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[Phptest-users] OT: Flash considered harmful? (was: Help with java and


From: Dan Kegel
Subject: [Phptest-users] OT: Flash considered harmful? (was: Help with java and PHP timer for PHPTest)
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:44:38 -0800
User-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)

Kathleen A.Ferraro wrote:
I have never been one to choose proprietary solutions over opensource ones; however, I have recently begun exploring ways to integrate flash into my otherwise almost exclusively php/mysql/apache/unix world. I have been strongly influenced by Jacobson and Jacobson's _Flash and XML: A Developer's Guide_,.... As for restricting browsers, again, I have not had that experience. I am not aware of a browser/platform that will not work with Flash. Until last month, web access from our computer classrooms was via netscape 4.x running on xterminals. There was a Flash plugin for solaris. When we installed it, no one ever reported trouble with Flash apps, but we had many problems with javascript. I am happy to discuss this further if you want outside this arena.

Sorry for diverging off-topic.  I'll just say one more thing on
the topic: Flash is a totally proprietary format.  Although Macromedia
does make plugins for many browsers, they don't make plugins for
all browsers.  You haven't run into these other browsers because
they're not too common.  The fact is, nobody but Macromedia knows
how to make a Flash plugin, whereas the standards and source code
needed to implement Javascript are freely available.

So at the moment, practically speaking, Flash is not evil for
the majority of users, but it is for the small minority who
use oddball browsers for which Macromedia does not make a Flash plugin.
Until Macromedia opens up the standard, which it has
no plans to do, Flash will always tend to discourage people from
using these other browsers.  It's a little bit like Microsoft in this recard.

In the meantime, if you can answer my query about where to put the onload() function in my script, that'd be great.

Sorry, I'm too lame to actually be helpful :-)  I had enough time
and energy to flame on about Flash, but now I've got that off my
chest, I'll go back to adding functionality to Wine (a free
Windows emulator).
- Dan

--
Dan Kegel
http://www.kegel.com
http://counter.li.org/cgi-bin/runscript/display-person.cgi?user=78045





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