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This article is to share with you about whether HTML5 can really replace Flash, the editor thinks it is very practical, so I share it with you to learn. I hope you can get something after reading this article.

Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch

Beijing, Feb. 6 (Xinhua)-- there is a heated debate among web developers about the future of the network: should we continue to use Adobe Flash or switch to newer technologies?

This debate has been going on for years, but the iPad released by Apple last week (like iPhone) does not support Flash, heating up the topic again. Before that, Adobe said in a low profile that they would be more than happy to provide Flash for iPhone as long as Apple nodded.

But Kevin Lynch, Adobe's technical officer, did not seem to want to be polite, writing in a blog post on the 2nd that Apple did not want to include Flash on its "magical device", meaning that iPad users could only see incomplete web pages. He even took out the Google Nexus One to compare.

"We are on the verge of completing Flash Player 10.1s for all major smartphone brands except one company," Lynch said. He specifically mentioned that it includes Nexus One, which can also be executed on tablet devices, small laptops and Internet televisions. "Flash pairing with browsers provides a competitive advantage for these devices because their customers will be able to browse the entire web," he said. "We are ready to add Flash to the browsers for these devices, as long as Apple is willing, but so far we have not received a request from Apple."

According to Adobe, Flash does achieve almost ubiquitous penetration on personal computers, with a penetration rate of more than 98%. The root of this technology is animated images, but the key to its success is to provide a simple website streaming video and audio mechanism in addition to difficult technologies such as Microsoft, Apple and Real. But several new technologies, including the revolutionized HTML standard, target the audio-visual experience that Flash provides.

Bruce Lawson, a proponent of Opera Software's network standards, believes that HTML and other technologies are bound to replace Flash, and the functionality of these new technologies is very close to that of the current Flash.

"the Internet (including audio and video, games, animation) is too important a platform for business, communications and society as a whole to be controlled by any single company," Lawson said. "but that will take a while; there is now a huge amount of content using Flash."

But the problem is not just the amount of Flash content that already exists on the web. HTML5 and its related technologies are rapidly maturing, and because they evolve synchronously with browser support, even if they are still incomplete, they have formed a presence and power that cannot be ignored. But many developers still adopt a wait-and-see attitude, preferring to wait until the situation is clearer before taking action.

Open network alliance

After years of confusion, browser makers such as Apple, Opera, Mozilla and Google have finally agreed on the new direction of the HTML standard. One of the most eye-catching HTML5 standards is built-in audio and video support.

In addition, there are other new aspects, such as storing data in the computer for access to applications, regularly updating the Web Sockets of data for browsers, Web Workers for network programs to perform multiple tasks at a time, and improving the Canvas of 2D images.

At the same time, under the banner of the "open network", these allies are promoting other new standards, such as 3D image acceleration technology WebGL, improving web layout through CSS (cascading style sheets) and web fonts, strengthening support for other parts, such as SVG (scalable vector graphics), and improving the performance of web programs using JavaScript.

Even Microsoft, which has watched browser development progress over the past decade and launched Silverlight to compete with Flash, has begun to invest. The company has promised to embrace more web standards and has actually invested in HTML and SVG development in recent months. Patrick Dengler, senior project manager of the IE team, said on the 1st that Microsoft was involved in the development of SVG: "We have received an unexpected positive response."

Adobe's proprietary Flash software, in addition to conflicts with the "open network" in principle, has another real drawback: crash. Mozilla is eager to launch a new "Lorentz" version of Firefox to insulate the browser from the browser crash caused by plug-ins, mainly because of Flash.

Advantages of Flash

But it is too early to conclude that Flash is doomed. The operation of the Open Network Alliance is still chaotic, fragmented and unstable, and the browser support of its various elements is inconsistent or even does not exist. Flash is currently the most consistent browser add-on software, and unlike the update of the browser version, users upgrade the new version of Flash relatively quickly.

The formal standardization process is slow. Ian Hickson, who works as editor of HTML5 and is also employed by Google, concluded the HTML5 work of the Web Hypertext Application Technical working Group (WHATWG) last October. But the group worked with the more bureaucratic W3C (World wide Web Association) to complete the standard.

The difficulty of the birth of HTML5 audio-visual standard shows how difficult it is to replace Flash. Flash movies can use various "codec" video / audio encoders / decoders when the movie is transferred from the server to the user's computer. The user simply presses the play button.

At present, however, HTML5 only accepts two kinds of codec: H.264 supported by Apple Safari and Google Chrome, and Ogg Theora supported by Firefox, Chrome and Opera. IE, the most widely used browser, currently does not support any HTML5 audio and video.

What should a streaming video website do? If a website supports HTML5 audio and video (YouTube is experimenting), it is best to retain Flash support to serve users of many active browsers who do not yet support HTML5.

In addition, the Open Network Alliance may be about to catch up with existing Flash technology, but Flash is not stagnant. Lynch vowed last year that Flash would continue to be the best tool for exploring the web.

Finally, the open network programming tools are not yet mature. One reason is that HTML5 and related technologies have not yet been completed. Lawson said: "you have to rely on browser interworking. Past experience shows that it is not easy, but as the specification is completed, the situation will improve."

Keep your cool

HTML vs. Flash is likely to develop into a scale similar to that of religious wars. Since the existence of programming language, the debate over the pros and cons of tools has never stopped, and this issue also contains some emotional factors.

Many fans of open source code who use Firefox are not used to proprietary software, and they are used to expressing their views out loud. Another group of Flash attackers is entirely out of dislike of that kind of compulsive online advertising. Now with more opinions from Apple's iPad supporters, a powerful anti-Flash force has taken shape.

John Nack, director of product management at Photoshop at Adobe, said: "people like some kind of killer scenario: good guys versus bad guys, open against proprietary …"

Indeed, it is wiser to remain objective and accept that these two technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages, and there will be no life-and-death results in the short term. Maybe the gap between the two is not as big as it seems. Don't forget that Adobe also has HTML tools, and its AIR software is based not only on the Flash player, but also on the WebKit HTML processing engine. Adobe has invested a lot of resources in Flash, but the company's interest in HTML will also increase as the technology matures.

"in the long run, HTML will crowd out Flash demand in some places, especially the recent development of HTML5," Lynch said. "but I don't think this is a situation that replaces the other, neither now nor in the foreseeable future." (translated by Chen Zhiwen)

The above is whether HTML5 can really replace Flash. The editor believes that there are some knowledge points that we may see or use in our daily work. I hope you can learn more from this article. For more details, please follow the industry information channel.

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