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Based off latest Wayback Machine snapshot. Replaced Adobe Flash link
|release = 1996
|discontinued = 2020
|predecessor = SmartSketch
|emulated = {{✓}}
}}
{{WIP}}
'''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 later maintained 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 Adobeon 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.
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
|Adobe Flash Player
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}
|[https://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/debug_downloads.html 32.0.0.465]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|[https://ruffle.rs/ Ruffle]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
|-
|Adobe Flash Player[https://swf2js.com/en/ swf2js]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}|[https://get.adobegithub.com/flashplayerswf2js/ 32.0.0.414swf2js JavaScript file download]|{{✗✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗~}}
|-
|[https://gnu.org/software/gnash GNU Gnash]
===Comparisons===
;RuffleAdobe Flash Player:A Rust The official closed-source implementation that compiles to WebAssembly. The devs state it has ActionScript 1 and 2 support, with AS3 support coming in later. Being sponsored by Newgrounds, it has progressed to the point where it can play the original Flash version of [https://wwwAdobe.newgrounds.com/portal/view/59593/format/flash?emulate=flash Alien Hominid] and many early Flash games It was discontinued in the browser2020.
;Lightspark
:A C++ implementation. Says it has 7678% of the APIs covered. ;Ruffle:A Rust implementation that compiles to WebAssembly. The devs state it has ActionScript 1 and 2 support, with AS3 support coming later, estimated to be several months. Being sponsored by Newgrounds, it has progressed to the point where it can play the original Flash version of [https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/59593/format/flash?emulate=flash Alien Hominid] and many early Flash games in the browser.
;Adobe Flash Playerswf2js:A JavaScript implementation that uses a dynamic recompiler. The officialFree Version supports limited features, such as AS1, closed-source implementation by Adobe. Discontinued in 2020AS2 and ZLIB compression, whereas the Production Version supports further features, such as AS3 and LZMA compression.
;Gnash
;Shumway
:An HTML5 implementation. Was It was sponsored by Mozilla but then later abandoned.
==See also==
* [[Flashpoint]] - preservation effort for games designed in commercial web frameworks(not just Flash). [[Category:Not really emulators]]
