Can HTML5 really replace Flash_html5 tutorial tips

Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch

News on February 6, Beijing time, there is a fierce debate among web developers concerning the future of the web: Should they continue to use Adobe Flash, or switch to newer technology?

This debate has been going on for years, but last week Apple’s announcement that the iPad (like the iPhone) does not support Flash has heated up the topic again. Before that, Adobe had expressed in a low profile that they would be happy to provide Flash for the iPhone as long as Apple nodded.

But Adobe technical officer Kevin Lynch seems not to want to be polite anymore. He wrote in a blog on the 2nd that Apple is unwilling to include Flash on its "magical device", which means that iPad users can only see Broken web page. He even pulled out a Google Nexus One for comparison.

Lynch said: "We are about to complete Flash Player 10.1 for all major smartphone brands except one company." He specifically mentioned that this includes Nexus One, and the software can also be used on tablet devices, small notebooks and network television execution. He said: "Flash paired with browsers provides these devices with a competitive advantage because their customers will be able to browse the entire web... We are ready to add Flash to the browsers of these devices if Apple wants to, but at this time So far, we have not received Apple’s request.”

According to Adobe statistics, Flash has indeed achieved almost ubiquitous popularity on personal computers, with a penetration rate of over 98%. The technology's roots are in animated images, but the key to its success is to provide a simple mechanism for streaming audio and video from websites in addition to difficult-to-use technologies such as Microsoft, Apple and Real. However, several new technologies, including the completely reborn HTML standard, are locking in the audio-visual experience provided by Flash.

Bruce Lawson, web standards supporter of Opera Software, believes that HTML and other technologies will replace Flash, and the functions of these new technologies are already very close to the current Flash.

Lawson said: "For business, communications and society as a whole, the Internet (including video, games, animation) is too important a platform to be controlled by any single company. But that will take some time; now there are numbers Huge content using Flash ”

But the problem isn’t just the amount of Flash content existing on the web. HTML5 and related technologies are maturing rapidly, and because they are evolving simultaneously with browser support, even if they are still incomplete, they have formed a presence and power that cannot be ignored. But many developers are still taking a wait-and-see approach, preferring to wait until the situation becomes clearer before taking action.

Open Network Alliance

After years of confusion, browser manufacturers such as Apple, Opera, Mozilla and Google have finally reached a consensus on the new direction of the HTML standard. One of the most notable HTML5 standards is built-in sound and video support.

In addition, there are other new aspects, such as storing data in the computer for application to access, Web Sockets that regularly update data for the browser, Web Workers that allow network programs to perform multiple tasks at once, and improvements to 2D images. Canvas.

At the same time, these allies are also promoting other new standards under the banner of "open network", such as 3D image acceleration technology WebGL, improving web page layout through CSS (cascading style sheets) and network fonts, and strengthening support for other parts. , such as SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), and improve the performance of web applications written in JavaScript.

Even Microsoft, which has watched the progress of browser development for the past 10 years and launched Silverlight to compete with Flash, has begun to invest. The company has pledged to embrace more web standards and has actually invested in HTML and SVG development in recent months. Patrick Dengler, senior planning manager of the IE team, said on the 1st about the SVG development work that Microsoft participated in: "We have received an unexpected positive response."

Adobe’s proprietary Flash software, in addition to conflicting with the “open network” in principle, also has a substantial shortcoming: crashing. Mozilla is rushing to launch a new "Lorentz" version of Firefox to prevent plug-ins from causing browser crashes. The main reason is Flash.

Advantages of Flash

But it is too early to conclude that Flash will die. The Open Web Alliance's operations remain confusing, fragmented, and unstable, and browser support for its various elements is inconsistent or non-existent. Flash is currently the most consistent browser add-on software, and unlike browser version updates, users can upgrade to new versions of Flash relatively quickly.

Formal standardization process is slow. Ian Hickson, who serves as HTML5 editor and is also employed by Google, only concluded the HTML5 work of the Web Hypertext Applications Technical Working Group (WHATWG) in October last year. But the group is working with the more bureaucratic W3C (Worldwide Information Network Consortium) to complete the standard.

The difficulties in the birth of the HTML5 audio and video standard show the difficulty of it replacing Flash. Flash videos can take advantage of various "codecs" when the video is transferred from the server to the user's computer. Users simply press the play button.

But currently HTML5 only accepts two codecs: H.264 supported by Apple Safari and Google Chrome, and Ogg Theora supported by Firefox, Chrome and Opera. IE, the most popular browser, currently does not support any HTML5 videos.

What to do with streaming video websites? If a website supports HTML5 video (which YouTube is currently experimenting with), it is best to retain Flash support to serve the many users whose current browsers do not yet support HTML5.

In addition, the Open Network Alliance may be on the verge of catching up with existing Flash technology, but Flash is not standing still. Lynch vowed last year that Flash would continue to be the best tool for exploring the Web.

Finally, the programming tools for open networks are not yet mature. One reason is that HTML5 and related technologies are not yet complete. , Lawson said: "You have to rely on browser interoperability. Past experience shows that it is not easy, but as the specifications are completed, the situation will improve."

Keep calm

HTML vs. Flash may develop into something similar to a religious war. Debates over tools have been going on for as long as programming languages ​​have been around, and there's also an emotional element to the issue.

Many open source fans who use Firefox are not accustomed to proprietary software, and they are used to speaking out their opinions loudly. Another group of Flash attackers are motivated entirely by their distaste for forced online advertising. Now with the opinions of Apple iPad supporters, a powerful anti-Flash force has taken shape.

John Nack, Director of Product Management for Photoshop at Adobe, said: “People like a killer situation: good guys versus bad guys, openness versus proprietary…”

Indeed, the wiser approach is to remain objective and accept that both technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages, and there will not be a life-or-death outcome in the short term. Perhaps the gap between the two is not as big as it seems. Don't forget that Adobe also has HTML tools. Its AIR software base is not only the Flash player, but also the WebKit HTML processing engine. Adobe has invested huge resources in Flash, but the company's interest in HTML will also increase as related technologies mature.

Lynch said: “In the long term, HTML will crowd out the demand for Flash in some places, especially the recent development of HTML5. But I don’t think this is a situation where one replaces the other, and it is unlikely to happen now or in the foreseeable future. ." (Translated by Chen Zhiwen)