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{{short description|None}}
{{Update|date=February 2022|reason=Flash is no longer supported}}
Modern [[HTML5]] has feature-parity with the now-obsolete [[Adobe Flash]].<ref name="nyt_amazon">{{cite web
|title=Amazon to Introduce Web-Based Book Previews
|last=Bilton
|first=Nick
|work=Bits
|publisher=
|url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/amazon-to-launch-web-based-book-previews/
|date=June 30, 2010
|
}}</ref> Both include features
As of December 31, 2020, Adobe no longer supports Flash Player. As of January 12, 2021, they have blocked Flash content from running in Flash Player.
The [[HTML5]] specification does not itself define ways to do animation and interactivity within web pages.<ref name="williamson">{{cite video
|people=James Williamson
|title=What HTML5 is (and what it isn't)
|work=HTML5 First Look
|publisher=Lynda.com
|date=August 23, 2010
|medium=Online video
|url=http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=67161
}}</ref> "HTML5" in this article sometimes refers not only to the [[HTML5]] specification, but to HTML5 and related standards like [[SVG]], [[JavaScript]] and [[CSS 3]].
Animation via 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 browser]]s.
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
!
! [[HTML5]] standard
! HTML [[web browser]] features
! [[Adobe Flash]]/[[Adobe AIR|AIR]] features
|-
! Date started
| Work began in 2003 <br/> Working Draft as of 2011<ref>{{cite web
|title=HTML Current Status
|date=21 December 2023
|publisher=[[World Wide Web Consortium]]
|url=http://www.w3.org/standards/techs/html#w3c_all
}}</ref>
| {{n/a}}
| Work began in 1996 <br/> Version 1 released in 1997
|-
! Desktop operating systems
| {{n/a}}
| {{yes|[[AmigaOS]], [[MorphOS]], Apple [[macOS]], [[Linux]], [[Microsoft Windows]]}}
| {{yes| Apple [[macOS]], [[Linux]], [[Microsoft Windows]]}}
|-
! Mobile operating systems
| {{n/a}}
| {{yes|
* [[Android (operating system)|Android]] 2.3 and newer<ref name="html5phones">[http://html5test.com/results/mobile.html Mobile HTML5 Support] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708054431/http://html5test.com/results/mobile.html |date=2013-07-08 }}, TheHTML5Test.com</ref>
* Apple [[iOS]] 6 and newer<ref name="html5phones"/>
* [[ChromeOS]]
* [[Symbian]] Belle<ref name="html5phones"/>
* [[BlackBerry]] OS 7 and 10<ref name="html5phones"/>
* [[Windows Phone]] 7 and newer<ref name="html5phones"/>|}}
| {{terminated|<!-- Please do NOT specify unofficial versions! -->
* [[Android (operating system)|Android]] 2.1 to 4.1<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Daniel |last=Ionescu |title=Flash Player 11.1 Arrives for Android Ice Cream Sandwich |magazine=PC World |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/246362/flash_player_11_1_arrives_for_android_ice_cream_sandwich.html |access-date= November 16, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Zach |last=Walton |title=Adobe May Have Dropped Flash Support For Android, But You Don't Have To |date=26 July 2012 |url=http://www.webpronews.com/adobe-may-have-dropped-flash-support-for-android-but-you-dont-have-to-2012-07 |access-date= November 17, 2012}}</ref>
* Apple [[iOS]] (Adobe AIR only)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1679699|title=1/13/2015 - Release - AIR 16 Runtime and SDK - Adobe Community|website=forums.adobe.com|date=13 January 2015}}</ref>
* [[BlackBerry 10]] (up to OS 10.3.0)<ref>{{cite web |title=BlackBerry Knowledge Base explains the removal of Adobe Flash from OS 10.3.1 |date=30 December 2014 |publisher=Crackberry |url=http://crackberry.com/blackberrys-official-comments-removal-adobe-flash-os-1031 |access-date= January 25, 2015}}</ref>
* [[BlackBerry Tablet OS]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Adobe enables 3D games with Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 - Major advancements for gaming, media and more |date=21 September 2011 |publisher=Crackberry |url=http://crackberry.com/adobe-enables-3d-games-flash-player-11-air-3 |access-date= January 25, 2015}}</ref>
* [[Windows RT]]
|}}
|-
! [[Video game console]]s
| {{n/a}}
| {{yes|
* [[PlayStation]] ([[PlayStation 4|PS4]], [[PlayStation 3|PS3]] and [[PlayStation Vita|PS Vita]])<ref name="html5consoles"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://totalrevue.com/ps3-receives-4-10-firmware-update-browser-html5-support/ |title=totalrevue.com |publisher=totalrevue.com |url-status=dead |access-date=2014-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074842/http://totalrevue.com/ps3-receives-4-10-firmware-update-browser-html5-support/ |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://functionsource.com/post/netflix-feature |title=FunctionSource: Coping with over Four Hundred Devices: How Netflix Uses HTML5 to Deliver Amazing User Interfaces |access-date=2012-11-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124131418/http://functionsource.com/post/netflix-feature |archive-date=2013-01-24 }}</ref>
* [[Nintendo Switch]] and [[Wii U]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neowin.net/news/nintendo-html5-support-for-wii-u-browser-but-no-flash |title=Nintendo: HTML5 support for Wii U browser, but no Flash |publisher=Neowin |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nintendo-nation.net/wii-u-browser-html5/ |title=Wii U browser first for HTML5 compliance, powered by Netfront? |publisher=Nintendo Nation.net |date=2012-11-02 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref><ref name="html5consoles">{{cite web|url=http://html5test.com/results/gaming.html |title=How well does your browser support HTML5? |publisher=HTML5test |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/11/01/wii-us-browser-is-better-at-html5-than-internet-explorer-10-on-pc/ |title=Wii U's browser is better equipped for HTML5 than Internet Explorer 10 on PC | GamesBeat | Games | by Jeff Grubb |publisher=Venturebeat.com |date=2012-11-01 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>
* [[Nintendo 3DS]] family (partial)<ref name="html5consoles"/>
* [[Xbox One]] and [[Xbox 360]]<ref name="html5consoles"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/SteveFulton/20121023/179970/Xbox_360_Internet_Explorer_Plays_HTML5_GamesBut_Not_Flash.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025233632/http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/SteveFulton/20121023/179970/Xbox_360_Internet_Explorer_Plays_HTML5_GamesBut_Not_Flash.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |title=Steve Fulton's Blog - Xbox 360 Internet Explorer Plays HTML5 Games...But Not Flash |website=Gamasutra |date=2012-10-23 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>
|}}
| {{terminated|
* [[PlayStation 3]] (Flash 9.1) and [[PlayStation Portable|PSP]] (Flash 6)
* [[Wii]] (Flash Lite 3.1, equivalent to Flash 8)
* [[Leapster]] (Flash 5 for games)
* Dreamcast (Flash 4)
}}
|-
! Device support
| {{n/a}}
| colspan="2" {{yes|Full, permission-based access to [[web camera]], [[microphone]], [[accelerometer]] and [[GPS]]}}
|-
! Market penetration
| {{n/a}}
| {{depends|82.3% of websites (as of March 28, 2020)}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Usage statistics of HTML5 for websites|url=https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/ml-html5|access-date=2020-03-28|archive-date=2020-03-28|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200328164022/https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/ml-html5|url-status=live|work=W3Techs|publisher=Q-Success}}</ref>
| {{Terminated|4.5% of websites (as of April 19, 2018)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cimpanu |first1=Catalin |title=Flash Used on 5% of All Websites, Down From 28.5% Seven Years Ago |url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/flash-used-on-5-percent-of-all-websites-down-from-285-percent-seven-years-ago/ |website=BleepingComputer |access-date=August 12, 2019 |date=April 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324114257/https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/flash-used-on-5-percent-of-all-websites-down-from-285-percent-seven-years-ago/|url-status=live|archive-date=2020-03-24}}</ref>}}
|-
! Browser support
| {{n/a}}
| {{yes|97.5% of browser installations (as of February 2020)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.w3counter.com/trends|publisher=Awio Web Services|work=W3Counter|access-date=2020-03-28|url-status=live|archive-date=2020-03-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307212036/https://www.w3counter.com/trends|title=Web Browser Usage Trends}}</ref>}}
| {{depends|29% of browser installations (as of July 2019)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/pictures/2019s-tech-security-and-authentication-trends/2/|last=Cimpanu|first=Catalin|access-date=2020-03-28|title=Adobe Flash Player market share going down|date=2019-07-16|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|work=[[ZDNet]]|url-status=live|archive-date=2020-03-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309173918/https://www.zdnet.com/pictures/2019s-tech-security-and-authentication-trends/2/}}</ref>}}
|-
! Vector graphics formats
| {{n/a}}
| {{yes|[[Scalable Vector Graphics]] (SVG) supported on ~97% of browsers<ref name="caniusesvg">{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/svg|title=Can I use SVG|website=caniuse.com}}</ref>}}
| {{yes|[[SWF]] with embedded graphics and AS3SVGRenderer}}
|-
! Bitmap effects
| {{yes}}
| {{yes|90+%<ref name="caniusefilters">{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/css-filters|title=Can I use CSS Filter Effects|website=caniuse.com}}</ref> support of Filters in CSS3 (e.g. Glow, Blur, Drop Shadow, Sepia)<ref>{{cite web|last=Danilo |first=Alex |url=http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/filters/understanding-css/ |title=Understanding CSS Filter Effects |publisher=HTML5 Rocks |date=2012-05-25 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>}}
| {{yes}}, applied to text or graphics (e.g. Glow, Drop Shadow, Bevel)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/filters/BitmapFilter.html |title=BitmapFilter - Adobe ActionScript 3 (AS3 ) API Reference |publisher=Help.adobe.com |date=2014-05-28 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>
|-
! Vector text display
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}, with [[Saffron Type System]]
|-
! Font support
| {{n/a}}
| {{yes|Installed fonts and custom fonts using [[Web typography|CSS 3 web fonts]]}}
| {{yes|Installed fonts and embedded fonts}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Peter deHaan|title=Embedding fonts.|url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/quickstart/embedding_fonts.html|access-date=July 23, 2012}}</ref>
|-
! Text [[Spatial anti-aliasing|anti-aliasing]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{yes}}, implemented in most browsers, for system and custom fonts
| {{yes}}, in most cases{{efn|name=note2}}
|-
! Text [[tab stop]]s
| {{no}}
| {{depends|Only supported inside "pre" tags}}
| {{yes}}, with Text Layout Framework
|-
! Liquid text layout
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}, via "div" tag and CSS styling
| {{depends|No, but text fields can be resized in ActionScript}}
|-
! Tabular data
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}, via "table" tag
| {{depends|No, but text fields can be arranged into a grid}}
|-
! Linked text frames{{efn|name=note1}}
| {{depends|{{As of|2016}}, two specifications compete: CSS Regions<ref>{{cite web|publisher=W3C|title=CSS Regions|url=http://www.w3.org/TR/css-regions-1/|access-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref> and CSS Overflow<ref>{{cite web|publisher=W3C|title=CSS Overflow|url=https://drafts.csswg.org/css-overflow/|access-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref>}}
| {{depends|With CSS Regions, supported by Safari, IE11 and Edge}}<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Can I Use...|title=CSS Regions|url=http://caniuse.com/css-regions|access-date=February 12, 2016}}</ref>
| {{yes}}, with Text Layout Framework<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Adobe Systems|title=Working with Text Layout Framework (TLF) text|url=http://help.adobe.com/en_US/flash/cs/using/WSb03e830bd6f770ee-4b0db644124bbdb363d-8000.html#WSb03e830bd6f770ee39dfeb5a12f0e142ade-7fff|access-date=July 22, 2012}}</ref>
|-
! Programming languages
| {{depends}}
| {{yes|[[JavaScript]]}}
| {{yes|[[ActionScript]], [[Adobe Pixel Bender|Pixel Bender]]}}
|-
! [[C++]] support
| {{yes|Cross-compiling C++ code to JavaScript via [[Emscripten]]}}
| {{yes|Supported with [[WebAssembly]]}}
| {{yes|Cross-compiling C++ code to run in Flash Player via FlasCC<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gaming.adobe.com/technologies/flascc/ |title=Game creation software with Flash | Adobe Gaming |publisher=Gaming.adobe.com |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref> AIR has AIR Native Extensions that allow loading native code, such as compiled C++ code.}}
|-
! Code delivery format
| Plaintext
| Plaintext JavaScript with limited [[obfuscation]], [[WebAssembly]] [[bytecode]], [[GLSL]] for GPUs, in [[Canvas element]]s
| [[Compiler|Compiled]] [[bytecode]], can be obfuscated
|-
! Data formats
| {{depends}}
| {{yes|[[CSS]] 3, [[HTML]], [[XML]], [[JSON]]}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/json |title=Browser-native |publisher=Caniuse.com |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>
| {{yes|[[JSON]], [[XML]], Subset of [[CSS]] 1}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/text/StyleSheet.html |title=StyleSheet - Adobe ActionScript 3 (AS3 ) API Reference |publisher=Help.adobe.com |date=2014-05-28 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>
|-
! Data compression
| {{no}}
| {{yes|[[GZIP]] compression for HTML, JS and CSS files<ref>{{cite web|url=http://schroepl.net/projekte/mod_gzip/browser.htm |title=Which browsers can handle Content-Encoding: gzip ? |publisher=schroepl.net |date=2003-03-11 |access-date=2017-04-02}}</ref>}}
| {{yes|[[LZMA]] or [[DEFLATE]] for SWF files}}
|-
! Image formats
| {{depends}}
| {{yes|[[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]], [[JPEG]], [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]], Animated [[Graphics Interchange Format|GIF]]}}<!-- scripts to render WebP via WebM support exist --><ref group="note">SVG may be used by several ways: it may be included into an html source code or be linked as an image source to be displayed (e.g. in <syntaxhighlight lang="html" inline><img ... /></syntaxhighlight> tag);</ref><ref name=":w3.org:svg standard" />
| {{yes|[[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]], [[JPEG]], [[JPEG-XR]], Single-frame [[Graphics Interchange Format|GIF]]}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Thibault Imbert|title=What's new in Flash Player 11|url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/whats-new-flash-player11.html|access-date=July 23, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|publisher=Adobe Systems Incorporated|title=SWF File Format Specification, Version 10|year=2008|page=25|url=https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf|access-date=2014-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131083755/http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf|archive-date=2012-01-31|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! Video formats
| {{depends}}
| {{yes|90+% support of [[H.264]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/mpeg4 |title=Can I use the MPEG-4/H.264 video format? |publisher=Caniuse.com |access-date=2016-02-12}}</ref> varying support of [[WebM]] and [[Ogg Theora]] (see [[HTML video]])}}
| {{yes|H.264, [[Sorenson Spark]], and [[VP6|On2 VP6]]}}<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Adobe Systems|title=Supported Codecs|url=http://helpx.adobe.com/flash/kb/supported-codecs-flash-player.html|access-date=July 29, 2012}}</ref>
|-
! Streaming video
| {{yes}}<ref>{{cite web|author=W3C|title=Media Source Extensions|url=http://www.w3.org/TR/media-source/|access-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref>
| {{yes|Supported by IE, Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera.}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Can I Use...|title=Media Source Extensions|url=http://caniuse.com/mediasource|access-date=October 1, 2015}}</ref>
| {{yes|[[Flash Video]], [[H.264]] and partial support for [[MP4]]}}
|-
! Audio formats
| {{depends}}
| {{yes|~94% support of [[MP3]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/mp3 |title=Can I use MP3 audio format? |publisher=Caniuse.com |access-date=2016-02-12}}</ref> [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/aac |title=Can I use AAC audio file format? |publisher=Caniuse.com |access-date=2016-02-12}}</ref> and [[WAV]] [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]]; varying support of [[Ogg]] [[Vorbis]], and [[WebM Project|WebM]] [[Vorbis]] (see [[HTML audio]])}}<!-- future: Opus -->
| {{yes|[[MP3]], [[WAV]] and [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]] audio files or embedded sound}}
|-
! Fullscreen support
| {{yes}}<ref>{{cite web|author=WHATWG|title=Full Screen API Standard|url=https://fullscreen.spec.whatwg.org|access-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref>
| {{yes|Supported on all major desktop browsers, with warning displayed.<ref>{{cite web|author=Can I Use...|title=Full Screen API|url=http://caniuse.com/#feat=fullscreen|access-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref> Not yet widely supported on mobile}}
| {{yes}}, with warning displayed
|-
! Encryption [[Digital rights management|DRM]]
| {{depends}}
| {{depends|~65% support of audio/video files.<ref name="caniuseeme">{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/eme|title=Can I use Encrypted Media Extensions|website=caniuse.com}}</ref> All other files being plaintext, except for obfuscation}}
| {{depends|No, binary formatted files can be decompiled, which is obfuscation}}
|-
! [[File system]] access
| {{depends}}
| {{yes|Single file upload, and [[drag and drop]] of files onto browser<ref name="caniusefile">{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/fileapi|title=Can I use File API|website=caniuse.com}}</ref>}}
| {{yes|Support for single file upload and generation,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/net/FileReference.html |title=FileReference - Adobe ActionScript 3 (AS3 ) API Reference |publisher=Help.adobe.com |date=2014-05-28 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref><br/> AIR only: full create/read/write access to file system<ref>{{cite web|url=http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/filesystem/File.html |title=File - Adobe ActionScript 3 (AS3 ) API Reference |publisher=Help.adobe.com |date=2014-05-28 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>}}
|-
! Bitmap manipulation
| {{depends}}
| {{yes|~95% support for canvas element<ref name="caniusecanvas">{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/canvas|title=Can I use the HTML5 canvas element|website=caniuse.com}}</ref>}}
| {{yes}}, via BitmapData class<ref>{{cite web|url=http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/display/BitmapData.html |title=BitmapData - Adobe ActionScript 3 (AS3 ) API Reference |publisher=Help.adobe.com |date=2014-05-28 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>
|-
! Binary manipulation
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}, via JavaScript Typed Arrays<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caniuse.com/#feat=typedarrays|title=Typed Arrays|author=Can I Use...|access-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref>
| {{yes}}, via ByteArray class<ref>{{cite web|url=http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/utils/ByteArray.html |title=ByteArray - Adobe ActionScript 3 (AS3 ) API Reference |publisher=Help.adobe.com |date=2014-05-28 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>
|-
! [[Binary large object|Large binary data]]
| {{no}}
| {{yes|Via Web Sockets to stream binary or other data}}
| {{yes}}, embedded or streaming binary data<ref>{{Cite book|publisher=Adobe Systems Incorporated|title=SWF File Format Specification, Version 10|year=2008|page=253|url=https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf|access-date=2014-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131083755/http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf|archive-date=2012-01-31|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! Offline storage
| {{depends}}
| {{yes}}, via [[Web storage]], [[HTTP cookie]], or [[Indexed DB]] to store binary, XML or JSON data<ref>{{cite web|title=localStore|author=Can I Use...|url=http://caniuse.com/#search=localstorage|access-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref>
| {{yes}}, via [[Local Shared Object]]s to store [[Action Message Format|AMF]]-formatted data
|-
! Metadata
| {{yes|[[Meta tag]]s}}
| {{yes|Can be included in [[meta tag]]s}}
| {{yes|[[Extensible Metadata Platform]]}}
|}
===Notes===
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=note1|Allows text to overflow into other text boxes, useful for [[desktop publishing]].}}
{{efn|name=note2|Static text created via [[Adobe Flash Professional|Flash editor]] is automatically embedded and anti-aliased. Text fields created via ActionScript need fonts to be manually embedded for anti-aliasing to work.}}
}}
==Comparison==
=== Software support ===
==== Flash ====
Originally, web browsers could not render Flash media themselves, and required the [[proprietary software|proprietary]] freeware plugin [[Adobe Flash Player]]. Until 2008, there was no official specification by which to create an alternative player. Alternative players were developed before 2008, but they supported Flash to a lesser degree than the official one.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/manual/gnashref.html#runs-on |title=Gnash Reference Manual |publisher=Gnu.org |date=2008-05-18 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref> Flash support was built into [[Google Chrome]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2010/03/dev-channel-update_30.html|title=Integrated Adobe Flash Player Plug-in|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131084726/http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.cz/2010/03/dev-channel-update_30.html|archive-date=2013-01-31|work=Chrome team blog}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.chromium.org/2012/08/the-road-to-safer-more-stable-and.html|title=Porting Flash to sandboxed PPAPI platform|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725110647/https://blog.chromium.org/2012/08/the-road-to-safer-more-stable-and.html|archive-date=2018-07-25|work=Official Chromium Blog}}</ref> [[Internet Explorer 10]] (and later),<ref>{{cite web|title=Flash Player issues | Windows 8|url=https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-issues-windows-8.html|publisher=Adobe Systems|access-date=2016-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210445/https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-issues-windows-8.html|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Flash Player Issues | Windows 10 | Internet Explorer|url=https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-issues-windows-10-ie.html|publisher=Adobe Systems|access-date=2016-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210544/https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-issues-windows-10-ie.html|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Microsoft Edge]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Flash Player issues | Windows 10 | Microsoft Edge|url=https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-issues-windows-10-edge.html|publisher=Adobe Systems|access-date=2016-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210517/https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-issues-windows-10-edge.html|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=live}}</ref>
The last version of the Adobe Flash Player ran on [[Microsoft Windows]], Apple [[macOS]], [[Research In Motion|RIM]], [[QNX]] and [[Google TV (operating system)|Google TV]].
Earlier versions ran on [[Android (operating system)|Android]] 2.2-4.0.x (Flash was released for 4.0, but Adobe discontinued support for Android 4.1 and higher.<ref name="Adobe Flash coming for ICS, not Android 5.0">{{cite journal
|last=Svetlik
|first=Joe
|title=Adobe Flash coming for ICS, not Android 5.0
|publisher=[[CNET UK]]
|url=http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/adobe-flash-coming-for-ics-not-android-5-0-50006177/
|date=November 21, 2011
|access-date=February 22, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122211514/http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/adobe-flash-coming-for-ics-not-android-5-0-50006177/
|archive-date=November 22, 2011
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>) (Flash 11.2), [[Linux]] (Flash 11.2, except for Pepper Flash which is maintained and distributed by Google, not Adobe), [[PlayStation 3]] (Flash 9), and [[PlayStation Portable]] (Flash 6). [[Adobe Flash Lite]] ran on [[Wii]], [[Symbian]], [[Maemo]] Linux, [[Windows Mobile]], and [[Chumby]].
Apple never allowed Flash to run on [[iOS]], the operating system which runs on [[iPad]], [[iPhone]], [[iPod Touch]] and [[Apple TV]].<ref name="thoughtsFlash"/> Apple officially dropped support for Adobe Flash from the macOS version of Safari 14 released on September 17, 2020 for macOS 10.14 Mojave & macOS 10.15 Catalina.
In February 2012, Adobe announced it would discontinue development of Flash Player on Linux for all browsers, except Google Chrome, by dropping support for [[NPAPI]] and using only Chrome's [[PPAPI]].<ref name="pcworld-linux-ppapi">{{cite web|last=Noyes |first=Katherine |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/250455/for_flash_on_linux_chrome_will_be_users_only_choice.html |title=For Flash on Linux, Chrome Will Be Users' Only Choice | PCWorld Business Center |publisher=Pcworld.com |date=April 6, 2012 |access-date=April 10, 2012}}</ref><ref name="slashdot-linux-ppapi">{{cite web |url=http://linux.slashdot.org/story/12/03/31/1417245/adobe-releases-last-linux-version-of-flash-player |title=Adobe Releases Last Linux Version of Flash Player – Slashdot |publisher=Linux.slashdot.org |access-date=April 10, 2012 }}</ref> In August 2016, Adobe announced that, beginning with version 24, it would resume offering of Flash Player for Linux for other browsers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.adobe.com/flashplayer/2016/08/beta-news-flash-player-npapi-for-linux.html |work=Adobe AIR and Adobe Flash Player Team Blog |title=Beta News – Flash Player NPAPI for Linux |date=August 31, 2016 |access-date=November 17, 2016 }}</ref> Adobe stopped traditional support for the Flash platform in 2020 and both Firefox and Google Chrome phased out support of Flash.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bubbleshooter.net/blog/2019/12/05/the-end-of-flash/ | title=The end of Flash – Bubble Shooter Blog }}</ref>
==== HTML5 ====
Almost all web browsers support [[HTML]] and other [[Web standards]] to various degree. Adobe released a tool that converts Flash to [[HTML5]],<ref>{{cite web|website=Adobe.com|url=https://www.adobe.com/products/flash/flash-to-html5.html |title=Flash to HTML5: Learn more about the CreateJS toolkit}}</ref> and in June 2011, Google released an experimental tool that does the same.<ref>{{cite web|website=Google Labs|url=http://swiffy.googlelabs.com|title=Google Swiffy|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904140637/http://swiffy.googlelabs.com/|archive-date=2011-09-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=Linked In Groups: HTML5 Technologies |url=https://www.linkedin.com/groups/Google-just-announced-SWF-HTML5-2868882.S.59811646|title=Google just announced a SWF to HTML5 converter|author=L., Maxime}}</ref>
<!-- need to replace this with list of browser HTML5 compatibility -->{{As of|2013|12}}, versions of browsers such as [[Google Chrome|Chrome]], [[Firefox]], [[Internet Explorer]], [[Opera (web browser)|Opera]], and [[Safari (web browser)|Safari]] implement HTML5 to a considerable degree. However, some portions of the HTML5 specification were still being implemented by browser makers.
As of January 2015, [[YouTube]] defaults to HTML5 players to better support more devices. HTML5 needs less processing power making it run faster on all browsers. The [[multimedia]] integration with HTML5 is quite easy and creates better support for live video [[Streaming media|streaming]] on mobile devices also.<ref>{{cite web|work=YouTube Engineering and Developers Blog|title=YouTube now defaults to HTML5 <video>|url=https://youtube-eng.googleblog.com/2015/01/youtube-now-defaults-to-html5_27.html|access-date=2018-11-03|archive-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910204225/https://youtube-eng.googleblog.com/2015/01/youtube-now-defaults-to-html5_27.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== 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.<ref>{{cite web
| title=SWF and FLV File Format Specification License Agreement
| publisher=Adobe Systems
| date=2007-06-27
| quote=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.| access-date=2008-01-05 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071222125858/http://www.adobe.com/licensing/developer/fileformat/license/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-12-22
| url=https://www.adobe.com/licensing/developer/fileformat/license/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->}}</ref>
In 2008, restrictions on use of the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications were dropped, and some specifications were released.<ref>{{cite web
| title=Open Screen Project Press Release
| url=https://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200804/050108AdobeOSP.html | publisher=Adobe Systems
| date=2008-05-01
| access-date=2008-05-01}}</ref> However, the "SWF File Format Specification Version 10" allegedly did not contain all the needed information, did not contain much information that hadn't been previously known by the community,<ref name="stillpartlyclosed">{{cite web
|title = Free Flash community reacts to Adobe Open Screen Project
|access-date = 2008-11-29
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080928202954/http://www.openmedianow.org/?q=node%2F21
|archive-date = 2008-09-28
|url = http://www.openmedianow.org/?q=node/21
|url-status = usurped
}}</ref> and itself could not be copied, printed out in more than one copy, distributed, resold or translated, without written approval of Adobe Systems Incorporated.<ref name="swf10spec">{{cite web | title = SWF File Format Specification Version 10 | url = https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf | access-date = 2012-11-13 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120131083755/http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf | archive-date = 2012-01-31 | url-status = dead }}</ref>
Flash was not an [[open standard]]. It was controlled by one firm, [[Adobe Systems]]. In contrast, HTML5 is controlled mostly by a committee, the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group ([[WHATWG]]).<ref name="thoughtsFlash">{{cite web|last=Jobs|first=Steve|authorlink=Steve Jobs|date=April 29, 2010|title=Thoughts on Flash|url=https://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615060422/https://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/|archive-date=June 15, 2017|accessdate=March 24, 2022|website=[[Apple Inc.]]}}</ref>
Various people have praised Flash over the years for rendering consistently across platforms. Constructing sites in Flash was a way to prevent [[Fork (software development)|''code forking'']], whereby different versions of a site are created for different browsers.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ka Wai Cheung and Craig Bryant |title=Flash Application Design Solutions: The Flash Usability Handbook |page= 6 |publisher=Apress |year= 2006 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=49OwlbrMc-oC&q=flash+cross+browser&pg=PA6|isbn=9781590595947 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Rob |last=Huddleston |title=Flash Catalyst CS5 Bible |publisher=Wiley |year= 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=crN1zsYwYAYC&q=flash+cross+browser&pg=PT39|isbn=9780470767948 }}</ref>
Speaking at 'Adobe Max' in 2011, Itai Asseo likewise said that, unlike HTML5, Flash offers a way to develop applications that work across platforms. HTML5, 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 HTML5 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.<ref>{{cite web|author=Itai Asseo|title=The Death of Flash|url=http://tv.adobe.com/watch/max-2011-envision/the-death-of-flash/|access-date=November 19, 2011}}</ref>
=== Authoring ===
Constructing Flash websites using Adobe tools is relatively easier than with integrated development environments for CSS, HTML, and JavaScript;<ref name="caseFlash">{{cite magazine
|last=Wayner
|first=Peter
|title=HTML5 vs. Flash: The case for Flash
|magazine=[[InfoWorld]]
|date=June 2, 2010
|url=http://www.infoworld.com/d/developer-world/html5-vs-flash-the-case-flash-721?page=0,1
|access-date=January 5, 2011
}}</ref> however, many of Adobe's tools are expensive and [[proprietary software]].<ref name=caseFlash/>
In 2011 Adobe released a Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool for existing content<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2011/03/wallaby-flash-to-html5-conversion-tool-now-available.html |title=John Nack on Adobe : "Wallaby" Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool now available |publisher=Blogs.adobe.com |date=2011-03-07 |access-date=2012-06-18}}</ref>
Because HTML5 is an open format, tools like those for Flash can be built for it, too. Applications like [[Hype (software)|Hype]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tumultco.com/hype/features/ |title=Hype Features |publisher=Tumultco.com |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref> and [[Adobe Edge]] are already on the market.
=== Performance ===
{{see also|Adobe Flash#Performance}}
Flash had a better performance than HTML according to a comparison of Flash with HTML in 2010 which listed Flash as being faster than the other technologies, when used for non-video animations, although they are catching up.<ref>{{cite web|title="HTML5" versus Flash: Animation Benchmarking|url=http://themaninblue.com/writing/perspective/2010/03/22/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Flash vs HTML5 Performance (Updated January 2012)|url=http://pacoup.com/2011/02/03/flash-vs-html5-performance/|access-date=2012-11-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017051052/http://pacoup.com/2011/02/03/flash-vs-html5-performance/|archive-date=2012-10-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Some users, more so those on [[macOS]] and [[Linux]], complained about the relatively high [[CPU time|CPU usage]] of Flash for video playback.<ref>"Flash – CPU Usage – FPS – Frame Rate." [http://forums.adobe.com/thread/230334 Online posting. 10 December 2008. Reader discussions, Adobe Support Forums. 10 December 2010]</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=December 2010}} 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.<ref>{{cite web
|last=Dachis
|first=Adam
|title=Adobe Releases Flash 10.2 Beta, Reduces CPU Usage During Video Playback
|date=December 1, 2010
|publisher=[[Lifehacker]]
|url=http://lifehacker.com/5702983/adobe-releases-flash-102-beta-reduces-cpu-usage-during-video-playback |access-date=December 27, 2010
}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}} 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.<ref>{{cite web
|title=ActionScript 3.0 overview
|publisher=[[Adobe Systems]]
|date=27 Jun 2006
|url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/actionscript/articles/actionscript3_overview.html
}}</ref> The software routines written by developers can also affect the performance of applications built in Flash, reasons that would affect HTML5 animations as well.<ref>{{cite conference
|last=Skinner
|first=Grant
|title=Quick as a Flash
|conference=Adobe MAX 2010
|conference-url=http://2010.max.adobe.com/
|date=October 2010
|url=http://2010.max.adobe.com/schedule/by-session/quick-as-a-flash/471c495b-7ddf-4c0c-936b-609916f11e85
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707084117/http://2010.max.adobe.com/schedule/by-session/quick-as-a-flash/471c495b-7ddf-4c0c-936b-609916f11e85
|archive-date=2011-07-07
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
=== DRM ===
Flash included [[digital rights management|DRM]] support. The main HTML 5 standard does not include any [[digital rights management]] functionality directly, instead the [[Encrypted Media Extensions]] (EME) specification describes [[API|application interface]] (API) for communication channel between web browsers and digital rights management (DRM) agent software.
Historically, before EME introduction implementations could support DRM, for example in [[codec]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.w3.org/html/wiki/FAQs#Is_there_support_for_digital_rights_management_.28DRM.29_in_HTML5_video.3F |title=FAQs - HTML Wiki |publisher=W3.org |date=2011-02-22 |access-date=2012-06-18}}</ref> The proposal to add DRM features to HTML5 itself has been criticized by those who consider openness and vendor-neutrality (both server- and client-side) one of the most important properties of HTML, because DRM is incompatible with [[free software]],<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/mar/12/tim-berners-lee-drm-cory-doctorow
|title = What I wish Tim Berners-Lee understood about DRM
|author = Cory Doctorow
|work = Technology blog at [[The Guardian|guardian.co.uk]]
|date = 2013-03-12
|access-date = 2013-03-20
|author-link = Cory Doctorow
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2013/02/bbc-attacks-the-open-web-gnulinux-in-danger/index.htm
|title = BBC Attacks the Open Web, GNU/Linux in Danger
|author = Glyn Moody
|work = Open Enterprise blog at [[Computerworld|ComputerworldUK.com]]
|date = 2013-02-13
|access-date = 2013-03-20
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130317050344/http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2013/02/bbc-attacks-the-open-web-gnulinux-in-danger/index.htm
|archive-date = 2013-03-17
|url-status = dead
|author-link = Glyn Moody
}}</ref> and in the proposed form potentially not more vendor-neutral than proprietary plug-ins like Flash.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.webmonkey.com/2013/02/drm-for-the-web-say-it-aint-so/
|title = DRM for the Web? Say It Ain't So
|author = Scott Gilbertson
|work = [[Webmonkey]]
|publisher = Condé Nast
|date = 2013-02-12
|access-date = 2013-03-21
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130324134750/http://www.webmonkey.com/2013/02/drm-for-the-web-say-it-aint-so
|archive-date = 2013-03-24
|url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.defectivebydesign.org/no-drm-in-html5
|title = Tell W3C: We don't want the Hollyweb
|work = [[Defective by Design]]
|publisher = [[Free Software Foundation]]
|date = March 2013
|access-date = 2013-03-25
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130324133748/http://www.defectivebydesign.org/no-drm-in-html5
|archive-date = 2013-03-24
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>
=== 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. Selecting the "Make object accessible" check box in Adobe Flash Professional would create a text-only version of the object for screen readers and hide any motion from the screen reader.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/flash/animation.html|title=Adobe Flash accessibility design guidelines|publisher=Adobe Systems|access-date=May 21, 2011}}</ref> Since Flash content was usually placed on a single webpage, it appeared as a single entry in search engine result pages, unless developers utilized [[deep linking]] to provide multiple links within Flash websites and web applications. [[graphical user interface|User interface widgets]] in Flash objects would not always behave like their host native counterparts. Keyboard, mouse and other accessibility shortcuts may not have worked unless the webpage developer explicitly added support for it.
=== Search engines ===
Both Flash content and HTML content could be indexed by Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, although bi-directional text (e.g. [[Arabic]], [[Hebrew]]) is not supported by Google.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=72746#1|title=Flash and other rich media files|access-date=May 21, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/07/google-yahoo-spiders-can-now-crawl-through-flash-sites.ars|title=Google, Yahoo spiders can now crawl through Flash sites|work=Ars Technica|date=July 2008 |access-date=May 21, 2011}}</ref> 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|Thoughts on Flash}}
Apple promoted [[HTML5]] as an alternative to Flash for video and other content on the iOS, citing performance and security reasons for not allowing [[Adobe Flash Player]] to be installed on iOS devices, including the [[iPhone]], [[iPod Touch]] and [[iPad]].<ref name="thoughtsFlash"/> Flash applications could be packaged as native iOS applications via the [[Adobe Integrated Runtime]] and the iOS Packager.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/packagerforiphone.html |title=Adobe AIR | Adobe AIR 3 | Deploy applications |publisher=Labs.adobe.com |access-date=2012-06-18}}</ref>
== See also ==
{{Portal|Internet}}
* [[Comparison of vector graphics editors]]
* [[CSS animations]]
* [[Flash animation]]
* [[HTML5test]]
* [[Adobe Flash#Security|Security of Adobe Flash]]
* [[SVG animation]]
* [[Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language]]
== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em|group=note}}
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=":w3.org:svg standard">{{Cite web|url=https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG2/Overview.html|title=Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2|website=www.w3.org|access-date=2019-07-05}}</ref>
}}
== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072340/https://www.epaperflip.com/adobe-flash-vs-html-5-who-will-win-cold-war/ Infographic - The Cold War Between Adobe Flash and HTML 5]
* [https://bestvpn.org/html5demos/ Demos of browser support for HTML5] <!-- not a reliable source, but useful to a user making her/his own comparison -->
{{Adobe Flash}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comparison Of Html5 And Flash}}
[[Category:HTML5]]
[[Category:Adobe Flash]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Comparisons of computer file formats|Html5 and Flash]]
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