Przyszłość Flash i HTML5 – odpowiedź Adobe

Poniżej zamieszczam FAQ przygotowany przez Adobe i skierowany do developerów Flasha/Flexa/ActionScript. Jest to póki co jedyna, w miarę kompletna odpowiedź na wydarzenia ostatnich tygodni.

What did Adobe announce regarding Flash and HTML5?

 Adobe announced plans to increase its efforts on HTML5, and to focus Flash on mobile applications (packaged with AIR) and PC browsing with an emphasis on use cases not yet addressed by HTML5, including premium video and console-quality gaming. Adobe will no longer develop Flash Player for mobile web browsers. See the blog post for more details.

Do you regret having waited so long after Steve Jobs predicted that Flash Player won’t work on mobile devices 1.5 years ago?

HTML5 has matured and is able to deliver a great web browsing experience across mobile devices. At the same time users consume the richest content almost exclusively via apps on smartphones and tablets today.

At Adobe we are focused on delivering the best tools and technologies for our developers and content publishers so they can offer the best possible experiences to their customers across platforms – from desktops to smartphones, from tablets to TVs. We are proud to lead the industry with HTML5 tools while offering new, cutting– edge features in Flash that are not yet supported in HTML5.

Is this expected to improve the relationship between Adobe and Apple?

Adobe and Apple have a longstanding relationship and Mac and iOS users are very important to Adobe. Like with any other company in the industry we work closely with Apple in specific areas like support for our Creative Suite products on Mac OS while we compete in other areas like video editing tools.

Does this mean that Adobe is no longer supporting content publishers focused on delivering content via a browser on a mobile device?

 Adobe offers world-class tools and technologies including HTML5 tools like Edge that allow content publishers and developers to bring rich content and experiences across mobile web browsers using HTML5.

Why did Adobe announce its decision around Flash via a blog post?

 The announcement was covered at high level in our strategy press that went out Tuesday 8th November. Our subsequent blog posts added more details on how Adobe technologies and products would be impacted moving forward.

What does this mean for Flash Player support on desktops?

 Adobe is fully committed to providing a great experience for use cases not yet well supported by HTML, including console quality gaming and premium video. In fact, Flash Player 11 just introduced dozens of new features, including hardware accelerated 3D graphics for console-quality gaming and premium HD video with content protection. We are already working on Flash Player 12 and a new round of exciting features which we expect to again advance what is possible for delivering high definition entertainment experiences.

Why is Adobe making this move now?

 All the major platform providers (Android, iOS, Windows are betting on HTML5 for browsing, some even to the point of excluding third party plug-ins such as Flash Player. Adobe sees this as the right time to increase our focus on accelerating the development of HTML for in browser experiences, especially on mobile (phones and tablets), and general purpose apps, while using Flash to drive what’s possible in advanced interactive entertainment areas like console-quality gaming and premium video so that it can continue to serve as a blueprint for further work on HTML. Flash developers get the greatest reach by targeting mobile devices with apps packaged with AIR, and that is where we are investing while helping the mobile browsers advance the state of the art of what can be done in a browser using HTML5. Our strategy allows us to maintain leadership in content published through the web and app stores and gives developers the best tools to create content across all platforms.

Will Flash Player continue to be available on the Android Market?

 Yes. We will continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates to Flash Player 11.1 on Android Market for existing devices.

When will Adobe stop supporting Flash Player for browsing on mobile?

 Adobe will release one more version of the Flash Player for mobile browsing, which will provide support for Android 4.0, and one more release of the Flash Linux Porting Kit – both expected to be released before the end of this year. After that time, Adobe will continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates.

What will happen with Flash Player support on RIM’s BBX platform?

 Adobe will continue to support RIM’s use of the Flash Player on the current PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates. RIM has done a great job optimizing the Flash Player for their platform and as a result the RIM playbook provides a great experience for consuming Flash content. RIM is expected to leverage their expertise with Flash to continue to support and ship the Flash Player on BBX devices for the foreseeable future.

Will the current version of Flash Player support smartphones and tablets that are coming to market over the coming weeks and months?

 It depends on the version of the OS, silicon, and browser supported on the device. We are working with OEMs to determine the appropriate support and transition plan for their current and planned devices.

Will Adobe stop OEMs from shipping Flash Player on devices?

 No, Adobe will not stop OEMs from pre-loading and shipping the Flash Player. We expect some of our OEM partners to opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations of the Flash Player. However, Adobe will be recommending mobile OEMs discontinue pre-loading new devices with Flash Player due to expected OS and browser compatibility issues. However, existing licensees can continue shipping Flash Player at the manufacturer’s discretion.

Will 3D support and any of the console-quality Flash games you demoed at MAX come to mobile devices?

 Yes, game developers will be able to bring console-quality games with hardware- accelerated 3D graphics to mobile devices as Flash based apps packaged with AIR. On the desktop 3D games can be delivered with Flash within the browser. However, 3D content will not be supported in Flash Player on mobile browsers.

Is Flash getting more and more replaced by HTML5?

 How will Adobe advance Flash Player on desktops and stay relevant? We are continuing to invest in Flash to deliver the most advanced web experiences on desktops, focusing on features that are not yet available in HTML5. Flash Player 11 just introduced dozens of new features, including hardware accelerated 3D graphics for console-quality gaming and premium HD video with content protection. Flash developers can take advantage of these features, and all that Flash has to offer, to reach more than a billion desktops through their browsers and repurpose their content to hundreds of millions of mobile devices through popular App Stores using Flash based apps packaged/enabled with AIR.

Technology for developing interactive content continues to evolve at a very fast pace. We do not expect either Flash or HTML5 to exhaust all of the opportunities for innovation anytime in the foreseeable future, and we expect that Flash will continue to pioneer the most advanced capabilities. We are already working on the next version of Flash Player (version 12) and a new round of exciting features which we expect to again advance what is possible for delivering high definition entertainment experiences across the Web and devices. We will continue to leverage our experience with Flash to accelerate our work with the W3C and WebKit to bring similar capabilities to HTML5 as quickly as possible, just as we have done with CSS Shaders. And, we will design new features in Flash for a smooth transition to HTML5 as the standards evolve so developers can confidently invest knowing their skills will continue to be leveraged.

How many Flash based apps are available on App Stores today?

 There are thousands of Flash based apps available on App Stores like iTunes App Store, Android Market, BlackBerry App World, and Amazon’s Appstore for Android. Popular and top rated examples include Machinarium, Politifact, Dr Stanley’s House, Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook, WatchESPN etc.

How are Flash based apps different from HTML5 apps?

 Flash based apps support features and capabilities not yet supported in HTML5 including features for advanced interactive games and premium video with content protection. Developers are able to deliver high-end entertainment experiences as Flash based apps packaged via AIR on mobile platforms and within the browser on PCs.

What platforms and browsers does Adobe support with Flash Player for browsing? Adobe provides a list of supported operating systems and browsers at http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/tech-specs.html.

How will content publishers serving premium video reach mobile devices?

 Content publishers can continue to stream premium, Flash based video content across platforms and devices including the iPhone and iPad using Flash Media Server 4.5 (which supports playback directly in the Safari browser on iOS without the Flash Player). Additionally, content publishers can deliver premium video experiences as Flash based applications packaged with AIR across platforms including mobile devices (including iPhone and iPad) and connected TVs.

Does Adobe intend to bring HTML5’s capabilities to full parity with Flash Player?

 If yes, then why continue supporting Flash Player for desktop? HTML5 today cannot replace the Flash Player as a platform for delivering console gaming or premium video experiences on desktop computers. Adobe plans to leverage ongoing innovation in Flash to provide a blueprint for our work in HTML5. We believe there are opportunities for significant new innovation in both Flash and HTML5, and we are focused on enabling developers to create and publish the richest possible content, regardless of the underlying technology.

Will Adobe create Flash Player for Windows 8 on ARM and Windows 8 on X86?

 Adobe’s plan is to support Flash Player with all of the popular browsers on Windows 8’s desktop interface (not the Metro interface) on x86.

FLASH PLATFORM / TOOLS

What does this mean for the Flash Platform in General?

 Adobe is focusing future innovation with Flash on advanced entertainment use cases, like gaming and premium video, with a focus on delivering these experiences through browsers on PCs and as apps through app stores on mobile devices and TVs. We are continuing to develop new versions of Flash for PC browsers and mobile and TV app developers. We are also continuing to develop new versions of Flash Professional and Flash Builder tools for developing Flash content.

Adobe AIR: We are continuing to develop Adobe AIR for both the desktop and mobile devices. Indeed, we have seen wide adoption of Adobe AIR for creating mobile applications and there have been a number of blockbuster mobile applications created using Adobe AIR. Some recent examples of Flash applications created for mobile devices using AIR are Machinarium, Watch ESPN and tweet hunt.

Adobe is also fully committed to enabling Flash based apps on digital home devices. These apps can be packaged with AIR or web runtime technologies on TVs and other digital home devices that use the TV as a display.

Flash Player for Desktop Browsers: Flash continues to play a vital role of enabling features and functionality on the web that are not otherwise possible. As such, we have a long-term commitment to the Flash Player on desktops, and are actively working on the next Flash Player version (version 12).

Future of Flash Player: Of course, with the growth and continued improved browser support of HTML5, the role of Flash will change. For the foreseeable future, Flash offers advantages in delivering premium video with content protection, as well as providing a high performance, feature-rich and graphically advanced gaming platform. We are focusing our Flash Player efforts around these areas. Some of the features currently being worked on for the Flash Player:

• Mouse Lock Support
• ActionScript Workers / Concurrency APIs
• Telemetry/Monocle Support
• Audio API improvements, especially for better handling of low latency audio • New Datatypes for ActionScript 3

We are also making some long term, and significant architectural changes, which will benefit the Flash Player (and developers) for years to come. This is still in the early stages, and we will have more information in the coming months.

Flash Professional: We are actively working on the next version of Flash Professional and have a long term commitment to it’s continued development.

Flex: Adobe is still committed to Flex and Flash Builder. (See below for more details.)

 What about the future of Flash Pro? I have seen rumors that the entire Flash Authoring team was let go and that Adobe is no longer developing Flash Professional.

 The rumor is that the entire Flash Authoring team was laid off and that we are no longer developing Flash Professional is false. We are actively working on the next version of Flash Professional and have a long term commitment to it’s continued development.

While there were layoffs on the team, we still have a large team actively working on future versions of the tool. The Flash Pro team continues to have offices around the world, just as they did prior to the announcements. The core team, including product management and engineering members, continue and will continue to be based in SF.

 I can’t go into details about all of the new features and improvements included in the next version of Flash Pro, but some of the new features include:

•  SpriteSheet export for both Starling and HTML5 / Canvas. Lee Brimelow has a sneak here.
• Support for packaging and exporting AIR applications for mobile that leverage native extensions.
• Mobile prototyping and simulation for AIR apps.
• In addition to working on new features, we are also in the process of a pretty fundamental re-factoring and modernization of the tool’s code base, which, among other things includes a de-carbonization of the tool on the mac platform. This is a longer term project, being done in parallel with CS 6.0 development.

 What are you announcing regarding Flex?

We are preparing two proposals for incubating Flex SDK and BlazeDS at the Apache Software Foundation.

 In addition to contributing the core Flex SDK (including automation and advanced data visualization components), Adobe also plans to donate the following:

•  Complete, but yet-to-be-released, Spark components, including ViewStack, Accordion, DateField, DateChooser and an enhanced DataGrid.
• BlazeDS, the server-based Java remoting and web messaging technology that enables developers to easily connect to back-end distributed data and push data in real-time to Flex applications.
• Falcon, the next-generation MXML and ActionScript compiler that is currently under development (this will be contributed when complete in 2012) • Falcon JS, an experimental cross-compiler from MXML and ActionScript to HTML and JavaScript.
• Flex testing tools, as used previously by Adobe, so as to ensure successful continued development of Flex with high quality

 Will Adobe continue to work on Flex?

 Yes. Adobe will also have a team of Flex SDK engineers contributing to the Apache projects as their full-time responsibility. We also expect on-going and active contributions from the Apache community and we are working with the Flex community to make them contributors as well.

 Flex was already an open-source framework. What’s so different about this announcement?

With this announcement, Adobe will no longer be the owner of the ongoing roadmap. Instead, the project will be in Apache and governed according to its well-established community rules. In this model, Apache community members will provide project leadership. We expect project management to include both Adobe engineers as well as key community leaders. Together, they will jointly operate in a meritocracy to define new features and enhancements for future versions of the Flex SDK. The Apache model has proven to foster a vibrant community, drive development forward, and allow for continuous commits from active developers.

 Why are you making this change now?

 With the upcoming release of Flex 4.6, we believe Flex will have reached the level of architectural stability and maturity that allows the community to drive innovation and that this change will give customers, partners, and the community more direct control of the Flex roadmap.

 We had initially planned on making these announcements in early 2012, but given the level of interest following the other announcements we moved our communication plans forward.

 Will existing applications continue to run?

 Adobe will ensure that application build with Flex continue to run on future versions of Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android for the foreseeable future.

 Is Flex still a viable technology for existing or new projects?

 Yes. Flex will continue to be developed, maintained, and released as an Apache project and Adobe will actively contribute to that project. In addition, Adobe will ensure that applications built with Flex continue to run on current and new versions of Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android.

 Your initial blog post said you believe HTML is the “long-term solution for enterprise applications”. Can you clarify this?

 HTML5 related technologies, such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS are becoming increasingly capable, such that we have every reason to believe that advances in expressiveness (e.g., Canvas), performance (e.g., VM and GPU acceleration) and application-related capabilities (e.g. offline storage, web workers) will continue at a rapid pace. In time, we believe HTML5 will support the majority of cases where Flex is used today, although depending upon the application it could be 3-5 years from now.

 However, Flex has now, and we expect for time will continue to have, advantages over HTML for larger-scale application development, including:

•  Consistent delivery across multiple platforms
• A more robust programming language
• A mature set of components, including a flexible skinning/styling architecture
• A set of tools that enables developers and designers to be highly productive

 Our announcements are related to changes in the way the Flex SDK is developed and don’t change the fundamental value of Flex or make HTML5 more capable than it was prior to this change.

 What is Adobe going to do to make HTML5 a viable solution for large-scale applictions?

 In addition to our work on improving the fundamental capabilities of HTML through our contributions to WebKit, we will be building a number of developer tools using HTML5 related technologies. As part of that effort, we expect to create new UI components, libraries, and supporting infrastructure that may also be of value to customers. As we build these, we fully intend to contribute them back to open source projects, just as jQuery.

 Will Adobe provide migration tools to enable Flex applications to be “ported” to HTML?

 We have done some experimental investigations in this area, including Falcon JS (an ActionScript to JavaScript cross-compiler mentioned above), and we intend to contribute that work to the open source project. However, due to differences in the APIs between Flash and HTML along with the size and complexity of Flex applications, we don’t believe it will be possible to automatically translate Flex applications to HTML.

 What happens next?

 We are actively working on our proposal for incubating Flex SDK and BlazeDS at the Apache Software Foundation. Once the proposals have been accepted, both Adobe and community contributors can begin committing contributions. We will share an update when the proposal has been posted – we expect this to happen over the course of the next few weeks.

 We are working on providing more detailed information relating to the open source contributions we are making, how developers can contribute to Flex SDK and BlazeDS through Apache’s contribution model and our HTML5-related plans.

 We’d like an opportunity to talk to as many Flex customers as possible in person about these changes – to that end, members of the Flex product team along with Adobe evangelists will be organizing a multi-city international tour to enable more direct discussions.

DIGITAL HOME

What about Digital Home? Will Adobe continue to support AIR on TVs?

Adobe is fully committed to enabling Flash based apps on mobile and digital home devices. These apps are packaged using AIR for mobile devices and can be packaged with AIR or web runtime technologies on TVs and other digital home devices that use the TV as a display.

What about Flash Player and support for web browsing on TV’s (Google TV, Samsung SmartTVs and other connected Digital Home devices)?

Adobe will continue to support existing licensees who are planning on supporting Flash Player for web browsing on digital home devices and are using the Flash Player Porting Kit to do so. However we believe the best approach to deliver Flash-based content on televisions is through applications designed for TVs, not a web browsing experience with content not originally intended for TVs, and we will continue to encourage the device and content publishing community down that path.

What happens to Flash browsing support in the Google TV solution?

We recommend you talk with Google, but we believe Google has no immediate plans to remove the Flash Player from the Google TV browser

SECURITY

How long will Adobe commit to patching Flash Player on mobile?

Adobe will be providing security updates for the foreseeable future and is committed to announcing any changes well in advance.

How significant is the effort to do so?

We are committed to always addressing vulnerabilities as quickly as possible.

You indicated in your blog post that you will continue to deliver “critical” bug fixes and security updates. What do you mean by “critical”?

Does this mean you will no longer be fixing issues that are not considered “critical?”

We are committed to addressing anything that limits the playback of the content as intended by the content publisher or negatively impacts the security of the Flash Player or stability of the browser.

Who are the source code licensees mentioned in the post?

We don’t release names of partners that license the source code unless the partner chooses to share the information publicly. RIM, for example, is one partner that has confirmed publicly that they license the Flash Player source code. Adobe has also made the source code available to other Open Screen Project partners.

POSTS ADDRESSING THE RECENT CHANGES IN MORE DETAIL:

Adobe’s strategic transformation and the Flash Platform

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplatform/articles/recent-updates.html

Flash to Focus on PC Browsing and Mobile Apps; Adobe to More Aggressively Contribute to HTML5 Danny Winokur

http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html

Your Questions about Flex — Andrew Shorten & Deepa Subramaniam

http://blogs.adobe.com/flex/2011/11/your-questions-about-flex.html

Clarifications on Flash Player for Mobile Browsers, the Flash Platform, and the Future of Flash Mike Chambers

http://www.mikechambers.com/blog/2011/11/11/clarifications-on-flash-player-for-mobile- browsers-the-flash-platform-and-the-future-of-flash/#more-2451

Flash Professional and the Future — Mike Chambers

http://www.mikechambers.com/blog/2011/11/10/flash-professional-and-the-future/

Adobe Flash for Premium Video

http://blogs.adobe.com/ktowes/2011/11/adobe-flash-for-premium-video.html

Adobe AIR and Flash Player Team Blog — Thibault Imbert

https://blogs.adobe.com/flashplayer/2011/11/focusing.html

Some Thoughts on Flash and Devices — Ben Forta

http://forta.com/blog/index.cfm/2011/11/9/Some-Thoughts-On-Flash-And-Devices

Flash to Focus on Apps for Mobile — Lee Brimelow

http://www.leebrimelow.com/