Gnash

Gnash (composed of GNU and Flash) is a free software for playback of Flash files that will be developed as part of the GNU project.

Gnash is one of the projects that have a high priority for the Free Software Foundation, since it covers an area that must be used in the present still often proprietary software. The aim is to establish a free alternative to the market leader Adobe Flash. By July 2010, the development of the commercial sponsor Lulu.com was supported.

Currently, versions for GNU / Linux and BSD are available. Porting to Microsoft Windows (so far only experimental and very flawed present) and Solaris are provided. Furthermore, there are also ports to OS / 2, Syllable and Haiku - currently, however without a browser plugin - and AmigaOS and RISC OS.

Functions

Flash files can be personalized with Gnash individually, play independently of a web browser. By also available expansion module can also be embedded in Web pages flash files from Web browsers such as Firefox, SeaMonkey or Konqueror consider. The source code is written by the GameSWF heritage in C . Gnashs ActionScript classes can be extended by libraries (including, for example MySQL support or file system access ), so it is deposited by the flash reference implementation.

• Support for SWF v8: ability to play the most recent flash movies; However, innovations in SWF 7 only marginally implemented
• Support for streaming ( playing the movie during transmission)
• XML message Server: Gnash supports the XML-based messaging system.
• Support for Flash video ( depending on the used Flash version )

Just as the Adobe_Flash player also stores Gnash Flash cookies.

Technology

The reproduction of the illustrations done by software rendering on Anti- Grain Geometry or hardware - accelerated OpenGL on the graphics interface. Also, Cairo is partially supported.

History

The creation of free playback software for Flash is a project of high priority from the GNU project for some time. Before the foundation of the Gnash project, the GNU project assistants asked for GPLFlash. In early 2006, is changed to the Gnash project, the majority of the former GPLFlash developers. The existing GPLFlash code base is aligned on the support of embedded systems.

Gnash is based on GameSWF, another open source and public domain Flash Player from Thatcher Ulrich, who is no longer in development for some time. The then GameSWF developer Rob Savoye split in December 2005 from Gnash. As the GNU project, it will be further developed under the GPL, which is relevant for GameSWF developments are made in the public domain again, to make the original project available.

Since version 0.8.2 of Gnash has reached the beta stage, but does not yet support all the features of the Flash format.

The version 0.8.8 was released on August 22, 2010. With this release, Gnash should, according to the developer, work with all YouTube videos.