| The name of the base system (platform): | Adobe Flash |
| Developers: | Adobe Systems |
| Technology: | Office applications |
Content |
The platform includes a number of development tools, first of all Adobe Flash Professional and Adobe Flash Builder (before Adobe Flex Builder); and also the program for reproduction of flash-content — Adobe Flash Player though also many players of third-party producers are able to reproduce flash-content. For example, SWF files can be browsed using free Gnash or swfdec players, and FLV files are reproduced via multimedia players Quicktime, Windows Media Player and different players in UNIX the-like systems in the presence of the corresponding plug-ins.
Adobe Flash allows to work with vector, raster and is limited with three-dimensional graphics and also supports bidirectional stream broadcast of audio and video. For the CPC and other mobile devices the special "facilitated" version of the Flash Lite platform whose functionality is limited counting on opportunities of mobile devices and their operating systems is released.
Standard expansion for the compiled flash-files (animation, games and interactive applications) is.SWF (Shockwave Flash or Small Web Format). Videos in the Flash format represent files with the FLV expansion (at this Flash in this case it is used only as a container for a video). The FLA expansion corresponds to a format of work files in a development environment.
Technologies
Flash Player represents the virtual machine on which the code of the flash-program loaded from the Internet is executed.
In Flash vector morphing, i.e. smooth "overflowing" of one key frame in another is the cornerstone of animation. It allows to do difficult animation scenes, setting some key frames. Flash Player performance at animation reproduction several times exceeds the capacity of the Javascript virtual machine in the browsers supporting preliminary HTML5 standard though many times over concedes to the applications working in general without use of virtual machines.
Flash uses the ActionScript programming language based on ECMAScript.
On May 1, 2008 the Adobe company announced the beginning of the Open Screen Project project. A project objective - creation of the general program interface for the personal computer, mobile devices and consumer electronics that means identical functioning of one application under all listed types of devices. Within the project
- Limits for use of the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications are lifted.
- API for porting of Adobe Flash Player on different devices are published.
- The Adobe Flash® Cast™ and AMF protocols for services of data are published.
- Paid licenses for Adobe Flash Player and Adobe of AIR on devices are abolished. Their next release will be free.
In support of the project and distribution of the Flash platform on mobile devices at the moment acted 58 companies among which AMD ARM Google HTC Intel Motorola Nokia NVIDIA QNX Sony Ericsson , etc.
Flash Player is ported on the mobile platform Android, mobile devices with hardware acceleration of flash-applications are released (including AIR-applications).
Some software makers for mobile devices try to replace or limit distribution of Flash on the new mobile platforms:
- Apple on HTML5 for iPhon and iPad
- Microsoft on Silverlight for Windows Phone 7
- Oracle on JavaFX
History
The technology of vector morphing was applied long before Flash. In 1986 the Fantavision program which used this technology was released. In 1991 on this technology the game Another World, and two years later — Flashback was released.
Development of Flash was begun by the FutureWave company which created FutureSplash Animator animation packet. In 1996 FutureWave was purchased by Macromedia company which renamed FutureSplash Animator into Flash. Under this name the platform continues to develop and until now (though after in 2005 the Macromedia company was absorbed by Adobe, Macromedia Flash began to be called officially Adobe Flash).
Shortcomings
The main lack of flash-applications — the excessive load of the central processor connected with inefficiency of the Flash Player virtual machine. Though it should be noted that also insufficient optimization of flash-applications by their developers, use of so-called "generators" of flash-applications in certain cases takes place.
The second important lack of flash-applications consists in insufficient error control that leads to frequent failures as applications, so, in certain cases, and all browser. The possibility of flash-applications to break operation of all browser repeatedly sparked criticism from developers of browsers.
One more shortcoming characteristic of all virtual machines is that there is not always an opportunity to start a flash-application, or it is connected with some difficulties. For example, some users or administrators disconnect in settings of browsers flash-content that is connected with economy of system resources, disposal of the bothered advertizing and information security (for example, the interception threat of a clipboard contents flash-application was detected. This shortcoming does Flash technology of less universal and limits its application in web applications of critical importance.
The fourth important shortcoming is that use of Flash for placement of text information complicates its indexing by search systems. And though in principle a certain system of indexing of the text in swf-files was created and implemented by Google and Yahoo in 2008, but the share of the websites entirely created on Flash remains small.
The Flash applications also cannot use the right mouse button reserved by developers of browsers for settings of Flash.
As the editor, Adobe Flash CS5 cannot convert the vector images created in it into formats of other type:.ai or.cdr that very often it would be necessary very opportunely. [govern] Closeness
The SWF specification of version 4 was open, but descriptions of the subsequent versions were on sale only with a subscription about nondisclosure, and they were forbidden to be used for creation of the Flash players.
In May, 2008 Adobe Systems announced opening of specifications [to specify] SWF and video of the container FLV for use on much softer conditions as a part of the Open Screen Project project focused on creation of the general Flash environment on all devices.
Ray Valdes from Gartner Inc. considers one of the reasons of opening of specifications the competition from Microsoft Silverlight, however the representative of Adobe Dave McAllister said that it not so.
However the patented codecs used in FLV belong not Adobe, but the downloaded specification in which there is no description of the RTMP protocol, for example, (on January 20, 2009 Adobe announced that it will publish it in the first half of 2009), it is impossible to extend and translate. Flash Player remains proprietary though Adobe promises to make use it on mobile platforms free.
The developer of the free Swfdec decoder Benjamin Ott (Benjamin Otte) wrote that in the open specification there is nothing that would not be yet it known thanks to a reverse engineering though the official specification can be more clear for beginners and is useful at emergence of questions of legality of library. Gnash developers also speak about the same.] They also consider the possible reason of this partial opening of specifications progress of free SWF decoders and the competing proprietary Silverlight format.
In February, 2009 the Adobe company within the Open Screen Project project published information on lifting of restrictions on use of the SWF and FLV/F4V formats and also the AMF and Mobile Content Delivery Protocol protocols. [govern] Vulnerabilities
From time to time find the "holes" allowing malefactors to make various actions with a system in Adobe Flash implementations. So, for example, in October, 2008 the vulnerability allowing to control far off the webcam and the microphone was found.
Alternatives
A direct competitor of Flash is the Silverlight technology from Microsoft. The Java applets technology is also Flash alternative in interactive web applications, but considerably concedes in simplicity of creation of graphics and animation.
In browsers separate parts of Flash can be replaced by means of HTML 5, JavaScript (and AJAX), SVG.
Links
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