Die Flash, die.

| 5 Comments

I used to say that there were only three real uses for Flash: media players, animations, and games. (Everything else can be replicated with jQuery and AJAX.) These were the fingers with which Flash clung to the Internet. But one by one, they are being stomped on by HTML 5 and Javascript. And now that the ipad and iphone don’t support Flash, the tide is begining to turn for Adobe’s darling, albeit not as quickly as I would have it.

I’m so happy.

I’m happy because fewer clients are going to ask for Purple Ponies that can “do Flash.”

I’m happy because I won’t have to spend hours explaining to clients why Flash is a bad idea for accessibility, maintainability, and SEO. I can just point at their phone and shake my head.

I’m happy because people with Flash-based sites are going to want redesigns and conversions of their old sites. (This of course means more business for people like me.)

I’m happy because dodgy Flash-by-nighters are going to have to learn how to make sites that aren’t invisible to search engines and screen readers. That is good for both the hapless client and the whole of society!

I’m happy because real Flash gurus who could read the writing on the wall have already started looking into Flash alternatives and shouldn’t be harmed by this trend one bit.

But what makes me happiest of all is knowing that I made the right decision when I took one look at the proprietary format back when Flash was hot stuff, squinched up my face and thought, “You’d be better off learning Javascript in the long run.”

Thank you, Apple, for indulging me in this brief bout of schadenfreude.

  • http://www.webgirlnyc.com Regan Wilders

    Wow! Great post Rachel, my sentiments exactly….

  • kadiks

    You made your point, and HTML 5 + Apple’s decision suits your needs.
    So Flash might die in your world but Flash is and will still be there.
    Simply because Adobe keep doing what Flash did for a long time : build it a step ahead HTML.
    If you think about Flash as a framework (like jQuery for the Javascript), you get all the power of it.

    1/ Videos
    Thanks to HTML 5 videos will be supported directly in the browser, but with Flash you will include it in your project with a simple drag and drop, adding cue points and get the full screen option automatically.

    2/ Canvas
    That’s just the most awesome feature of HTML 5. It’s a Flash like window where you can create a shape and move it all over the canvas. You can even create 3D objects.
    Unfortunately Flash is doing it the same way with less line of code. And even better, you can use the timeline and use no code at all for effect you can’t produce by coding them.

    3/ Touch Events
    You love the iPad and the iPhone, you would like to create an awesome widget on your website with the same feature. Unfortunately it’s not possible with HTML5/Javascript.

    4/ SEO
    It’s a fake point: you’re totally right. Flash is a mess for it. A lot of available solution but it’s not really effective.
    And all effective solution are HTML based or to complicated for a basic website.

    Don’t get me wrong, I don’t say that Flash will be ahead HTML 5, I’m just saying that Flash will be more specialised and fill need that HTML 5 still doesn’t have.
    And it’s not because Flash gurus go to JS that it’s a victory, it’s just because HTML 5 enables us (finally) to do what we wanted to do.

  • http://alexsexton.com/ Alex Sexton

    @kadiks I’m not sure where you got your information on #3, but not only do neither of those devices even _support_ flash at all, but jQuery and javascript have perfect unadultered access to the browser touch and orientation events. Check out the jqTouch project for some more examples of $(‘#item’).touch() and $(‘#item’).slide() etc.

  • http://miketaylr.com Mike Taylor

    @kadiks,

    Flash as a framework for what, exactly? For swfs?

    1) You can add html5 to a page with about as much effort as it takes to embed your flash in html. So the drag and drop point is moot. Also, html5 full-screen video is already supported in Firefox 3.6 and Webkit nightlies.

    2) How are you quantifying ‘less line of code’ [sic]? As to your point that you can produce effects without code, I imagine its only a matter of time before some kind of authoring tool is created.

    3) This point makes no sense. The iPhone and iPad don’t support flash at all, but do support (javascript) touch events. Huh?

    4) So all effective SEO solutions are for HTML… ‘Nuff said.

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