Difference between revisions of "Flash"
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:A Rust implementation that easily compiles to several platforms, but mainly targets HTML5. The devs are planning to focus on ActionScript 1 and 2 support first, with AS3 support coming later. Development of Ruffle is sponsored by multiple veteran Flash game archives, most notably Newgrounds. It's progressed to the point where it can run many early Flash games, including the original Flash version of [https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/59593/format/flash?emulate=flash Alien Hominid], as well as playing the vast majority of [https://old.homestarrunner.com Homestar Runner] toons. | :A Rust implementation that easily compiles to several platforms, but mainly targets HTML5. The devs are planning to focus on ActionScript 1 and 2 support first, with AS3 support coming later. Development of Ruffle is sponsored by multiple veteran Flash game archives, most notably Newgrounds. It's progressed to the point where it can run many early Flash games, including the original Flash version of [https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/59593/format/flash?emulate=flash Alien Hominid], as well as playing the vast majority of [https://old.homestarrunner.com Homestar Runner] toons. | ||
− | ;Lightspark | + | ;Lightspark & Gnash |
− | : | + | :Both C++ implementations, both designed specifically to provide a FLOSS alternative to Adobe's official players. Lightspark says it has 78% of the APIs covered, while Gnash has focused on older versions of Flash that Lightspark is less likely to support properly, hence why Lightspark can use Gnash as an automatic fallback if both are installed simultaneously. |
;swf2js | ;swf2js | ||
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;Adobe Flash Player | ;Adobe Flash Player | ||
:The official closed-source implementation by Adobe. It was discontinued in 2020. | :The official closed-source implementation by Adobe. It was discontinued in 2020. | ||
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;Shumway | ;Shumway |
Revision as of 13:21, 13 November 2021
Developer | Adobe |
---|---|
Release date | 1996 |
Discontinued | 2020 |
Emulated | ✓ |
Flash (previously FutureSplash Animator, before that SmartSketch) is a software platform created by FutureWave Software, and currently owned by Adobe (previously Macromedia). Originally a drawing program for PenPoint OS, later ported to Windows and Macintosh when pen computing failed to take off, frame-by-frame animation features were added to it in a new program called FutureSplash Animator. The company was acquired by Macromedia in December 1996, rebranding FutureSplash Animator to Flash, an amalgamation of "Future" and "Splash". In turn, Macromedia was acquired by Adobe on December 3, 2005. Their operations, networks, and customer care organizations were merged shortly after.
Used by an overwhelming majority of websites in the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, Flash has been the go-to platform for multimedia and animation, being utilised for streaming video providers such as YouTube, children's websites due to its rich content, and has spawned a subculture of animators as exemplified by the likes of Newgrounds. A number of popular animated series were also animated using Flash, most notably My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Phineas and Ferb and Happy Tree Friends to name a few.
Flash's popularity declined in the late 2010s due to the rise of alternative (and open) web standards such as HTML5 and mobile device manufacturers dropping support for the platform, a prominent example being Apple who publicly stated that iOS will never support Flash. Google followed suit when it dropped support for the platform in subsequent Android releases, and it didn't help that a series of security issues, coupled with Flash itself being a closed standard, has led Adobe to wind down on Flash and retire it in 2020.
Implementations
Name | Platform(s) | Latest version | Accuracy | FLOSS | Active | Recommended |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ruffle | Nightly builds | Mid | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Lightspark | [N 1] | 0.8.3 | Mid | ✓ | ✓ | ~ |
swf2js | JavaScript file download | ? | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | |
Adobe Flash Player | [N 1] | 32.0.0.465 | Reference | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
GNU Gnash | 0.8.10 | Low | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | |
Open Flash / Doμ Player | Git | ? | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | |
Shumway | Git | Low | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Comparisons
- Ruffle
- A Rust implementation that easily compiles to several platforms, but mainly targets HTML5. The devs are planning to focus on ActionScript 1 and 2 support first, with AS3 support coming later. Development of Ruffle is sponsored by multiple veteran Flash game archives, most notably Newgrounds. It's progressed to the point where it can run many early Flash games, including the original Flash version of Alien Hominid, as well as playing the vast majority of Homestar Runner toons.
- Lightspark & Gnash
- Both C++ implementations, both designed specifically to provide a FLOSS alternative to Adobe's official players. Lightspark says it has 78% of the APIs covered, while Gnash has focused on older versions of Flash that Lightspark is less likely to support properly, hence why Lightspark can use Gnash as an automatic fallback if both are installed simultaneously.
- swf2js
- An open-core HTML5 implementation that uses a dynamic recompiler. The open-source "Free Version" supports limited features, such as AS1, AS2 and ZLIB compression, whereas the payware "Production Version" supports further features, such as AS3 and LZMA compression.
- Adobe Flash Player
- The official closed-source implementation by Adobe. It was discontinued in 2020.
- Shumway
- An HTML5 implementation. Developed rather actively for a few years, under Mozilla sponsorship, but ultimately abandoned in 2016.
See also
- Flashpoint - preservation effort for games designed in commercial web frameworks (not just Flash).