processing.js does it mean the death of Flash/Silverlight?
May 21
About 2 weeks ago John Resig, the maker of jQuery, released processing.js, an open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions. Porting it to javascript made it available to a wider audience. I saw the processing project about 2 years ago but didn’t see much use at the time since it was open source but required a software to code it.
In the near future it might not change much things, but as it becomes better known and people start working/improving it i’m pretty sure we have a strong Flash/Silverlight killer here. First of all you don’t need to install any 3rd party application, it’s straight javascript. Secondly, developers won’t need to buy expensive licenses to work with it. And third, the javascript community is already pretty big, once people starts jumping on the wagon, the train will be hard to stop.
The main problem right now is that you have Silverlight that tries to steal market from Flash, but Flash penetation is so big that it’s nearly impossible to overcome. Developers simply won’t start developing Silverlight applications because no one asks for it. This is where processing.js come in play, the penetration is even stronger than flash, and you don’t need any kind of license to develop it.
In my opinion, at the moment, the only real use for Flash on the web is for video/audio players. And it’s something that might change in the near future since HTML 5 already has a video and audio element planned what will be the use of flash?
May 21 at 17:46
The argument that Flash isn’t free is not so true, because you can download the free Flex sdk to do basically the same thing you would do with Processing.js, plus a bunch of other features that you still don’t have with processing.
But this is for sure a promising technology.
I can’t wait to work with html5! But how much time will it take for Microsoft to do a version of IE that supports that? Maybe my grand-children will enjoy those features in their day-to-day job.
That said… Javascript FTW !!!
May 22 at 10:31
If you understand javascript you can work in ActionScript pretty easily. Which begs the question, why would you want to spend a huge amount of effort reinventing a wheel that will never be as good as Flash?
It’s like handing someone a hammer, and having them insist on building their own hammer out of a rock and a stick.
May 22 at 10:46
@J. Jeffryes I totally agree on that point. But as I stated there’s not much use for flash on the web except for video/audio players. And that’s where I see a change coming, why would you push your users to install a third party plugin when you could deliver to them the same content without the need for that plugin.
That trend has already begun with javascript libraries, you can now add that little cool factor to your websites while still keeping much of the usability and often more if everything is well built.
I see Flash as still being useful for designer to show their creativity and such. But for the overall user experience, Flash still has a long way to go.
May 22 at 13:32
Flash is more usable and easier to implement than javascript. If you see an example of Flash with bad usability, blame the designer, not the tool. They’d have created the same bad usability if they’d built that site with javascript.
The only change that is coming is the massive move to Flash and Flex. Both are already deeply entrenched on the web, in handheld devices and phones, game systems and even car dashboards. The Flash plugin is more common than the internet itself. You can refuse to embrace it because 3% of browsers don’t have it, but you’re only shooting yourself in the foot and limiting your career.
If you know javascript, you should start learning AS3 now, while the field is still wide open. You can do so much more, faster and easier, than you can with javascript.
May 22 at 14:49
@J. Jeffryes When I speak about Flash usability being bad I think about what happens if a user with a screen readers comes in, what happens if you want to have your site indexed by search engine, what happens if you want to browse with your keyboard. I know there are ways to make it work, but most of the time it isn’t working.
As for Flash being used in hand held devices, cars, game devices, it’s totally where it belong as you don’t expect/want the same experience as on the web. That exactly where you want the kind of interaction Flash can give you.
I thought about learning AS3 I just don’t want to take that path…for now
One thing for sure if processing/JavaScript does replace Flash it wont be in the near future.
May 22 at 16:21
Ah, I see. You’re talking about making an entire site in Flash only. Professional Flash designers don’t do that any more. Just like you wouldn’t use javascript to build an entire website.
Professionals use the right tool for the right job. Flash is often the best tool for adding interactivity to a web site. But it’s not the best tool for making a web site.
May 31 at 10:51
@J. Jeffryes :
ahem…
http://thefwa.com/ << The sites featured in this site are made by people that are Professional Flash designers and they do make their entire sites in Flash only. Well, it depends what you refer to when you are talking about professional designer.
I think that it’s a good idea to know these technologies because there is a business for Flash and it can be very lucrative. And I acknowledge the fact that you have to consider your website’s audience before you choose a technology to build your website/webapp.
Jun 26 at 10:41
[...] a previous blog post I talked about the release of processing.js and how it could change how we see/use Flash. Upon [...]