Comparison of HTML5 and Flash
Introduction With the introduction of HTML5, features and functions formally exclusive to Flash are now available to users without the need of an extra plugin. Developers and designers continue to create content for Flash and are beginning to explore into HTML5. Recently, there has been debate on whether or not Flash is viable in the future and the question of the need of Flash has been raised.
Current Uses and Availability Flash Flash is used for many reasons but mainly, it is known as the go-to technology for creating the following: • Videos • Animated ads • Interactive experiences (be they games or websites) Flash is a major platform for video streaming. Because Flash Player’s popularity and browsers’ support of the product, using Flash as a means of distribution makes sense since designers and developers can assume users will have easy access to the content. High-traffic video sites, such as Hulu, uses Flash to stream their shows to audiences. As of April 2010, approximately 75% of all videos on the Internet used Flash to stream (Jobs). In the same vein, because of this accessibility, marketers and advertisers can also rely on Flash ads to be viewable by consumers. The main strength of Flash is the level of interactivity possible in its products. Instead of having static images, motionless structures and predefined interactions in a website, Flash opens up a new dimension to designers. In Flash, audio, video and animations can be embedded within a scene. It can also be programmed to animate or transition uniquely upon a mouse-click. Hence, many websites and games are built in Flash as it allows for more untraditional customization and immersion into the digital environment. Likewise, Flash makes up a large portion of online banner ads, since their animations and mini-games can easily catch a user’s attention. ActionScript is the programming language behind Flash and allows for vector shapes, animations, events and any other Flash capability to be created and modified through coding rather than a graphical user interface. The script also allows for custom functions to be built, just like any programming language would, and can incorporate other technologies, such as XML. Because Flash makes use of this Object-oriented language, the medium is powerful, flexible and malleable. HTML5 Although still in development and constantly evolving in its functions and capabilities, HTML5 is already live on parts of the Internet. The advancements made thus far include features that were once only possible via Flash. So far, HTML5-created content is mainly for the purposes of experimentations and demonstration, though the average user can still find the result useful. More and more sites are incorporating new features as they come. For example, video and audio playbacks have their own standard tags using HTML5. Youtube.com made a use of this by allowing an opt-in trial in which some of their videos will be played through HTML5, rather than a Flash player. Currently, more interactivity between the user and an HTML5 site is also possible, with the addition of a drag-and-drop feature. This will open up the door for designers to create a site that involves more than mouse-clicks. The new markup language includes a canvas element as well, allowing drawing to happen natively within the browser.
Advantages and Disadvantages Flash Flash has been in existence since 1996 and, because of this, has a strong base of developers and consumers. Flash’s ActionScript language is an Object-oriented programming language, with many similarities to the highly popular JavaScript. This allows for more developers to quickly pick up the language and create a Flash project. Support for Flash is also abundant, with Adobe continuing to build upon and update its product. Because of its success, companies and developers continue to create content for consumers.
Flash is known for its high CPU usage, which can result in a considerable and noticeable slow-down in certain computers. Furthermore, Flash can be vulnerable and be used to harm the computers it is running on. There have been known cases where trojans, such as keyloggers, can make their way into computers because of these explorts. http://www.virusbtn.com/news/2008/05_29.xml?rss
HTML5 HTML5 is the natural progression from XHTML, which continues to be the backbone of all websites. As such, once completed, it will be the standard for which all future websites must use. Because of this, support for it, both in terms of development and consumption, will be strong. However, the markup language is still very young. Currently, HTML5 is not supported universally or fully by all browsers and there are not many websites putting its available features to use. HTML5 is in draft state at the time of writing and contains many bugs.
http://html5test.com/ http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/
Controversies Conflicts with Apple In January of 2007, Apple released the first generation iPhone with its innovative iPhone OS operating system, currently known as iOS. Although the iOS web browser renders most websites properly, it cannot load Flash files. Subsequent iPhone releases and other iDevices (iPod Touch and iPad) continue to lack Flash support, leading proponents of Adobe software to argue that the Apple Corporation has banned Flash from their mobile devices in order to promote their App Store. By blocking specific content from their devices and providing alternatives that benefits the company, Apple has been accused of being proprietary. Popular Flash games, such as Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies, are accessible for free on computers and Flash-ready devices, but iDevice users must download them for a fee.
In his statement entitled “Thoughts on Flash,” Jobs identifies his official reasoning for Apple not supporting Flash. He believes that the web should be open source and progress should not have to depend on Adobe:
“While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe… Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary... and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement” – Steve Jobs
Jobs further explains that iDevices relies on their multi-touch interfaces and thus does not have a mouse-over state, which Flash is reliant on. If Flash were to be available on Apple mobile devices, users would be unable to correctly access and interact with certain elements due to the lack of appropriate functionality.
Despite Job’s denouncement of Flash, in September of 2010, Apple lifted some of its App development restrictions. Now, “developers can use Flash to develop your apps, and then compile them to work on the iPhone and iPad with a tool called Adobe Packager” (Sorrel). Adobe Packager “offers Flash developers a fast and efficient method to reuse existing code from ActionScript 3 projects to deliver native applications on iOS devices” (Adobe Labs). This advancement means that developers can create Flash applications for Apple mobile devices, however, Flash web content still cannot be viewed.