Flash has long been the king of interactive multimedia and animation on the web. This was mainly due to the lack of cross browser compatibility of many Javascript applications meaning developers needed indepth Java knowledge to work around all the potential pitfalls when working in this area.
With the advent of J-Query and Mootools, designers now have a library of routines which are compatible across all platforms without the use of Flash. These tools offer functions to handle many routine tasks making programming with Javascript faster and easier to pick up. But does this signal the end for Flash?
Flash Pros & Cons:
Flash provides a consistent appearance accross supported browsers as well as providing tools for advanced animation, slideshows, game development and supporting both vector and bitmap file types. On the other hand, a lot of new technology such as mobile phones and i-Pads don’t support flash content and file sizes compared to Javascript can often be a little on the bulky side.
Javascript pros and cons:
Compatible with a wider range of browsers than Flash, quick and easy to implement on a site and small file sizes although the features aren’t always as powerful or extensive as Flash and source code can’t be protected.
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