Flash, from Macromedia, is gaining popularity on the Internet as an easy to use, and easy to be used, tool that allows the programmer or creative agent to display to the intended audience their work in the way that the agent intended.  With HTML websites, even those that use standards and CSS, there is a chance that the browser that is used will interpret the code in a way that the creator did not intend.  With flash, this problem is removed.  It takes the creation process from WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) to WYSIWYI (What You See Is What You Intended).  This puts the creative process soundly in the hands of the developer and creative agent, not the whims of the target browser.
Flash applications can be broken down into three basic categories:  Flash Sites, Flash Objects and Flash Applications. 
 
Flash Sites are just what the title suggests.  These are sites that are primarily written in Flash, and tend to be on the more “artsy” side of web development.  Until recently many companies were not willing to allow their sites to be developed in flash due to slow load times and the inability for the company themselves to update the site.  With the latest generation of tool available to both developers and average users there is more of a willingness to use flash as a development tool.  Tools from companies such as Macromedia (www.macromedia.com), Coffee Cup (www.coffeecup.com), and SwfTools (www.swftools.com) are putting the ability to create easy to use and update sites into the hands of the average user.  This allows companies to make the choice to build a site in flash, and maintain the site themselves.
 
Flash Objects are usually smaller pieces of code that perform a specific task.  A flash object may be a banner ad that scrolls a company logo across the screen, or rotates a banner that displays to the viewer some form of data that the creator of the object intended.  With the use of XML to control the display of content in the object there is now the ability to provide some flexibility or manipulation to the object.  What this means is the object can be created once, and the author is then able to change part of the XML in order to, for example, display a tip of the day, or perhaps the local weather which may be aggregated from a third party source.  This type of methodology is called RSS, or Really Simple Syndication.  By allowing the author to change a small piece of data the flash object allows for the separation of layout versus content.  The content in this case is made to conform to the flash object, not the other way around.  This again gives control to the creator, not a reliance on a third party tool such as a browser or operating system
 
Flash Applications are typically defined as pieces or groups of code that are interactive and provide something of a user experience.  At the simplest end of the spectrum would be a mortgage calculator, or a simple form builder.  In the case of a form builder the programmer is able to set a series of simple rules, such as to whom an e-mail will go, and where the data from the form will be stored, if it is stored at all.  The flash building application then displays to the person building the application as series of simple to follow questions that walks through the process of building a form.  Choices such as drop-down menus, text fields and radio buttons are available to the creator and with the push of a save button the application is created.  The end user, the indented audience is then presented with a simple to use application that does what the author intended the application to do. 
On the upper end of the scale with applications there are sites such as Cosmeo (www.cosmeo.com) that use flash to create an entire user experience.  It can be argued that this is a Flash Site, but the difference is in the interactivity of the application, and the ability for the participant to log into the site and have their experience change based on who they are logged in as.  What this means is that both the creator and the user are able to change the experience based on what the intent of the programmer was, and the experience that the user wants.
 
Flash has developed into an easy to use system of tools that allow for a rich user experience and in many cases, a simple to use set of tools for the programmer.  Couple this with the wide acceptance and adaptation of broadband technologies flash is poised to take an ever more distributed role on the Internet.  The next generation of flash tools coming from innovative companies should further extend that ease of use into the hands of the average end user allowing everyone to use tool that are WYSIWYN (What You See Is What You Need).
 

 
Don Raleigh is the President of Evolve Systems in Roseville, Minnesota.  He has assisted in the launch of over 500 websites and has spoken across the country on topics such as Internet Security, X500 directories, Programming Tools and Content Management Systems.  He can be reached at 651-628-4000 or