Smokescreen plan: Implement Flash with HTML5

A programmer named Chris Smoak recently launched an Open-source project that uses JAVASCRIPT/HTML5 to implement Flash features, smokescreen, which translates flash animations into pure HTML5 + JavaScript, In order to break out of the Flash plug-in, directly in the browser to achieve flash-style animation. Here are some very nice demos .

As for this technique, a programmer named Simon Willison has done a good job of dissecting his blog:

Smokescreen runs completely in the browser, reads the SWF binaries, and compresses (and uses local JavaScript to decompress!). To extract images and embedded audio from them, convert them to Base64 encoded data, and then convert the vector graphics into SVG animations. Open Web Inspector in Chrome, and you'll see SVG running in real time during the demo. Smokescreen even designed its own ActionScript interpreter.

Smoak said he would soon open the source code for smokescreen based on open source, and he has made several very beautiful demos, though not perfect enough, to see what HTML5 Flash-style animations are. The code does not support Flash video, but HTML5 already has its own video scheme. Smoak said his intention was to implement flash-style advertising animations on devices such as the iphone and the ipad, which are most likely to be used in advertising.

Optimized, the technology can also be used for games, Willison said, news sites in the infographics is also very useful, in addition, can also be used to render cartoon-style animation, such as the Strongbad series in the demo.

However, there is concern that smokescreen can be well applied to mobile devices with very limited speed and power supply, and that we expect code to be optimized after it is open. Currently, only the newest browsers can use the technology, including Firefox 3.6, Chrome 5, Safari 4, and Mobile Safari. The Opera 10.5 series is also close to support but does not support IE8, but Smoak says IE9 is hopeful.