Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Google adds Flash-to-HTML5 conversion to Adobe development tool

news
Nov 17, 20112 mins

Flash Professional users can use their existing skills to develop HTML5 animations

Google is enabling developers who use the Adobe Flash Professional developer tool to convert their animations to HTML5 via an extension based on Google’s Swiffy conversion technology.

The debut follows in the wake of Adobe’s revelation last week that it would cease work on its mobile Flash Player, opting instead for HTML5 and the Adobe AIR runtime as a way for Flash applications to reach mobile devices. Google’s Swiffy Extension for Flash Professional trails the July introduction of Swiffy for converting Flash SWF files to HTML5.

“One of our main aims for Swiffy is to let you continue to use Flash as a development environment, even when you’re developing animations for environments that don’t support Flash,” said Esteban de la Canal, Google software engineer, in a blog post. “To speed up the development process, we’ve built the Swiffy Extension for Flash Professional. The extension enables you to convert your animation to HTML5 with one click (or keyboard shortcut).”

The tool, Google said, makes it easier to use Flash to develop HTML5 animations. Available for both Mac and Windows, the extension uses Swiffy as a Web service for accessing the latest conversions.

While Adobe has backed off of Flash on mobile devices, the company still is continuing with Flash on the desktop, where the rich Internet plug-in has become ubiquitous on websites. But HTML5, providing a standards-based way to build Web applications with multimedia capabilities, has been gaining acceptance not only at Adobe, but at Apple and Microsoft as well.

This article, “Google adds Flash-to-HTML5 conversion to Adobe development tool,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in business technology news and get a digest of the key stories each day in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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