FlashPlattform

FlashPlattform, or the Flash Platform, was a family of technologies for creating and delivering multimedia-rich applications across devices. Originating with Macromedia and continued by Adobe after its acquisition in 2005, the platform revolved around the Flash Player runtime, which executes content in a web browser via a plug-in, and the supporting development tools and runtimes. Its core components included ActionScript, the programming language; the authoring tool initially known as Flash Professional (renamed Animate in 2016); and the Flex framework for building rich Internet applications. The AIR runtime enabled Flash content to run as standalone applications on desktop and mobile devices, while Flash Lite targeted mobile platforms. The platform also included streaming and video capabilities built into the runtime.

Flash Platform enabled developers to create interactive animations, games, and multimedia experiences with relatively consistent behavior across different operating systems and browsers. Its widespread adoption contributed to a long era of rich media on the web, particularly before modern open web standards matured.

End of life and legacy: Adobe ended official support for Flash Player on December 31, 2020, and major browsers removed or blocked the plug-in. Developers were advised to migrate to open standards such as HTML5, JavaScript, and WebGL. The Flex SDK was open-sourced and continued as Apache Flex, while Adobe AIR has continued under a different stewardship for cross-platform apps.

Today, the Flash Platform is primarily remembered for its role in early web multimedia and in driving the development of tools and workflows that led to modern alternatives.