play
SWF files up to version 7,
and 80% of
ActionScript

ActionScript 2.0.[67] Gnash run on Windows,
Linux

Linux and other
platforms for the 32-bit, 64-bit, and other operating systems, but
development has slowed significantly in recent years.
Shumway was an open source Flash Player released by
Mozilla

Mozilla in
November 2012. It was built in
JavaScript

JavaScript and is thus compatible with
modern web-browsers.[68][69][70] In early October 2013, Shumway was
included by default in the
Firefox

Firefox nightly branch.[71] Shumway
rendered Flash contents by translating contents inside Flash files to
HTML5

HTML5 elements, and running an
ActionScript

ActionScript interpreter in
JavaScript.[72] It supported both AVM1 and AVM2, and ActionScript
versions 1, 2, and 3.[73] Development of Shumway ceased in early
2016.[74]
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player cannot ship as part of a pure open source, or
completely free operating system, as its distribution is bound to the
Macromedia

Macromedia Licensing Program and subject to proposition first from
Adobe.[75]
Availability[edit]
Desktop computers[edit]
Flash Player[edit]
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash has been deprecated.[1] The latest version of Adobe Flash
Player is available for three major desktop platforms, including
Windows, macOS and Linux.[76] On
Linux

Linux the PPAPI plug-in is available;
the
NPAPI version wasn't updated to new major versions for a while[77]
until Adobe changed its mind on stopping support and its former plan
to discontinue "in 2017".[78]
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player is available in four flavors:
ActiveX-based Plug-in
NPAPI-based Plug-in
PPAPI-based Plug-in
Projector
The
ActiveX

ActiveX version is an
ActiveX

ActiveX control for use in Internet Explorer
and any other
Windows

Windows applications that supports
ActiveX

ActiveX technology.
The Plug-in versions are available for browsers supporting either
NPAPI or PPAPI plug-ins on Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux. The
projector version is a standalone player that can open
SWF files
directly.[79]
The following table documents Flash Player and
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR support on
desktop operating systems:
Operating System
Prerequisites
Usage
Latest
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player
Browser Support
Microsoft Windows
Windows

Windows XP (32-bit, AIR only) / Vista (32-bit, AIR only) / 7 / 8.1 /
10[76][80]
Internet Browser, Standalone Applications
Flash Player 25.0,[81] AIR 25.0[82]
Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Opera
macOS
OS X 10.9 or newer (Flash Player)[76] / Mac OS X 10.7 or newer
(AIR)[80]
Internet Browser, Standalone Applications
Flash Player 25.0,[81] AIR 25.0[82]
Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Opera
Linux
Red Hat Enterprise
Linux

Linux 5.6 or newer / openSUSE 11.3 or newer /
Ubuntu 10.04 or newer[76]
Internet Browser
Flash Player 25.0.0.127 (NPAPI), Flash Player 25.0.0.127 (PPAPI)[81]
Firefox

Firefox (NPAPI) / Chrome, Chromium, Opera (PPAPI)
Adobe AIR[edit]
The latest version of Adobe AIR, version 18, contains Adobe Flash
Player 18, and is available for
Windows

Windows XP and later, as well as
macOS.[83] Official support for desktop
Linux

Linux distributions ceased in
June 2011 with version 2.6.[84]
Platform
Installer file support
App Store support
Windows
.air,
.exe and .msi[85][86]
None
macOS
.air

.air and .dmg[86]
With captive runtime[87]
Android
.apk[88]
Google

Google Play[88]
iOS
.ipa[89]
iTunes Store[89]
PlayBook
.bar[90]
BlackBerry App World[90]
Mobile devices[edit]
Flash Player[edit]
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player was available for a variety of mobile operating
systems, including Android (between versions 2.2[91] and 4.0.4[92]),
Pocket PC/
Windows

Windows CE,
QNX

QNX (e.g. on BlackBerry PlayBook), Symbian, Palm
OS, and webOS (since version 2.0[93]). Flash Player for smart phones
was made available to handset manufacturers at the end of 2009.[94]
However, in November 2011, Adobe announced the withdrawal of support
for Flash Player on mobile devices.[95] Adobe continues to support
deploying Flash-based content as mobile applications via Adobe AIR.
Adobe is reaffirming its commitment to "aggressively contribute" to
HTML5.[96][97] Adobe announced the end of Flash for mobile platforms
or TV, instead focusing on
HTML5

HTML5 for browser content and
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR for
the various mobile application stores[98][99][100][101] and described
it as "the beginning of the end".[102] BlackBerry LTD (formerly known
as RIM) announced that it would continue to develop Flash Player for
the PlayBook.[103]
There is no
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod
Touch). However, Flash content can be made to run on iOS devices in a
variety of ways:
Flash content can be bundled inside an
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR app, which will then
run on iOS devices. (Apple did not allow this for a while, but they
relaxed those restrictions in September 2010.[104])
On March 8, 2011, Techradar reported that Adobe provides an
experimental server side tool (Wallaby) to convert Flash programs (as
far as possible) to
HTML5

HTML5 code, thus allowing iOS devices to display
the content.[105]
If the content is Flash video being served by
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Media Server
4.5, the server will translate and send the video as HTTP Dynamic
Streaming or HTTP Live Streaming, both of which can be played by iOS
devices.[106]
Some specialized mobile browsers manage to accommodate Flash via
streaming content from the cloud directly to a user's device. Some
examples are Photon Browser[107] and Puffin Web Browser.[108]
The mobile version of
Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer for
Windows

Windows Phone cannot play
Flash content,[109] however Flash support is still present on the
tablet version of Windows.[110]
Adobe AIR[edit]
Main article: Adobe AIR
This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to
reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2016)
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR was released in 2008, and allows the creation of mobile
applications and mobile games using Flash and ActionScript. Notable
mobile games built with Flash include Angry Birds,
Machinarium

Machinarium and
Defend Your Castle.
Using AIR, developers can access the full
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash functionality,
including text, vector graphics, raster graphics, video, audio, camera
and microphone capability.
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR also includes additional features
such as file system integration, native client extensions, desktop
integration and access to connected devices and sensors.
AIR applications can be published as native phone applications on
certain mobile operating systems, such as Android (
ARM Cortex-A8

ARM Cortex-A8 and
above[111]) and Apple iOS.[83]
The following table explains to what extent
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR can run on
various mobile operating systems:
Operating System
Prerequisites
Latest
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player
AIR Framework
Android
Android 2.3+, ARM Cortex-A8+[112] or Android x86[113]
AIR 3.6.0.597 (uses Flash Player 11.6)[114]
Option 1: The AIR player can be embedded as a 'captive' runtime, which
increases APK size but makes the application standalone.[115]
Option 2: The runtime is not included with the app, and must installed
as a separate app from the app market.[116]
Apple iOS
iOS 4.3 or later
AIR 3.6.0.597 (uses Flash Player 11.6)[114]
Not applicable: each app includes its own 'captive' runtime.[117]
BlackBerry Tablet OS
None
AIR 3.1 (uses Flash Player 11.1)[118][119]
Already pre-installed on each device.[117]
BlackBerry 10
Blackberry 10.2 and lower (no longer supported from 10.3)[120]
AIR 3.5 (uses Flash Player 11.1)
Already pre-installed on each device.
Portable electronic devices[edit]
Adobe Flash Lite

Adobe Flash Lite is a lightweight version of
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player
intended for mobile phones[121] and other portable electronic devices
like
Chumby

Chumby and iRiver.
On the emerging single-board enthusiast market, as substantially
popularized by the Raspberry Pi, support from Adobe is lacking.
However, the open-source player Gnash has been ported and found to be
useful.[122]
Alternatives[edit]
OpenFL[edit]
Main article: OpenFL
OpenFL

OpenFL is an open-source implementation of the
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash technology.
It allows developers to build a single application against the OpenFL
APIs, and simultaneously target multiple platforms including
Flash/AIR, HTML5, Windows, Android, Tizen, Neko, BlackBerry and webOS.
OpenFL

OpenFL mirrors the Flash API for graphical operations. OpenFL
applications are written in Haxe, a modern multi-platform programming
language.
More than 500 video games have been developed with OpenFL[123],
including the BAFTA-award-winning game Papers, Please, Rymdkapsel,
Lightbot

Lightbot and Madden NFL Mobile.
HTML5[edit]
Main article: Comparison of
HTML5

HTML5 and Flash
HTML5

HTML5 is often cited as an alternative to
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash technology usage
on web pages. Adobe released a tool that converts Flash to HTML5,[124]
and in June 2011,
Google

Google released an experimental tool that does the
same.[125][126] In January 2015,
YouTube

YouTube defaulted to
HTML5

HTML5 players to
better support more devices.[127]
Flash to HTML5[edit]
The following tools allow running Flash content in web browsers using
HTML5:
Adobe Edge Animate

Adobe Edge Animate was designed to produce
HTML5

HTML5 animations
directly.[128]
Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate now allows
Flash animations

Flash animations to be published into HTML5
content directly.
Google Swiffy

Google Swiffy - A web-based tool developed by
Google

Google that converts SWF
files into HTML5, using
SVG

SVG for graphics and
JavaScript

JavaScript for animation
Mozilla

Mozilla Shumway, a Flash virtual machine written in JavaScript.
CreateJS is library that while available separately was also adopted
by Adobe as a replacement for Wallaby in CS6. Unlike Wallaby, which
was a standalone program, the "Toolkit for CreateJS" only works as a
plug-in inside Flash Professional; it generates output for the HTML5
canvas, animated with JavaScript.[129][130] Around December 2013, the
toolkit was integrated directly into
Flash Professional

Flash Professional CC.[131][132]
Criticisms[edit]
Mobile support[edit]
Websites built with
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash will not function on most modern
mobile devices running
Google

Google Android or iOS (iPhone, iPad). The only
alternative is using
HTML5

HTML5 and responsive web design to build websites
that support both desktop and mobile devices.
However, Flash is still used to build mobile games using Adobe AIR.
Such games will not work in mobile web browsers, but must be installed
via the appropriate app store.
Vendor dependence[edit]
See also: Vendor lock-in
The reliance on Adobe for decoding Flash makes its use on the World
Wide Web a concern—the completeness of its public specifications are
debated, and no complete implementation of Flash is publicly available
in source code form with a license that permits reuse. Generally,
public specifications are what makes a format re-implementable (see
future proofing data storage), and reusable codebases can be ported to
new platforms without the endorsement of the format creator.
Adobe's restrictions on the use of the SWF/
FLV

FLV specifications were
lifted in February 2009 (see Adobe's Open Screen Project). However,
despite efforts of projects like Gnash,
Swfdec

Swfdec and Lightspark, a
complete free Flash player is yet to be seen, as of September 2011.
For example, Gnash cannot use
SWF v10 yet.[133] Notably, Gnash was
listed on the Free Software Foundation's high priority list, from at
least 2007, to its overdue removal in January 2017.[134]
Notable advocates of free software, open standards, and the World Wide
Web have warned against the use of Flash:
The founder of
Mozilla

Mozilla Europe, Tristan Nitot, stated in 2008:[135]
Companies building websites should beware of proprietary rich-media
technologies like Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight. (...)
You're producing content for your users and there's someone in the
middle deciding whether users should see your content.
Representing open standards, inventor of CSS and co-author of HTML5,
Håkon Wium Lie

Håkon Wium Lie explained in a
Google

Google tech talk of 2007, entitled "the
<video> element", the proposal of
Theora as the format for HTML5
video:[136]
I believe very strongly, that we need to agree on some kind of
baseline video format if [the video element] is going to succeed.
Flash is today the baseline format on the web. The problem with Flash
is that it's not an open standard.
Representing the free software movement,
Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman stated in a
speech in 2004 that:[137] "The use of Flash in websites is a major
problem for our community."
Accessibility[edit]
Usability consultant Jakob Nielsen published an Alertbox in 2000
entitled, Flash: 99% Bad, stating that "Flash tends to degrade
websites for three reasons: it encourages design abuse, it breaks with
the Web's fundamental interaction principles, and it distracts
attention from the site's core value."[138] Some problems have been at
least partially fixed since Nielsen's complaints: Text size can be
controlled using full page zoom and it has been possible for authors
to include alternative text in Flash since Flash Player 6.
Flash blocking in web browsers[edit]
Some websites rely heavily on Flash and become unusable without Flash
Player, or with Flash blocked.
Flash content is usually embedded using the object or embed HTML
element.[139] A web browser that does not fully implement one of these
elements displays the replacement text, if supplied by the web page.
Often, a plugin is required for the browser to fully implement these
elements, though some users cannot or will not install it.
Since Flash can be used to produce content (such as advertisements)
that some users find obnoxious or take a large amount of bandwidth to
download, some web browsers, by default, do not play Flash content
until the user clicks on it, e.g. Konqueror, K-Meleon.
Most current browsers have a feature to block plugins, playing one
only when the user clicks it. Opera versions since 10.5 feature native
Flash blocking. Opera Turbo requires the user to click to play Flash
content, and the browser also allows the user to enable this option
permanently. Both Chrome[140] and Firefox[141] have an option to
enable "click to play plugins". Equivalent "Flash blocker" extensions
are also available for many popular browsers:
Firefox

Firefox has Flashblock
and NoScript,
Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer has Foxie, which contains a number of
features, one of them named Flashblock. WebKit-based browsers under
macOS, such as Apple's Safari, have ClickToFlash.[142] In June 2015,
Google

Google announced that Chrome will "pause" advertisements and
"non-central" Flash content by default.[143]
Firefox

Firefox (from version 46) rewrites old Flash-only
YouTube

YouTube embed code
into YouTube's modern embedded player that is capable of using either
HTML5

HTML5 or Flash.[144] Such embed code is used by non-
YouTube

YouTube sites to
embed YouTube's videos, and can still be encountered, for example, on
old blogs and forums.
Security[edit]
See also:
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player § Security, and Browser security
§ Plugins and extensions
For many years
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player's security record[145] has led many
security experts to recommend against installing the player, or to
block Flash content.[146][147] The US-CERT has recommended blocking
Flash,[148] and security researcher Charlie Miller recommended "not to
install Flash";[149] however, for people still using Flash, Intego
recommended that users get trusted updates "only directly from the
vendor that publishes them."[150] As of February 12, 2015, Adobe Flash
Player has over 400 CVE entries,[151] of which over 300 lead to
arbitrary code execution, and past vulnerabilities have enabled spying
via web cameras.[152][153][154][155] Security experts have long
predicted the demise of Flash, saying that with the rise of HTML5
"...the need for browser plugins such as Flash is diminishing",[156]
as only 7 to 10 percent of websites still use it.[157][158]
Active moves by third parties to limit the risk began with Steve Jobs
in 2010 saying that Apple would not allow Flash on the iPhone, iPod
touch and iPad – citing abysmal security as one reason.[159] Flash
often used the ability to dynamically change parts of the runtime on
languages on OSX to improve their own performance, but caused general
instability. In July 2015, a series of newly discovered
vulnerabilities resulted in Facebook's chief security officer, Alex
Stamos, issuing a call to Adobe to discontinue the software
entirely[160] and the
Mozilla

Mozilla
Firefox

Firefox web browser,
Google Chrome

Google Chrome and
Apple Safari

Apple Safari to blacklist all earlier versions of Flash
Player.[161][162][163][164]
As a result, "Adobe has essentially stopped trying to do anything new
and innovative with Flash."[158]
Flash cookies[edit]
Main article: Local shared object
Like the HTTP cookie, a flash cookie (also known as a “Local Shared
Object”) can be used to save application data. Flash cookies are not
shared across domains. An August 2009 study by the
Ashkan Soltani
.jpg/500px-Ashkan_Soltani_(7250137444).jpg)
Ashkan Soltani and
a team of researchers at
UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley found that 50% of websites using
Flash were also employing flash cookies, yet privacy policies rarely
disclosed them, and user controls for privacy preferences were
lacking.[165] Most browsers' cache and history suppress or delete
functions did not affect Flash Player's writing Local Shared Objects
to its own cache in version 10.2 and earlier, at which point the user
community was much less aware of the existence and function of Flash
cookies than HTTP cookies.[166] Thus, users with those versions,
having deleted HTTP cookies and purged browser history files and
caches, may believe that they have purged all tracking data from their
computers when in fact Flash browsing history remains. Adobe's own
Flash Website Storage Settings panel, a submenu of Adobe's Flash
Settings Manager web application, and other editors and toolkits can
manage settings for and delete Flash Local Shared Objects.[167]
See also[edit]
Adobe Creative Cloud
List of 2D animation software
OpenFL

OpenFL is an open-source implementation of the Flash platform
Saffron Type System – the anti-aliased text-rendering engine used in
version 8 onwards
SWFObject

SWFObject – a
JavaScript

JavaScript library used to embed Flash content into
web pages
Microsoft Silverlight
JavaFX
OpenLaszlo
Synfig
Footnotes[edit]
^
FLV

FLV and F4V Archived September 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
F4V is based on
ISO base media file format standard, available as a
free download [1]
References[edit]
^ a b c "FLASH & THE FUTURE OF INTERACTIVE CONTENT". Adobe
Systems. July 25, 2017.
^ AIR Roadmap Update, Chris Campbell, Adobe Blog, Jul 25, 2017 9:08 AM
^ a b c d WARREN, CHRISTINA (2012-11-20). "The Life, Death and Rebirth
of Adobe Flash". Mashable. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
^ a b Pinho, Carlos (2009-07-07). "50 Beautiful Flash Websites".
Smashing Magazine. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
^ Looking back at the best Flash sites of 2009 Archived October 18,
2015, at the Wayback Machine., Adobe Developer Connection, 14 December
2009
^ DAVLIN, ANN (2011-06-15). "35 Of The Best 3D Flash Websites Ever".
Smashing 3D. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
^ 20 Best 3D Websites, Web Designer Drops, September 15, 2012
^
Google

Google to automatically convert Flash web ads to HTML5, IT Pro
Magazine, Caroline Preece, 27 Feb 2015
^ YOUTUBE NOW PLAYS
HTML5

HTML5 VIDEO BY DEFAULT, ESCHEWS ADOBE FLASH,
Popular Science, Dan Moren, January 28, 2015
^
YouTube

YouTube ditches
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash for
HTML5

HTML5 on most browsers, The
Inquirer, Chris Merriman, Jan 28 2015
^ So long, Flash!
YouTube

YouTube now defaults to
HTML5

HTML5 on the web, PC World
Magazine, Ian Paul, Jan 28, 2015
^ a b c d e f McCune, Doug (2009-02-23). Adobe Flex 3.0 For Dummies.
John Wiley & Sons. p. Chapter 1, "From HTML to RIA".
ISBN 0470436824. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
^ Rocchi, Cesare (2011). Data Visualization with Flash Builder. Focal
Press. ISBN 0240815033.
^ a b Fain, Yakov (2010-03-16). Enterprise Development with Flex: Best
Practices for RIA Developers. O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN 1449388736.
^ "
Speedtest.net

Speedtest.net by Ookla – The Global Broadband Speed Test".
^ What are the requirements to use Speedtest.net?, Speedtest.net
^ The world’s most popular internet speed test finally drops Adobe
Flash, The Next Web, Owen Williams, 7 December 2015
^ a b c d Grandmasters of Flash: An Interview with the Creators of
Flash, Cold Hard Flash
^ a b c d e f g h MACROMEDIA FLASH BACK, Digital Archaeology
^ PC Graphics & Video, Volume 6, Issues 1–6, Advanstar
Communications, 1997
^ Personal Computer Magazine, PC Communications Corporation, 1995
^ Waldron, Rick (August 27, 2006). "The Flash History". Flashmagazine.
Retrieved June 18, 2001.
^ Gay, Jonathan (2001). "The History of Flash".
Adobe Systems
.svg/400px-Adobe_Systems_logo_and_wordmark_(2017).svg.png)
Adobe Systems Inc.
Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved October 18,
2009.
^ The History of Flash: Back to Graphics Archived January 1, 2015, at
the Wayback Machine.
^ The History of Flash: The Dawn of Web Animation Archived January 25,
2008, at the Wayback Machine.
^ "Grandmasters of Flash: An Interview with the Creators of Flash".
ColdHardFlash.com. Retrieved February 12, 2008.
^ "Flash Player in 2005". ZDNet. Archived from the original on May 16,
2007. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
^ Joseph Labrecque (2011). What's New in Flash Player 11. O'Reilly
Media, Inc. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4493-1110-0.
^
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Roadmap, Adobe
^ [2] Introducing Flash Player 11.4/AIR 3.4 beta!, by Thibault Imbert
(Adobe employee), ByteArray
^ AIR app installs cross a billion,
Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR and
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player
Team Blog
^ 1 Billion AIR Installations, Ben Forta
^ Compass Intelligence Announces Winners of the 2014 Mobility Awards,
Compass Intelligence
^ Compass Intelligence Announces Winners of the 2015 Mobility Awards,
Compass Intelligence
^ Barrett, Brian. "Sadly,
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Isn't Dead. It Just Changed Its
Name". WIRED. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
^ a b "Adobe and Industry Leaders Establish Open Screen Project". May
1, 2008. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved
February 20, 2009.
^ a b Murarka, Anup. "Inside the Open Screen Project". Archived from
the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
^ "
Open Screen Project

Open Screen Project partners". Archived from the original on
February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
^ "Adobe and
Nokia

Nokia Announce $10 Million
Open Screen Project

Open Screen Project Fund".
February 16, 2009. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009.
Retrieved February 20, 2009.
^ Valentino-Devries, Jennifer (April 29, 2010). "Highlights: The
Journal's Exclusive Interview With Adobe CEO". The Wall Street
Journal. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
^ Arthur, Charles (April 29, 2010). "Adobe CEO hits back in row with
Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs over Flash on Apple's iPhone". The Guardian. Retrieved June
19, 2017.
^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2015-12-01). "Adobe is telling people to stop
using Flash". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
^ "Flash & The Future of Interactive Content". Latest company news
& updates Adobe Conversations Blog. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
^ Sharwood, Simon; tweet_btn(), APAC Editor 31 Jul 2017 at 02:58.
"Petition calls for
Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash to survive as open source zombie".
Retrieved 2017-08-02.
^ a b "Introducing OpenFL". Joshua Granick Blog.
^ Matt Fisher (2013).
HTML5

HTML5 for Flash Developers. Packt Publishing
Ltd. §
Stage3D

Stage3D versus WebGL, p. 91.
ISBN 978-1-84969-333-2.
^ a b "
Stage3D

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