Macromedia Flash MX is a program used to display rich interactive animation and multimedia content on the Web. One of the main advantages of Flash is that it stores all of the information in a single file that can be easily integrated with most Content Management Systems. Flash is great for showcasing various pieces of media in a dynamic way that can be completely controlled by the author. This program uses vector graphics, which means that the graphics can be scaled to any size without losing either clarity or quality.
Java applets are also frequently used on the World Wide Web to create dynamic effects on web pages. Nevertheless, Flash applications load much faster than applets do not require programming skills. Flash also allows interactivity while animated images don't.
However, it should be noted that Flash is not a method to replace HTML Web pages. While Flash opens up certain capabilities, its nature of being a single locked file prevents a flash project text from being read by some search engines, screen readers for the blind and archiving Web services that cache Web pages.
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