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Web Development – Dev Tools, Flash Embed

Essential Developer Tools

Flash Content Embed

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/flashembedcagematch/

“How can you best embed Flash content?”

It should be a simple question, but is likely to evoke a lot of different opinions and arguments, as each of the many available embedding techniques have their own pros and cons. In this article, I will look into the complexities and subtleties of embedding Flash content and examine the most popular embedding methods to see how good they really are.

The key ingredients of a great Flash embedding method:

  • Standards Compliance
  • Cross-Browser Support
  • Support for Alternative Content
  • Avoidance of Flash Content/Player Mismatches
  • Auto-Activation of Active Content
  • Ease Of Implementation

http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/

What is SWFObject?

  • Offers two optimized Flash Player embed methods; a markup based approach and a method that relies on JavaScript
  • Offers a JavaScript API that aims to provide a complete tool set for embedding SWF files and retrieving Flash Player related information
  • Utilizes only one small JavaScript file (10Kb / GZIPed: 3.9Kb)
  • Is the successor of SWFObject 1.5, UFO and the Adobe Flash Player Detection Kit
  • Intends to unify all existing Flash Player embed methods and provide a new standard for embedding Adobe Flash Player content

Why should you use SWFObject?

  • Is more optimized and flexible than any other Flash Player embed method around
  • Offers one solution for everybody: It shouldn’t matter if you are an HTML, Flash, or JavaScript developer, there should be something in it for everyone
  • Breaks the cycle of being locked into vendor specific markup and promotes the use of web standards and alternative content
  • Uses unobtrusive JavaScript and JavaScript best practices
  • Is easy to use

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