Is Flash Dead?

[EpicGlobalWeb]

I know Flash isn't "dead" because I still see it in use here and there. I'm just curious if anyone knows what purposes Flash is serving now in the post-HTML5 era where jQuery handles animations?

The last Flash version I played with had some cool 3D elements to it, and Swift 3D was a really nice program extension for Flash. Personally ActionScript was the first programming language I ever learned but that was 12 years ago. Does it have other purposes besides glitz and glamour? Why is the Flash plug-in still being used in websites where Flash "isn't being used?" My guess would be data collection of some sort but not sure. Any input?

 

[Mike001]

As a former Macromedia training instructor who taught ActionScript, I can say that Flash is not dead but it is about as close to dead as it can get. I was there and teaching Flash and ActionScript when the move was made to Adobe.

They really had a good road map for Flash and ActionScript as is obvious by all the transitions that occurred with the move to ActionScript 3. When Apple made the conscious decision not to support the Flash engine that was the beginning of the end for Flash. With the popularity of the iPad platform and the lack of support for the swf file format it has been dying a slow and painful death.

I still occasionally have a flash class requested for ActionScript but there is just not much demand for that anymore.

I enjoyed ActionScript and it was a good programming language that had a tremendous amount of power considering what it was written to support.

I still have a selection of Flash videos on my website and they do still get quite a bit of traffic but no where near what it was just a few years ago.

 

[EpicGlobalWeb]

Google still uses it though, as shown below. I also notice it in other sites that don't "appear" to use Flash. Is this because Flash can put long standing cookies in the browser?

Here's another instance of it.



I happen to have a blocker that doesn't allow Flash because it deems it a privacy risk. Although it's kind of a paranoid plug in, though.

 

[Ron Killian]

I hope it's dead, least what most people use to make with it.

I learned a little of it many years ago, back in the Macromedia days. I did make some animated banners. But I must have done it wrong or did not know enough because the file size got pretty big. Was better for me to make animated gif's.

While on the subject, is there anything new that is similar to animated gif's?

Most of my images are static JPG or PNG. But some times I could use animation. Curious as I am not in the "know" when it comes to graphics.

 

[Rob Whisonant]

I never liked flash as a developer. Even when it was popular I always seemed to use Shockwave (Director) instead to program animations and games.

 

[mantra]

It seems flash might be in the past. I tried to dabble in it several years ago when it was the rage, but now it's not what it once used to be. I remember using alternatives to create flash like SwishFX.

As the user above asked, what is the latest to create such dynamic animations?