In recent years the debate between Flash and HTML5 has gained more and more attention as HTML5 becomes more developed and refined. Flash has been the web standard for websites since the late 1990s, but HTML5 is rapidly gaining traction and is considered by some to be the standard of the “future.” Another aspect of the debate is whether or not we should opt for open or closed web standards, Flash being the latter. Even though 85% of the most visited websites run on Flash, HTML5 is the future because HTML5 combined with Javascript and CSS3 offers the same functionality as Flash, and HTML5 can avoid many problems that Flash faces by being open source. Flash first appeared in 1998 and was created by Adobe Systems. Flash quickly gained popularity and soon after became the standard for web development. Flash uses the ActionScript programming language, which allows developers to create web animations and websites that are far superior to anything developed at the time using HTML. With the new development of HTML5, developers can now create the same level of animations and websites that were previously only possible with Flash. HTML5 is a synthesis of several technologies and has broad developer potential, which is partly why it is gaining popularity. 99% of PC browsers support Flash, but most of the new mobile phones and tablets coming out do not support Flash, which is one of the biggest disadvantages. Browser support for HTML5 is steadily growing as we move into the future of the Internet/mobile devices and currently represents 40% of all browsers. Flash has always played a prominent role in web video, but lately people have been switching to h.264 and HTML5 playback. In the last 5...... middle of paper...... of most websites, web-based applications, mobile devices, tablets and web animations, while Flash will still be used in most of web video and browser-based online games.Works Cited1)http://www.slashgear.com/html5-and-flash-can-work-together-insists-adobe-evangelist-video-1778043/2)http:/ / www.esecurityplanet.com/features/article.php/3916381/Top-5-Security-Threats-in-HTML5.htm3) http://www.symantec.com/business/threatreport/index.jsp4) http:/ / www.damicon.com/resources/openvsclosed.html5) http://www.ozymandias.com/techcrunch-the-future-of-web-content-–-html5-flash-mobile-apps6) http://www . elance.com/p/blog/2011/01/developers-perspective-on-flash-vs-html5.html7) http://archonic.com/blog/2010/05/07/future-of-flash-html5- vs-flash/8) http://modmyi.com/forums/mac-news/734972-flash-losing-ground-html5-web-video.html