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Flash

2,558 bytes added, 07:30, 18 January 2022
Comparisons
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest version
! scope="col"|Accuracy
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}<ref group=N name=plugin />
|[https://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/debug_downloads.html 32.0.0.465]
|Reference {{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}|-|[https://github.com/vidkidz/waflash WAFlash]|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}|[https://clubpenguinadvanced.github.io/waflash-demo/ Web]|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|[https://ruffle.rs/ Ruffle]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}
|[https://github.com/ruffle-rs/ruffle/releases Nightly builds]
|Mid {{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}|-|[https://awayfl.org/ AwayFL]|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}|[https://github.com/awayfl/awayfl-player git]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
|-
|[https://lightspark.github.io/ Lightspark]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|Web}}<ref group=N name=plugin>Web version is only available as an [[wikipedia:NPAPI|NPAPI/PPAPI]] plugin, and is therefore not OS-agnostic.</ref>|[https://github.com/lightspark/lightspark/releases 0.8.35]|Mid ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
|-
|[https://swf2js.com/en/ swf2js]
|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}
|[https://github.com/swf2js/swf2js JavaScript file download]<br />Demos: [https://swf2js.com/free/index.html Free], [https://swf2js.com/prod/index.html Prod]|{{?~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}|-|[https://leaningtech.com/cheerpx-for-flash/ CheerpX for Flash]|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}|[https://docs.leaningtech.com/cheerpx-for-flash/Changelog Version 31]|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} |-|Shumway|align=left|{{~Icon|Web}}|[https://github.com/mozilla/shumway git]|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[https://gnu.org/software/gnash GNU Gnash]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[https://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/download.html 0.8.10]
|Low ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[https://open-flash.github.io/ Open Flash / Doμ Player]
|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}
|[https://github.com/open-flash/domu-player Gitgit]|{{?}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}|-|Shumway|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}|[https://github.com/mozilla/shumway Git]|Low ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗?}}
|}
<references group=N />
===Comparisons===
;''Common aspects''
:''Pretty much all of the HTML5 emulators listed here are specifically designed to be used as [[wikipedia:Polyfill (programming)|polyfills]] by webmasters who want to keep their Flash-based sites going despite the forced obsolescence of Adobe's in-browser Flash plugin; those emulators are therefore really not intended for personal use, although it's usually not impossible.''
 
;Adobe Flash Player
:The official closed-source implementation by Adobe, who discontinued it in 2020. The web version relies on [[wikipedia:NPAPI|NPAPI/PPAPI]], an obsolete browser plugin API system that for many years only stuck around specifically because of this Flash plugin; when the plugin was officially dropped by Adobe, so too was the plugin system dropped by all the major browsers no longer use; many browsers were only keeping browser vendors. The desktop player version is still available for download from the API around Adobe website's debug downloads section, and Harman International is also [https://airsdk.harman.com/flashplayer maintaining an extended support version specifically for enterprise users].:;CheerpX for Flash::A payware HTML5 emulation package which combines CheerpX, an x86 emulator in WebAssembly, with Harman International's sake in extended support version of Adobe Flash Player. No-one on this wiki has formally evaluated it (yet), but you shouldn't expect amazing performance given the years leading up added complexity of such an approach. ;WAFlash:A closed-source C++-to-HTML5 implementation that technically hasn't been officially released yet, and will probably be payware once it is. It seems to its discontinuationbe the most accurate of the unofficial emulators as of December 2021.
;Ruffle
:A An open-source 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 mainly targets HTML5, but is also available as a desktop player. 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. Notably, unlike the other HTML5 options, Ruffle can be installed as a browser addon using the WebExtension system, although it won't always override the copy that a website may be hosting.
;AwayFL:An open-source HTML5 implementation developed by the Away Foundation, under sponsorship from Poki.com. Sometimes works better than Ruffle, depending on the specific Flash file you're trying to run. ;Lightspark & Gnash:Two An open-source C++ implementations implementation that somewhat complement each other, and are both 's designed specifically to provide a drop-in FLOSS alternative to both the desktop and NPAPI versions of Adobe's official playersFlash Player. Lightspark says Says it has 7879% 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. Their external dependencies would make it cumbersome to port either of them to HTML5, so they're only available in browsers as replacements for the official Flash browser pluginJanuary 2022.
;swf2js
:An open-core HTML5 implementation that uses a dynamic recompiler. The opensource-source available "Free Version" version supports limited features, such as AS1, AS2 and ZLIB compression, whereas the payware "Production Version" supports further version is better suited to newer Flash files using such features, such as AS3 and LZMA compression. Uses normal JavaScript rather than WebAssembly, so performance is less than ideal.
;Shumway
:An A relatively very early HTML5 implementation. Developed rather actively for a few years, under Mozilla sponsorship, but ultimately abandoned in 2016before it could reach a usable beta state. ;GNU Gnash:An open-source desktop player that has made very little progress since early 2012. It focuses on older versions of Flash that Lightspark was originally less focused on supporting properly, hence why Lightspark could use Gnash as an automatic fallback if both are installed simultaneously. However, newer versions of Lightspark have all but completely superseded Gnash and there's not much reason to use it anymore.
==See also==
* [[Flashpoint]] - preservation effort for games designed in commercial web frameworks (not just Flash).
 
== Resources ==
 
* [https://nosamu.medium.com/flash-player-emulators-how-to-play-swfs-in-2021-and-beyond-d56c3899b7e6 Article by nosamu (of Flashpoint): Flash Player Emulators: How to Play SWF Files in 2021 and Beyond]
 
[[Category:Not really emulators]]
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