Flash vs HTML5/CSS3

[TinyXP]

I'm kind of confused at this point in my career. I'm not sure if I should learn HTML5/CSS3 or Flash. Learning Flash seems to be a huge learning curve and I'm really reluctant to buying flash cs5 and going back to windows just to learn that. A part of me doesn't want to go in that direction because so far I've committed myself to only learning open source technologies - HTML, CSS,JavaScript (w/ Frameworks), C/C++, PHP. I'm so glad that CSS3 will be out soon because that would mean I can design beautiful sites without having to use photoshop.

I need to take a decision pretty soon. Please suggest.

[Simian Man]

You forgot the most important thing: what is your actual goal? Is there a specific site you want to build or what?

[nvteighen]

Hum... I'm not sure... If you're going to build a professional website (for yourself or for a third-party), you'll have a tough decision to take there. I'd investigate a lot on what the market tendencies are with respect of HTML5/CSS3 adoption before: what browsers are implementing it and how much and well do they support it, how much risk there is in adopting that new technology over the well-established one, compared to how much risk *you* can take, etc. I'm not a marketing expert, but I thing that the decision can vary depending on what your target is.

But, if you're just playing around with these technologies, I'd go for HTML5/CSS3: it's an open standard, free and you just need some browser and your skills.

[juancarlospaco]

Google and Learn to use " 3D-No-Plugins " for instant win,
it shows 3D things made on Blender without plugins using HTML5/CCS3/Js

[irrdev]

Here's the rule of thumb:
If you're looking to design a website that needs animations, transitions, or dynamic interactivity, go with HTML5.

If you're looking to program an application that is an online multiplayer game, uses proprietary technology, displays video or displays 3d graphics, use Flash

HTML5 is the ideal technology for many use cases, but the current implementations limit its use. Additionally, if you're planning on making money from an online game, Flash is really the only way to go to have mediocre protection against hacking. The only way to protect HTML5 is to have more server-side programming, but this is obviously an issue for realtime applications. As for WebGL, it still has a LONG way to go before it's ready for prime time. I wish it was otherwise, but Flash will always have a use-case because it can try and protect your work; HTML5 can't.