Hello everyone!
Been a while!
I just read on the news that facebook might be blocking flash some day soon.
Is it the actual end of Flash?
Kind regards!
Leo.
I dunno, I heard that Avik Chaudhuri, who was one of the leads on ActionScript 4, now works at Facebook and is planning a secret Flash uprising.
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Thanks for ur reply…
I am not sure, but i feel like its really the end for this interesting language… so sad. :-/
I read that the top notch security guy at FB plans to block Flash on FB…
Here is an interesting article about it…
To be fair, I do think Flash has run it’s course.
It was/is an amazing technology, but it no longer brings much to the table that HTML5 and Javascript can’t do.
And with iDevices not supporting it, i’m surprised it has lasted this long.
However, I don’t think it is the end of Actionscript. I think we are about to see Adobe pour more work into the FLEX framework.
The framework may just turn into one of the most powerful App development tools. Of course it always has been just managed code and a compiler. Still if Adobe adds the ability to package self contained Desktop Apps who knows!
Thanks for ur reply.
I had lots of fun with Flash… I began with Flash8… back in the days.
Its sad to see it going… leaving. So much time and resources invested.
Well, looks like its time to move, for good, to a new technology…
I am not sure if HTML5 and JS can mimic Flash or even overtake it.
What would happen to all those games running on Facebook at the moment? Will they all be
translated to HTML5 and JS ?
Questions…
HTML5 and Javascript can and will Overtake flash (and hopefully Java) in fact there are already frameworks for designing web based games in HTML5. Good website to see some examples of HTML5 Games
Here are a few HTML5 Game frameworks:
- Play Canvas - Their header is really nice 3D rendering powered by their framework. (Click and drag it)
- LimeJS (Github)
- voxel.js - Mostly Minecraft clones
- Phaser - Really Promising with tons of code examples
Facebook games are not developed by facebook themselves, and I don’t honestly think facebook cares one way or the other, its up to the third party developers to translate them from flash.
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There are multiple downsides to HTML5 when comparing it to flash. The main one I don’t see a solution to in the near future is protecting proprietary code. I work for a large corporation that provides live-video games to users via the browser and flash is the best solution currently available with the fullest feature set. We are the industry leader, so the business is obviously interested in protecting the code so that the competition can’t just copy and paste it to instantly catch up. I don’t see how HTML5 would solve this problem, it would only aggravate it.
On the topic of flash dying, I don’t see it happening anytime soon. There is just too much good flash content out there that people want to consume, you can’t just remove support for a technology that is so widely used.
The best solution would probably be a non-proprietary playback mechanism for swf files that could be browser-native with time, and there are multiple projects working on exactly that. Once one of these has most of the feature set covered flash might go on to never die.
Hello Karlis, Birdwing
Thanks for ur replies.
Karlis,
Thats an interesting topic… what would happen to all those apps running out there in case Flash is eventually
blocked by main browsers and platforms like FB?
Another topic would be how to protect client side code? Flash, even though with some limitations, was able to do it. How could HTML5 and JS do it?
The deeper i dig looking for answers, i can only find more questions…
Apple did it with its devices, if Facebook possibly one of the most traffic heavy internet sites on a daily basis drops it that will be another huge hit to Flash. All companies have to do is not support it and Flash will die simple as that.
I moved to HTML5 and JS 7 years ago to avoid getting left behind it has paid off in how my career has progressed, I still have my Flash knowledge it actually helped transitioning into JS much easier.
I’ve inherited a Flash iPad app and I’ve had no issues getting back into Flash, the knowledge gained stays with you there’s nothing wrong with accepting Flash has run its course and adopt and learn other things.
You owe it to yourself to keep learning and improving your skills on a daily basis if you want to stay relevant in this field.
Good luck.
Any code that you want protected can be proprietary server side code. If you set up the permissions properly then even HTML, CSS, and Javascript files cannot be accessed directly by a browser and only through a call to the server. (Node JS is capable of doing this)
Using AJAX with javascript, you can store any proprietary code in these protected files and call the methods in them through the server returning just the results to the browser. So in the end the only code someone would be able to steal is the wrapper code calling the functions.
To be fair the only code out of HTML, CSS, and Javascript worth protecting is the Javascript.
HTML is just a markup language, there is no proprietary way of doing HTML. Just by looking at a site it is easy to determine how it was coded in HTML, or at least make something exactly identical. CSS is the same way.
The powerhouse, in games anyway is the javascript, which is protect-able.
Or perhaps, give developers a way to tell web browsers not to let people open the JS files.
Of course you have the issue of people finding a way to disable that feature in a web browser, but then again there always have been ways to decompile swf files back into flash files. They may not have been perfect, but they did enough of a job to give people headaches.
This second post of yours was a nice attempt to cover up the SPAM of your first post, however…
The latest update to Flash Professional CC includes support for the new HTML5 Canvas document type.
This update you speak of was released in 2013, Flash Pro CC 13.1.
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I think, HTML5 will overtake …
I think one thing is for certain, a lot of the poor developers whom tarnished Flashs potential and public opinion seem to be working as web developers now. Seems like everyday I visit a site proliferated with non Flash items that cause more congestion and performance issues than correctly written Flash ever would (most of which are main stream news outlets).
It really had nothing to do with flash being easier. It’s just terrible business practice.
People nowadays will do anything for a quick buck. I wonder how many ad clicks are accidental nowadays.
With certain companies designing their ads to look like they are part of the site they appear on …
I really like what Ad block plus is doing. By allowing non intrusive advertising and only targeting the annoying ad companies they are forcing the companies to use better business tactics.
Although someone will figure a way to mess it all up.
Over the years, I simply stopped going to sites that are filled with performance degrading banners, sounds, videos, and other doo-dads. Some like Facebook I tolerate because of how useful the News Feed is despite having all of the “noise” that I just complained about
