flashbased

Flashbased is an umbrella term used to describe technologies, devices, or content that rely on flash memory or the former Adobe Flash platform. In hardware contexts, "flashbased" typically refers to storage technologies that use NAND flash memory, including solid-state drives (SSDs), USB flash drives, and memory cards. Flash-based storage is characterized by fast random access, no moving parts, and low power consumption, with performance dependent on the controller and interface (SATA, PCIe NVMe). Endurance depends on flash type (SLC, MLC, TLC, or QLC) and wear-leveling strategies; common trade-offs include capacity and price per gigabyte. The term is contrasted with magnetic storage, such as hard disk drives, and with newer non-volatile memories. In consumer devices, flashbased storage has become the default for laptops and mobile devices.

In software and multimedia contexts, "flash-based" referred to content created with Adobe Flash, including animations, interactive applications, and early web video players. This usage declined rapidly after the decline of Flash support in browsers; Adobe officially ended support for Flash Player in 2020, and major browsers removed plugins in subsequent years. The transition favored open standards such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, along with WebGL and WebAssembly for rich media. The term may still appear in historical documentation or in product descriptions that reference legacy Flash-based assets.

Etymology: "flashbased" can appear as two words, hyphenated, or the closed form "flashbased" in product names or branding. Context usually makes the intended meaning clear.