Features Adobe Flash Player

1 features

1.1 data formats
1.2 multimedia formats
1.3 streaming protocols
1.4 performance

1.4.1 hardware acceleration
1.4.2 compilation

features

adobe flash player runtime executes , displays content provided swf file, although has no in-built features modify swf file @ runtime. can execute software written in actionscript programming language enables runtime manipulation of text, data, vector graphics, raster graphics, sound , video. player can access connected hardware devices, including web cameras , microphones, after permission same has been granted user.

flash player used internally adobe integrated runtime (air), provide cross-platform runtime environment desktop applications , mobile applications. air supports installable applications on windows, linux, macos, , mobile operating systems such ios , android. flash applications must built air runtime use additional features provided, such file system integration, native client extensions, native window/screen integration, taskbar/dock integration, , hardware integration connected accelerometer , gps devices.

data formats

flash player includes native support many different data formats, of can accessed through actionscript scripting interface.

xml: flash player has included native support xml parsing , generation since version 8. xml data held in memory xml document object model, , can manipulated using actionscript. actionscript 3 supports ecmascript xml (e4x), allows xml data manipulated more easily.
json: flash player 11 includes native support importing , exporting data in javascript object notation (json) format, allows interoperability web services , javascript programs.
amf: flash player allows application data stored on users computers, in form of local shared objects, flash equivalent browser cookies. flash player can natively read , write files in action message format, default data format local shared objects. since amf format specification published, data can transferred , flash applications using amf datasets instead of json or xml, reducing need parsing , validating such data.
swf: specification swf file format published adobe, enabling development of swx format project, used swf file format , amf means flash applications exchange data server side applications. swx system stores data standard swf bytecode automatically interpreted flash player. open-source project, swxml allows flash applications load xml files native actionscript objects without client-side xml parsing, converting xml files swf/amf on server.

multimedia formats

flash player graphics , multimedia platform, , has supported raster graphics , vector graphics since earliest version. supports following different multimedia formats can natively decode , playback.

mp3: support decoding , playback of streaming mpeg-2 audio layer iii (mp3) audio introduced in flash player 4. mp3 files can accessed , played server via http, or embedded inside swf file, streaming format.
flv: support decoding , playing video , audio inside flash video (flv , f4v) files, format developed adobe systems , macromedia. flash video container format , supports multiple different video codecs, such sorenson spark, vp6 , more h.264. flash player uses hardware acceleration display video present, using technologies such directx video acceleration , opengl so. flash video used youtube, hulu, yahoo! video, bbc online , other news providers. flv files can played server using http progressive download, , can embedded inside swf file. flash video can streamed via rtmp using adobe flash media server or other such server-side software.
png: support decoding , rendering portable network graphics (png) images, in both 24-bit (opaque) , 32-bit (semi-transparent) variants. flash player 11 can encode png bitmap via actionscript.
jpeg: support decoding , rendering compressed jpeg images. flash player 10 added support jpeg-xr advanced image compression standard developed microsoft corporation, results in better compression , quality jpeg. jpeg-xr enables lossy , lossless compression or without alpha channel transparency. flash player 11 can encode jpeg or jpeg-xr bitmap via actionscript.
gif: support decoding , rendering compressed graphics interchange format (gif) images, in single-frame variants only. loading multi-frame gif display first image frame.

streaming protocols

http: support communicating web servers using http requests , post data. however, websites explicitly allow flash connect them can accessed via http or sockets, prevent flash being used tool cross-site request forgery, cross-site scripting, dns rebinding , denial-of-service attacks. websites must host xml file termed cross domain policy, allowing or denying flash content specific websites connect them. websites, such digg, flickr, photobucket host cross domain policy permits flash content access website via http.
rtmp: support live audio , video streaming using real time messaging protocol (rtmp) developed macromedia. rtmp supports non-encrypted version on transmission control protocol (tcp) or encrypted version on secure transport layer security (ssl) connection. rtmpt can encapsulated within http requests traverse firewalls allow http traffic.
tcp: support transmission control protocol (tcp) internet socket communication communicate type of server, using stream sockets. sockets can used via actionscript, , can transfer plain text, xml or binary data (actionscript 3.0 , later). prevent security issues, web servers permit flash content communicate them using sockets must host xml-based cross domain policy file, served on port 843. sockets enable as3 programs interface kind of server software, such mysql.

performance
hardware acceleration

until version 10 of flash player, there no support gpu acceleration. version 10 added limited form of support shaders on materials in form of pixel bender api, still did not have gpu-accelerated 3d vertex processing. significant change came in version 11, added new low-level api called stage3d (initially codenamed molehill), provides full gpu acceleration, similar webgl. (the partial support gpu acceleration in pixel bender removed in flash 11.8, resulting in disruption of projects mit s scratch, lacked manpower recode applications enough.)

current versions of flash player optimized use hardware acceleration video playback , 3d graphics rendering on many devices, including desktop computers. performance similar html5 video playback. also, flash player has been used on multiple mobile devices primary user interface renderer.

compilation

although code written in actionscript 3 executes 10 times faster prior actionscript 2, adobe actionscript 3 compiler non-optimizing compiler, , produces inefficient bytecode in resulting swf, when compared toolkits such crossbridge.

crossbridge, toolkit targets c++ code run within flash player, uses llvm compiler produce bytecode runs 10 times faster code actionscript 3 compiler produces, because llvm compiler uses more aggressive optimization.

adobe has released actionscript compiler 2 (asc2) in flex 4.7 , onwards, improves compilation times , optimizes generated bytecode , supports method inlining, improving performance @ runtime.

as of 2012, haxe multiplatform language can build programs flash player perform faster same application built adobe flex sdk compiler.