Macromedia Flash
Macromedia Flash is a vector graphics based graphics animation program by Macromedia. The resulting files, sometimes called "flash files", may be included in a web page to view in a web browser, or they may be played on a standalone player (see Flash players). The most common use is in animated advertisements on web pages, although prank flash has become common.
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2 Competition 3 File types 4 External links |
Pros and Cons
Advantages
The Macromedia Flash file format has several advantages over "regular" HTML pages that make it an extremely popular option for ad creation and for some other types of sites.
In Flash MX, the ActionScript language has been extended to the proposed ECMA Script 4 standard and can be used to create extensive event driven GUI's. Flash MX 2004 introduced ActionScript 2.0, which features strong types, interfaces, inheritance and other features of advanced object-oriented programming languages.
Macromedia is moving Flash away from the simple animations of web ad banners and move toward true application development.
Disadvantages
There are also some disadvantages to Flash and these have caused some of the initial surge in use outside ads to decline, as the negative consequences of Flash use were seen:
In Flash MX 2004, the latest release, several of the disadvantages have been addressed. See http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001029.html for a discussion of Flash and usability.
Competition
In October of 1998 Macromedia disclosed the Flash Version 3 Specification to the world on its website in response to many new, and often semi open, competing formats to SWF such as; XARA's Flare and Sharp's Extended Vector Animation formats. Several developers quickly created a C library for producing SWF. In Feburary of 1999 MorphInk 99 was launched, the first non-Macromedia, or third party program to create SWF files. Macromedia also hired Middlesoft to create a freely available developers kit for the SWF file format versions 3-5. Many open and free libraries based on the information released to the public in 1998 and from later study of the SWF file Format, such as the Ming library, exist to produce SWF files on many platforms. The Flash Files specification for version 6 and later is available from Macromedia only as a PDF under a NDA agreement.
Many Shareware companies produced Flash creation tools and sold them for under $50 USD between 2000-2002. In 2003 competition and the emergence of free Flash creation tools, most notably OpenOffice.org, had driven many third party flash creation tool makers out of the market allowing the remaining makers to raise their prices, although many of the products remain under $100 USD and support Actionscript. F4L is also developing such a tool including an interface similar to the Macromedia's.
In November of 2003 Microsoft announced that it was working on competing product, Sparkle, whose release would coincide with that of their next-generation Windows OS codenamed Windows Longhorn. The purchase of Creature House Inc's assets in September of 2003 has lead to speculation that their Expression graphics engine would form the basis for the Sparkle product.
See also: limited animation, Shockwave, Weebl and Bob (Flash cartoon)
File types
Later versions of Flash can also create files in a variety of static or animated formats.External links
Flash players
Creating Flash files
Format documentation
Communities
Art
Security
Games
Flash and e-learning