Gnash (software): Difference between revisions
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Writing a free software Flash player has been a priority of the GNU project for some time (see [[High Priority Free Software Projects]]). Prior to the launch of Gnash, the GNU project had asked for people to assist the [[GPLFlash]] project. The majority of the previous GPLFlash developers have now moved to the Gnash project and the existing GPLFlash codebase will be refocused towards supporting embedded systems<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://gplflash.sourceforge.net/ | title = GPLFlash homepage | accessdate = 2007-04-17 }}</ref>. |
Writing a free software Flash player has been a priority of the GNU project for some time (see [[High Priority Free Software Projects]]). Prior to the launch of Gnash, the GNU project had asked for people to assist the [[GPLFlash]] project. The majority of the previous GPLFlash developers have now moved to the Gnash project and the existing GPLFlash codebase will be refocused towards supporting embedded systems<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://gplflash.sourceforge.net/ | title = GPLFlash homepage | accessdate = 2007-04-17 }}</ref>. |
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Gnash was started using the codebase of the [[GameSWF]] project, which is in the [[public domain |
The primary distribution terms for Gnash are those of the [[GNU General Public License]], however since Gnash was started using the codebase of the [[GameSWF]] project, which is in the [[public domain]], code developed by the Gnash project which might be useful in GameSWF will be placed in the public domain.<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/gnash/2005-12/msg00000.html | title = Welcome to the Gnash project! | first = John | last = Gilmore | work = Gnash mailing list | accessdate = 2006-12-28 |date= [[20 December]] [[2005]] }}</ref> |
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Gnash was first announced by software developer [[John Gilmore (activist)|John Gilmore]]. Gnash's lead developer is [[Rob Savoye]]. |
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== Technical details == |
== Technical details == |
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Revision as of 23:02, 5 January 2008
| File:Gnash-logo.png | |
 Screenshot of Gnash 0.8.0 GTK+ GUI with test SWF file | |
| Developer(s) | Rob Savoye |
|---|---|
| Stable release | |
| Repository | |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | Media player |
| License | GNU General Public License |
| Website | http://www.gnashdev.org/ |
Gnash is a project which aims to create a free player and browser plugin for the Adobe Flash file format, replacing the proprietary software niche currently occupied by Adobe Flash Player.
History
Writing a free software Flash player has been a priority of the GNU project for some time (see High Priority Free Software Projects). Prior to the launch of Gnash, the GNU project had asked for people to assist the GPLFlash project. The majority of the previous GPLFlash developers have now moved to the Gnash project and the existing GPLFlash codebase will be refocused towards supporting embedded systems[1].
The primary distribution terms for Gnash are those of the GNU General Public License, however since Gnash was started using the codebase of the GameSWF project, which is in the public domain, code developed by the Gnash project which might be useful in GameSWF will be placed in the public domain.[2]
Gnash was first announced by software developer John Gilmore. Gnash's lead developer is Rob Savoye.
Technical details
Gnash requires either AGG, Cairo, or OpenGL for rendering. In contrast to most GNU projects, which are typically written in C, Gnash is written in the C++ programming language.
Adobe provides an official player for Linux on x86 in a binary-only form. It does not support Linux users with other processor architectures[3]. However, Gnash can be compiled and executed on many architectures, including x86, AMD64, MIPS/Irix, and PowerPC. It also supports BSD-based operating systems. An early port for RISC OS, which has never had Macromedia/Adobe Flash support,[4] does exist, as well as an early port for BeOS, where Flash support terminated at Version 4.[5]
Flash actually consists of two different file types, SWF, often just referred to as Flash, which provides animated vector graphics for menus and presentations and FLV, often referred to as Flash Video, which provides streaming video clips for websites such as YouTube.
Currently, Gnash can play SWF files up to version 7, as well as some features of the new version 8– 9 files. Gnash supports playback of FLV videos and allows playing FLV files from YouTube, MySpace, ShowMeDo and other similar websites. FLV support requires FFmpeg or GStreamer to be installed on the system.[6]
In contrast, most other free software Flash players can only render up to version 4 SWF files.[7] Some other free-software programs, such as MPlayer[8], VLC media player[9] or Windows players based on the ffdshow DirectShow codecs can play back the FLV format if the file is specially downloaded or piped to it.
The goal of the Gnash developers is to be as compatible as possible with the proprietary player (including behavior on bad ActionScript code). However, Gnash offers some special features not available in the Adobe player, such as the possibility to extend the ActionScript classes via shared libraries: sample extensions include MySQL support, file system access and more. For security reasons the extension mechanism must be compiled-in explicitly and enabled via configuration files.
See also
References
- ^ "GPLFlash homepage". Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ Gilmore, John (20 December 2005). "Welcome to the Gnash project!". Gnash mailing list. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Adobe TechNote: Flash Player support on 64-bit operating systems". Adobe. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ "RISC OS To Get Flash, Word Support". Thom Holwerda, osnews.com. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ "Gnash for BeOS (Take 2)". DaaT, joomla.iscomputeron.com. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ "Task #5930 on GNU Gnash Savannah Site". Gnash Developers. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ "Official Gnash Project Website". Gnash Developers. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ "FFmpeg Documentation - Supported Video Formats". MPlayer Developers. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ "VideoLAN Client Features List". VideoLAN Developers. Retrieved 2007-04-22.