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I'd like to see what your thoughts are regarding Flash and it's purpose in the future.

We all know what some of the pros and cons are for using Flash but with HTML5 growing rapidly, I can see Flash becoming less useful (perhaps even obsolete) unless new features are added to it.

Take for example complex animation, fancy fonts, dynamic content, video, audio etc..

In many scenarios this can be achieved with HTML5 & CSS3 and/or a javascript library. For example:

  1. HTML5 Audio & Video
  2. HTML5 Local storage
  3. Canvas animation
  4. CSS3 animation
  5. CSS3 transform
  6. Font replacement(i.e. Cufon) & @font-face
  7. Dynamic content via AJAX
  8. and so on

Of course, by using HTML your website will have proper semantic markup, making it easier for screen readers & search engines to access your content and index it appropriately. Also you don't have to rely on a 3rd party plugin and not to mention that your Flash site won't work on Apple's devices.

Yes, there are cases where Flash is your only choice but for the general purpose (interactive) website - HTML5/CSS3 should be more than enough.

What do you think?

back2dos
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Marko
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    In the very long-term, duh. In the nearer term, subjective and argumentative. – Rex M Jul 04 '10 at 02:09
  • The main reason I voted to close this question is that it contains the author's answer. That's an argumentative question. But, really, I think everyone already understands that HTML will eventually grow into the platform it was always meant to be, and there's not really much of a question when it comes to the very, very, very long term. – Matchu Jul 04 '10 at 02:16
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    @Matchu: Up to now, your statement is the most argumentative. *Everyone already understands* is really not the kind of "information" stackoverflow was made to provide. And even supposing your statement is correct, it doesn't answer the question at all. – back2dos Jul 04 '10 at 02:40
  • @back2dos - it's a comment, not a question or answer, so that's okay on both counts :P – Matchu Jul 04 '10 at 05:10
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    @Matchu: For me, it's just two-faced. – back2dos Jul 04 '10 at 10:52
  • Read this [post](http://apiblog.youtube.com/2010/06/flash-and-html5-tag.html) from Google. – Srikar Doddi Jul 04 '10 at 02:10

4 Answers4

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Yes, although it probably won't diminish that greatly for 5 or 10 years. If you're looking at long-term trends, however, flash is probably on the way out.

Stefan Kendall
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    I would argue that "flash as we know it now" is on the way out, but the point is the same. Not to mention that's entirely dependent on Adobe's ability to innovate and give us a reason for them to remain relevant. – Chris Thompson Jul 04 '10 at 02:08
  • You're right - I hadn't specified long-term in my question which I've now edited. Take for example my current job, they've offered to pay for some courses that I want to take and I considered Flash but I feel I should invest more time in learning HTML5/CSS3 since this will become the standard for the features specified above. – Marko Jul 04 '10 at 02:08
  • This is quite a bold claim, not backed by any facts, I must say. I'm tempted to believe, it's an educated guess, but I would very much appreciate, if you could provide a few clues as to why you believe it to be **probable**. – back2dos Jul 04 '10 at 02:55
  • @back2dos - I think those who have been following it generally agree that HTML5 indicates that native browser technologies are tending toward being able to do everything we currently are forced to use Flash for. They're just tending that way very, very slowly. If the current trend of browser innovation continues, Flash will no longer be necessary; it's just that this will take a decade or two, so the relevance of that answer is really what ends up coming into question. – Matchu Jul 04 '10 at 06:29
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    @Matchu: I've asked for something better, than *argumentum ad populum* and you blatantly failed. I have been following the developement of web standards in the last 5 years. It is exactly, because of that, that I disagree and, unlike you, I did provide concrete reasons. Apparently, you deem this discussion pointless, so please spare us your personal beliefs. I'd be happy to hear any solid facts contesting my current opinion. Yours is NOT solid. If 99% of all people think, something is true, because *everybody says*, it just doesn't make it true. It's just a large scale circular argumentation. – back2dos Jul 04 '10 at 11:32
  • @back2dos - o_o. Someone feels threatened? It's just a prediction about 20 years from now. Obviously it's opinion, and not in any way based in fact or concrete example, since it involves technology *decades away*. – Matchu Jul 04 '10 at 13:15
  • @Matchu: I don't feel threatened. But let's talk feelings: I feel offended, when people, who really have a very limited scope on a subject, just drop claims out of the blue, because I make the effort of providing facts. And I'm offended by your hypocrisy. If you think, this discussion doesn't belong here, than don't participate, otherwise don't close it. I asked for facts and I feel insulted, if you think any of your hollow blahblah can impress me. Predictions are based on verifiable data. The only reason, why this question is argumentative, is because you only contribute personal opinions. – back2dos Jul 04 '10 at 17:38
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    @Chris Thompson: Exactly. Flash as we know it will diminish, which will necessarily push flash in different directions or force Adobe to innovate in some unexpected way. Regardless, the NEED for flash will certainly decrease at some measurable rate. – Stefan Kendall Jul 04 '10 at 22:55
  • I think long term trends are too hard to predict. Who knows what Adobe will do, how HTML5 will be implemented, or if there will be any other game changing events. I don't really see a decline in the short term. HTML5 is not replacing any Flash but rather filling in holes that Flash does not fill. – Allan Jul 05 '10 at 02:10
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I just wanted to say in the case of HTML5 video/audio. There is no standard format as of yet, so you would have to have about 4 or 5 different video formats to cover most (not all) browsers. Flash is still supported in the higher end of the 90th percentile. Wouldn't it be easier in that case to just use one flash video instead of producing your video with innumerable codecs?

  • Thanks @Glenn - The question states "is it becoming a dying technology". I understand that HTML5 is nowhere near completed and we will only see new features being added to it as well as existing ones being improved. – Marko Jul 04 '10 at 02:05
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    The video/audio tags are a (f@@@ing) shambles where once again, commercial interests are scuppering the standardisation process. We'll be sticking with flash on our radio site fttb. – spender Jul 04 '10 at 03:12
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I've already said, what I have to say on that subject, so I'll just reduce my answer to this question to the following link: should web developers learn flash

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back2dos
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  • I tried looking for a similar post on here but couldn't find it. Thank's for pointing me to that answer - that's exactly what I wanted. Cheers – Marko Jul 04 '10 at 02:16
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Until there are tools for the new web technologies that actually allow you to make use of the new features as a designer, or even as a developer not wanting to write heaps of boilerplate, then no.

JulianR
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