Template:SoftwareAdobe Flash Player was a widely distributed [wp:proprietary software proprietary] multimedia and application player created and distributed by Macromedia (a division of Adobe Systems). Flash Player runs SWF files that can be created by the Adobe Flash authoring tool, by Adobe Flex or by a number of other Macromedia and third party tools.
Adobe Flash, or simply Flash, can refer to both the Flash Professional multimedia authoring program and the Flash Player plug-in. Written and distributed by Adobe, it uses vector and raster graphics, a native scripting language called ActionScript and bidirectional streaming of video and audio. Strictly speaking, Adobe Flash is the authoring environment and Flash Player is the virtual machine used to run the Flash files, but in colloquial language these have become mixed: "Flash" can mean either the authoring environment, the player, or the application files. In 2016, the authoring environment was rebranded as Adobe Animate.
Flash Player had support for an embedded scripting language called ActionScript (AS), which is based on Template:W. Since its inception ActionScript has matured from a script syntax without variables to one that supports object-oriented code, and may now be compared in capability to Template:W (another ECMAScript-based scripting language).
The Flash Player was originally designed to display 2-dimensional vector animation, but has since become suitable for creating [wp:Rich web application rich Internet applications] and streaming video and audio. It uses vector graphics to minimize file size and create files that save bandwidth and loading time. Flash is a common format for games, animations, and [wp:Graphical user interface GUIs] embedded into web pages.
The Flash Player was built into some browsers and was available as a plug-in for recent versions of other browsers (such as Template:W, Template:W, Template:W and Template:W) on selected platforms. Each version of the plug-in was completely backwards-compatible. However, it was also criticized for its security issues and support was phased out of major browsers by the end of 2020.[1]
The latest version of Flash Player, Version 9, is available for Windows (98 and newer), Template:W (Template:W-32 only), Template:W and Mac OS X. Version 7 is the most recent official version currently available for the Linux/[wp:ARM architecture ARM]-based [wp:Nokia 770 Internet Tablet Nokia 770]/[wp:Nokia N800 N800] Internet Tablets, classic Mac OS, Template:W and Windows 95/NT.[2][3] HP offers Version 6 of the player for Template:W.[1] Other versions of the player have been available at some point for Template:W, Template:W, Template:W, Template:W and Template:W.[2] The [wp:Kodak EasyShare One Kodak Easyshare One] includes Flash Player. The Flash Player SDK was used to develop its on-screen menus, which are rendered and displayed using the included Flash Player.[4] Among other devices, Template:W provides Flash Player with their Leapster Multimedia Learning System and extended the Flash Player with touch-screen support.[5]Template:W has integrated Flash Player 6 into the Template:W's web browser via firmware version 2.70. Template:W has integrated Flash Player 7 in the Template:W on the Template:W.
On September 15, Adobe by way of Template:W's "The Flash Blog" announced the release of a public beta preview, native 64-bit Flash Player code-named "Square" for all major platforms and browsers. Previously no x86-64 editions of the Flash player were available for any platform [3], due to the complexity of porting the x86-32-specific garbage collector and Template:W compilation engine [4] to native 64-bit (platform specific) code. Adobe engineers in 2006 had already stated that 64-bit editions for all supported platforms, including Linux, were in development [5]. Adobe however, had been developing a x64 edition of the Flash Player since 2005. While the new beta version on labs support 64-bit natively, it's still a long way from finished, to that end, Adobe as of yet have not stated if and when a stable, final release will be given.
Although SWF has recently become an Template:W again, Adobe has not been willing to make complete source code available for free software development. The source code for the ActionScript Virtual Machine has been released as a project named Tamarin [6] under the terms of an MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license. It includes the specification for the ActionScript byte code format. This project is jointly managed by Mozilla and Adobe. The full specification of the SWF format is available without restriction by Adobe. The principal alternative Template:W player, Gnash, is quite incomplete at this time, however since SWF is now an open format, it should have a much higher quality going forward as developers implement the official SWF specifications.
Internet Privacy/Persistent Identification Elements
Template:See alsoFlash Player is an application that, while running on a computer that is connected to the Template:W, is designed to contemporaneously interact with websites containing Flash content that are being visited online. As such, under certain configurations the application has the potential to silently compromise its users' Template:W, and do so without their knowledge. By default, Flash Player is configured to permit small, otherwise invisible "tracking" files, known as Template:W (PIE)[6] or Local Shared Object files, to be stored on the Template:W of a user's computer. Sent in the background over the internet from websites to which a user is connected, these files work much the way "[wp:HTTP cookie cookies]" do with internet browsers. When stored on a user's computer, PIE (.sol) files are capable of sending personally sensitive data back out over the internet without the user's knowledge to one or more third parties. In addition, Flash Player is also capable of accessing and retrieving Template:W and Template:W data from any Template:W and/or Template:W that might be either built in or connected to a user's computer and transmitting it in realtime over the internet (also potentially without the user's knowledge) to one or more third parties.
While these capabilities can all be affirmatively blocked and/or disabled by the user, the Flash Player application does not provide an internally accessible "preferences" panel to accomplish this. Instead access to the various settings panels necessary to manage the application's "Privacy," "Storage", "Security", and "Notifications" settings can be achieved through a web-based Settings Manager page located on the "support" section of the Adobe.com website, or by third party tools (see Local Shared Object). Each of the functions can be enabled/disabled either "globally" to cover all websites, or set differently for individual websites depending on how the user desires Flash Player to be able to interact with each one.
Whilst the Flash Control Panel Settings in theory allow users to protect their privacy it should be remembered that suitably crafted Visual Basic Script or similar code can overwrite any user defined settings before the Flash Player plug-in is called by a webpage.
In addition to [wp:HTTP cookie cookies], many banks and other financial institutions also routinely install Persistent Identification Elements using Flash Player on users' hard drives when they establish and access their accounts, as do other interactive sites such as Template:W.
End-of-life image displayed by deprecated Flash Player plug-ins after January 12, 2021.
In April 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs wrote an open critique of Flash platform to justify his refusal to support the technology on Apple's successful [w:c:apple:iOS iOS] line, which included the [w:c:apple:iPhone iPhone], [w:c:apple:iPod touch iPod touch], and [w:c:apple:iPad iPad].[7] An Apple engineer later stated that Jobs was offended that Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen would not take his phone calls for what he perceived to be "mere engineering problems".[8] Developers of third-party web browsers began to [wikipedia:Blacklist (computing) blacklist] the Flash plugin by default due to security issues.[9] In November 2015, Adobe announced that the next version of the Flash Professional authoring application would be rebranded as Adobe Animate (released in February 2016) to reflect the change of product focus.[10]
In July 2017, Adobe announced that it would phase out support for Flash Player by the end of 2020.[11] Support by major browser developers, such as Microsoft, was phased out by December 31, 2020. The latest Flash plug-ins began blocking playback of content on January 12, 2021.[1] Instead, an image would be displayed that would link to an end-of-life notice from Adobe.[12] For enterprise customers that still needed to transition legacy Flash content to alternate technologies, such Adobe AIR, Template:W became an officially licensed distributor and enterprise support provider.[13]
In Mainland China however, there was a separate distributor for Chinese enterprises called Zhongcheng International, who continues to support Adobe Flash Player in Mainland China under the version Adobe Flash Player 34.
Running on the [wp:Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless BREW] platform
Adobe Flash Lite 3 (Announced on February 2007)
Support for FLV transcoding
Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 2 (version Mac/Windows 9.0.47.0 and Linux 9.0.48.0, codenamed [wp:Minor_characters_from_The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Hotblack_Desiato Hotblack]) (July 2007)
Security Update
Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 3 (version 9.0.115.0, codenamed Moviestar or [wp:Places in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy#Frogstar Frogstar]) (December 2007)[17]
[wp:H.264 H.264]
[wp:Advanced Audio Coding AAC] ([wp:HE-AAC HE-AAC], AAC Main Profile, and AAC-LC)
ISO Base Media File Format ([wp:MPEG-4 MPEG-4] Part 12)
Adobe Flash Player 9 (version 9.0.124.0) (April 2008)
Desktop: Windows (DirectX 9), OS X (Intel processor only) and Linux (OpenGL 1.3), Swift Shader fallback Mobile: Android and iOS (OpenGL ES 2) H.264/AVC software encoding for cameras Native 64-bit Asynchronous bitmap decoding TLS secure sockets
Desktop and mobile
Stage Video hardware acceleration
Native extension libraries Desktop: Windows (dll), OS X (framework) Mobile: Android jar, so), iOS a JPEG XR decoding G.711 audio compression for telephony Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS) Unlimited bitmap size LZMA SWF compression
Mobile only
H.264/AAC playback
Front-facing camera Background audio playback Device speaker control 16- and 32-bit color depth
