What is Flash?
Flash is an authoring tool for animated multimedia both on and off the Web. Flash is today the most widely accepted technology for creating fully interactive real-time design animation’s on the Web. The most amazing thing about Flash animation technology is its low bandwidth requirements compared to animated GIFs, Quick Time movies, or even Shockwave Director technology. Flash file size requirements are extremely low due to its use of vector art as compared to bit-mapped art used in animated GIFs. Vector art uses geometry to define shapes and colors rather than bitmaped art which is defined by coloring each individual pixel (represented by a group of data bits) in a user-defined fixed sized matrix (often called a “raster”). Programs such as Photoshop, Painter, XRES, and your scanner software use bitmap graphics. Flash can be used to make simple animated banners and graphics or used to create an entire Web site. The developer of this product, Macromedia, has designed Flash to work on al
Macromedia Flash is the standard for creating interactive web sites and animation on the Internet. Using Flash in a site allows for enhanced graphics, animation, user interaction, and sound. We can create an entire site in Flash, or just small animations for portions of the site; multimedia presentations and even catchy introductions.
Flash is a program developed by a company called Macromedia. It allows for quick and easy download of complex objects and even multimedia presentations and animations. It requires that visitors have a plug-in to their browser that allows them to download objects, rather than pixels. For example, Flash will tell the visitor s computer to draw a circle, rather than send data on every pixel in that circle and its location. Currently over 80% of people online have the plug-in installed and more and more professional sites are adding Flash material because of its ability to create high-impact visual effects. For examples of Flash, go to www.macromedia.com.
