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Comparison of HTML5 and Flash

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HTML5 can be used as an alternative to Adobe Flash.[1] Both include features for playing audio and video within web pages, and integrated vector graphics are possible with both.

"HTML5" in this article sometimes refers not just to the HTML5 specification, which does not itself define ways to do animation and interactivity within web pages,[2] but to HTML5 and related standards like JavaScript or CSS 3. Animation using JavaScript is also possible with HTML 4.

Comparison table

The table below compares the features of the Flash platform, the HTML5 specification and the features implemented in modern web browsers.

HTML5 standard HTML web browser features Adobe Flash features
Date started Work began in 2003
Working Draft as of 2011[3] 		N/A Work began in 1996[4]
Version 1 released in 1997
Desktop operating systems N/A Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, Linux Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X,
Linux (PPAPI-only after 11.2),[5][6] Solaris
Mobile operating systems N/A Windows Phone 8+,[7] Android 2.3+,[7] Apple iOS 6+,[7] Symbian Belle+,[7] BlackBerry OS 7+[7] Upto Android 4.0[8] (unofficially for Android 4.1),[9]
Video game consoles N/A Xbox 360,[10][11] Sony PlayStation 3,[10][12][13] Nintendo Wii[10][14][15][16] Sony PlayStation 3 (Flash 9 only), Nintendo Wii (Flash Lite only)
Device support N/A Limited web camera and microphone support Full access to web camera, microphone, accelerometer, GPS
Market penetration N/A ~90% of internet connected PCs are CSS 2/3 ACID compliant,[17]
~99% support JavaScript 1.5 or above,[18] ~52% support SVG 1.1[19] 		~95% of internet connected PCs[20]
(~75% have Flash Player 11, ~25% have 10 and below[21])
Vector graphics formats N/A Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) supported on ~52% PCs[19] SWF with embedded graphics
Bitmap effects Yes Varying support of Filters in CSS3 (eg. Glow, Blur, Drop Shadow, Sepia)[22] Yes, applied to text or graphics (eg. Glow, Drop Shadow, Bevel)[23]
Vector text display Yes Yes Yes, with Saffron Type System
Font support N/A Installed fonts and custom fonts using CSS 3 web fonts Installed fonts and embedded fonts[24]
Text anti-aliasing N/A Yes, implemented in most browsers, for system and custom fonts Yes, in most cases^2
Text tab stops No Only supported inside "pre" tags Yes, with Text Layout Framework
Liquid text layout Yes Yes, using the "div" tag and CSS styling No, but text fields can be resized in ActionScript
Tabular data Yes Yes, using the "table" tag No, but text fields can be arranged into a grid
Linked text frames^1 No No Yes, with Text Layout Framework[25]
Programming languages Depends JavaScript ActionScript, Pixel Bender
C++ support No Native code execution with Google Native Client in Google Chrome only Cross-compiling of C++ code to run in Flash Player using FlasCC[26]
Source code format Plaintext Plaintext JavaScript with limited obfuscation Compiled bytecode, can be obfuscated
Data formats Depends CSS 3, HTML, XML JSON, XML, Subset of CSS 1[27]
Data compression No GZIP compression for HTML, JS and CSS files (on supported servers)[28] LZMA or DEFLATE for SWF files
Image formats Depends PNG, JPEG, Animated GIF PNG, JPEG, JPEG-XR, Single-frame GIF[29][30]
Video formats Depends Varying support of H.264, WebM and Ogg Theora (see HTML5 video) H.264, Sorenson Spark, and On2 VP6[31]
Streaming video No Pseudo-streaming only of WebM and Ogg Theora using video tag[32][32] Flash Video, H.264 and partial support for MP4
Audio formats Depends Varying support of MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV PCM, AAC and WebM Vorbis (see HTML5 audio) MP3 and AAC audio files or embedded sound
Fullscreen support No Supported on some browsers[33] Yes, with warning displayed
Encryption DRM No No, all files being plaintext Yes, being binary formatted files, unless decomplied
File system access No Varying support of single file upload, and drag and drop of files onto browser Support for single file upload and generation,[34]
AIR only: full create/read/write access to file system[35]
Bitmap manipulation No Varying support for HTML5 "canvas" element Yes, using the BitmapData class[36]
Binary manipulation No No, unless JavaScript Arrays are used for the same Yes, using the ByteArray class[37]
Large binary data No Using Web Sockets to stream binary or XML data Yes, embedded or streaming binary data[38]
Offline storage Depends Using Web storage or cookies to store binary or XML data Using Local Shared Objects to store AMF-formatted data
Metadata Meta tags Can be included in meta tags Extensible Metadata Platform

Notes

  1. ^ Allows text to overflow into other text boxes, useful for desktop publishing.
  2. ^ Static text created using the Flash editor is automatically embedded and anti-aliased. Text fields created using ActionScript need fonts to be manually embedded for anti-aliasing to work.

Comparison

Software support

Flash

Web browsers cannot render Flash media themselves, instead it is rendered primarily using the proprietary but freely available Adobe Flash Player. Until 2008, there was no official specification which was allowed to be used to create an alternative player. Alternative players have been developed before 2008, but they support Flash to a lesser degree than the official one.[39]

The latest version of the Adobe Flash Player runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android 2.2-4.0.x (Flash has been released for 4.0, but Adobe has announced that they will discontinue support for Android 4.1 and higher.[40]), RIM QNX and Google TV. Earlier versions run on PlayStation 3 (Flash 9), and PSP (Flash 6). Adobe Flash Lite runs on Wii, Symbian, Maemo Linux, Windows Mobile, and Chumby.

Apple does not allow Flash to run on iOS, the operating system which runs on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Apple TV. Apple stated that it had no plans to do so.[41]

In February 2012, Adobe announced it would discontinue development of Flash Player on Linux for all browsers except Google Chrome by dropping the support for NPAPI and using only Chrome’s PPAPI.[5][6]

HTML 5

All web browsers support HTML and other Web standards to various degrees.

As of March 2011 versions of browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera implement HTML5 to a large degree. However, many Internet users continue using older browsers such as Internet Explorer 8 (the highest version available to users of Windows XP), so portions of the HTML5 specification do not work with a significant fraction of browsers still in use.

Usage statistics

Flash Player usage statistics according to Adobe:

  • 85% of the most-visited web sites use[ambiguous] Flash,
  • 75% of web video is viewed using the Flash Player,
  • 98% of enterprises rely on the Flash Player, and
  • 70% of web games are made in Flash.[42]

Some video sites, including YouTube, Vimeo and blip.tv, have implemented support for HTML5 video.[43]

Vendor neutrality

Until 2008, the use of Flash was covered by restrictive licenses. The conditions prohibited use of the specification to develop any software (including players) which could render or read (and thus convert) SWF files, and required the output SWF files to be compatible with Adobe’s players.[44]

In 2008, restrictions on use of the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications were dropped, and some specifications were released.[45] However, the “SWF File Format Specification Version 10” allegedly did not contain all the needed information, did not contain much information that hasn’t been previously known by the community,[46] and itself could not be copied, printed out in more than one copy, distributed, resold or translated, without written approval of Adobe Systems Incorporated.[47]

Steve Jobs noted that Flash is not an open standard – it is controlled by Adobe Systems – whereas HTML5 is largely controlled by a committee (WHATWG) made up of three companies – Opera Software, the Mozilla Foundation, and Apple.[41]

Various people have praised Flash over the years for rendering consistently across platforms. Constructing sites in Flash is a way to prevent code forking, whereby different versions of a site are created for different browsers.[48][49]

Speaking at 'Adobe Max' in 2011, Itai Asseo likewise said that, unlike HTML 5, Flash offers a way to develop applications that work across platforms. HTML 5, he said, is currently implemented differently (if at all) by different browsers. Although the Flash browser plugin is not supported on the Apple iPhone OS, Flash applications can be exported to Adobe AIR, which runs on that operating system as a native application. In the same talk, Mr. Asseo lamented the return to another browser war (as seen in the late 1990s). If Flash falls out of favor, he said, web developers will either have to develop many different versions of their web sites and native applications to take into account different HTML 5 implementations, deny access to browsers that do not support their version of HTML, or dramatically reduce the functionality of their sites in order to deliver content to the least-advanced browser.[50]

Authoring

Constructing Flash websites using Adobe tools is relatively easier than with integrated development environments for CSS, HTML, and JavaScript;[51] however, many of Adobe's tools are expensive and proprietary software.[51]

Tools for HTML5 are just starting to come to market; in the meantime, Adobe has released a first version of a Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool for existing content[52] and are working on creating new tooling for HTML5 as well, like Adobe Edge.[53]

Because HTML5 is an open format, tools like those for Flash can be built for it, too. Applications like Hype[54] and Adobe Edge are already on the market.

Performance

See also: Performance of Adobe Flash

Some users – especially those on Mac OS X and Linux – have complained about the relatively high CPU usage of Flash for video playback.[55][unreliable source?] This was partially because the Flash plugin did not use the GPU to render video. Adobe has responded to some of those criticisms in the 10.1 and 10.2 releases of the Flash plugin by offloading H.264 video decoding to dedicated hardware and by introducing a new video API called Stage Video.[56][unreliable source?] In addition, the use of the newer ActionScript 3.0 inside Flash movies instead of the older ActionScript 2.0 improves code execution speed by a factor of around 10. But older websites that use ActionScript 2.0 will not benefit from this.[57] The software routines written by developers can also affect the performance of applications built in Flash, reasons that would affect HTML5 animations as well.[58]

An HTML vs Flash comparison in 2010, listed non-Flash technologies as being slower than Flash when used for non-video animations,[59] but in January 2012 some of them were faster.[60]

Features

Flash has the ability to specify measurements in sub-pixel increments. This can result in a crisper and generally more pleasant appearance of Flash web sites. When confronted with CSS and HTML measurements on a sub-pixel scale, web browsers will round either up or down, depending on the browser, which leads to inconsistency and unreliability in the display of those pages.[51]

Flash offers webcam support, while HTML and related technologies did not until recently.[clarification needed]

There are, however, people working on adding "device support" (device API) to the HTML5 specification, which would allow for videoconferencing, access to webcams, microphones, USB-thumbdrives and other USB- or serial devices.[61][62]

DRM

Flash includes DRM support.

HTML5 does not include any digital rights management functionality. Implementations can support DRM outside the scope of HTML, for example in codecs.[63]

Accessibility

Both Flash and HTML text can be read by screen readers. However, special care must be taken to ensure Flash movies are read correctly. For example, if a Flash movie is set to repeat indefinitely, this can cause a screen reader to repeat the content endlessly. If the user is using the WindowEyes screen reader, they can press ALT + SHIFT + M to stop the animation. Also, selecting the "Make object accessible" check box in Adobe Flash Professional will create a text-only version of the object for screen readers. It will also hide any motion from the screen reader.[64] Since Flash content is usually placed on a single webpage, it appears as a single entry in search engine result pages, unless techniques like deep linking are used with libraries like SWFAddress to provide multiple links within Flash websites and web applications.

Search engines

Both Flash content and HTML content can be indexed by Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, although bi-directional text (e.g., Hebrew) is not supported by Google.[65][66] Yahoo! added support for indexing Flash sites in 2008, although Google had been able to index them for several years before that. Bing added support for Flash sites in 2010.

iOS devices

Main article: Apple and Adobe Flash controversy

Apple has been promoting HTML5 as an alternative to Flash for video and other content on the iOS, citing performance reasons for not allowing Adobe Flash Player to be installed on iOS devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.[41][67][67] Flash applications can be packaged as native iOS applications using the Adobe Integrated Runtime and the iOS Packager.[68]

See also

References

  1. ^ Bilton, Nick (June 30, 2010). "Amazon to Introduce Web-Based Book Previews". Bits. The New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  2. ^ James Williamson (August 23, 2010). What HTML5 is (and what it isn't). HTML5 First Look (Online video). Lynda.com.
  3. ^ "HTML Current Status". World Wide Web Consortium.
  4. ^ Shankland, Stephen (February 3, 2010). "HTML vs. Flash: Can a turf war be avoided?". CNET News. Retrieved December 26, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ a b Noyes, Katherine (April 6, 2012). "For Flash on Linux, Chrome Will Be Users' Only Choice | PCWorld Business Center". Pcworld.com. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Adobe Releases Last Linux Version of Flash Player – Slashdot". Linux.slashdot.org. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e Mobile HTML5 Support, TheHTML5Test.com
  8. ^ Daniel Ionescu, "Flash Player 11.1 Arrives for Android Ice Cream Sandwich," PC World, <http://www.pcworld.com/article/246362/flash_player_11_1_arrives_for_android_ice_cream_sandwich.html> [Accessed November 16, 2012]
  9. ^ Zach Walton, "Adobe May Have Dropped Flash Support For Android, But You Don’t Have To " <http://www.webpronews.com/adobe-may-have-dropped-flash-support-for-android-but-you-dont-have-to-2012-07> [Accessed November 17, 2012]
  10. ^ a b c Console HTML5 Support, TheHTML5Test.com
  11. ^ Xbox 360 Internet Explorer Plays HTML5 Games...But Not Flash, Gamasutra
  12. ^ PS3 Receives New 4.10 Firmware Update, Browser Gets HTML5 Support, TotalRevue
  13. ^ How Netflix Uses HTML5 to Deliver Amazing User Interfaces, FunctionSource
  14. ^ Wii U’s browser is better equipped for HTML5 than Internet Explorer 10, VentureBeat
  15. ^ Nintendo: HTML5 support for Wii U browser, but no Flash, Neowin
  16. ^ Wii U browser first for HTML5 compliance, powered by Netfront?, Nintendo Nation
  17. ^ ACID Compliance, StatOwl
  18. ^ JavaScript Version Market Share, StatOwl
  19. ^ a b SVG Support, StatOwl
  20. ^ Web Browser Plugin Market Share, StatOwl
  21. ^ Flash Player Version Support, StatOwl
  22. ^ Understanding CSS Filter Effects, HTML5 Rocks
  23. ^ BitmapFilter - Adobe ActionScript 3 Reference, Adobe
  24. ^ Peter deHaan. "Embedding fonts". Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  25. ^ "Working with Text Layout Framework (TLF) text". Adobe Systems. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  26. ^ FlasCC, Adobe Gaming
  27. ^ TextField CSS styling support, Adobe LiveDocs
  28. ^ See also List of HTTP header fields#transfer-encoding-response-header.
  29. ^ Thibault Imbert. "What's new in Flash Player 11". Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  30. ^ SWF File Format Specification, Version 10 (PDF). Adobe Systems Incorporated. 2008. p. 25.
  31. ^ "Supported Codecs". Adobe Systems. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  32. ^ a b "Flash and the HTML5 <video> tag". YouTube. June 29, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  33. ^ "Firefox's HTML full-screen API". Chris Pearce. 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
  34. ^ FileReference - Adobe ActionScript 3 Reference, Adobe
  35. ^ File - Adobe ActionScript 3 Reference, Adobe
  36. ^ BitmapData - Adobe ActionScript 3 Reference, Adobe
  37. ^ ByteArray - Adobe ActionScript 3 Reference, Adobe
  38. ^ SWF File Format Specification, Version 10 (PDF). Adobe Systems Incorporated. 2008. p. 253.
  39. ^ https://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/manual/gnashref.html#runs-on
  40. ^ Svetlik, Joe (November 21, 2011). "Adobe Flash coming for ICS, not Android 5.0". CNET UK. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  41. ^ a b c Jobs, Steve (April 2010). "Thoughts on Flash". Apple Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  42. ^ "The Truth About Flash". Adobe Systemsmister geoge is cool. Retrieved January 6, 2010.[dead link]
  43. ^ Kingsley-Hughes, Adrian (January 31, 2010). "IPad Can't Play Flash Video, but It May Not Matter". The New York Times. ZDNet. Retrieved December 26, 2010. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)
  44. ^ "SWF and FLV File Format Specification License Agreement". Adobe Systems. 2007-06-27. You may not use the Specification in any way to create or develop a runtime, client, player, executable or other program that reads or renders SWF files. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-url= requires |url= (help); External link in |deadurl= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  45. ^ "Open Screen Project Press Release". Adobe Systems. 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
  46. ^ "Free Flash community reacts to Adobe Open Screen Project". {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-url= requires |url= (help); External link in |deadurl= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ "SWF File Format Specification Version 10" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-11-13.
  48. ^ Ka Wai Cheung and Craig Bryant. Flash Application Design Solutions: The Flash Usability Handbook, page 6, (Apress, 2006), <http://books.google.com/books?id=49OwlbrMc-oC&pg=PA6&dq=flash+cross+browser&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cI-hUNeJAu75igLOloGIBg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ>
  49. ^ Rob Huddleston, Flash Catalyst CS5 Bible, (Wiley, 2010) <http://books.google.com/books?id=crN1zsYwYAYC&pg=PT39&dq=flash+cross+browser&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SZKhUICyLcr2iwKh7YFo&ved=0CEkQ6wEwCA>
  50. ^ Itai Asseo. "The Death of Flash". Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  51. ^ a b c Wayner, Peter (June 2, 2010). "HTML5 vs. Flash: The case for Flash". InfoWorld. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  52. ^ "John Nack on Adobe : "Wallaby" Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool now available". Blogs.adobe.com. 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  53. ^ "Adobe previews its Edge HTML5 animation tool". Gizmag.com. 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  54. ^ Hype Features
  55. ^ "Flash – CPU Usage – FPS – Frame Rate." Online posting. 10 Dec 2008. Reader discussions, Adobe Support Forums. 10 Dec 2010. http://forums.adobe.com/thread/230334
  56. ^ Dachis, Adam (December 1, 2010). "Adobe Releases Flash 10.2 Beta, Reduces CPU Usage During Video Playback". Lifehacker. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
  57. ^ "ActionScript 3.0 overview". Adobe Systems. 2006.
  58. ^ Skinner, Grant (2010). Quick as a Flash. Adobe MAX 2010. {{cite conference}}: External link in |conferenceurl= (help); Unknown parameter |conferenceurl= ignored (|conference-url= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  59. ^ ""HTML5" versus Flash: Animation Benchmarking - HTML 5 Slower Than Flash".
  60. ^ "Flash vs HTML5 Performance (Updated January 2012)".
  61. ^ "Video Conferencing with the HTML5 Device Element". Ajaxian. 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  62. ^ "HTML Standard". Whatwg.org. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  63. ^ "FAQs - HTML Wiki". W3.org. 2011-02-22. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  64. ^ "Adobe Flash accessibility design guidelines". Adobe Systems. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  65. ^ "Flash and other rich media files". Retrieved May 21, 2011.,
  66. ^ "Google, Yahoo spiders can now crawl through Flash sites". Ars Technica. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  67. ^ a b Shankland, Stephen (April 29, 2010). "Jobs: Why Apple banned Flash from the iPhone". Deep Tech. CNET. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  68. ^ "Adobe AIR | Adobe AIR 3 | Deploy applications". Labs.adobe.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
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