Adobe Flash (formerly called Macromedia Flash and Shockwave Flash) is a multimedia and software platform used for creating vector graphics, animation, games and rich Internet applications (RIAs) that can be viewed, played and executed inAdobe Flash Player. Flash is frequently used to serve streaming media, advertisement and interactive multimedia content onweb pages and Flash-enabled software. However usage of Flash on websites is declining.^[1]

Flash manipulates vector and raster graphics to provide animation of text, drawings, and still images. It allows bidirectional streaming of audio and video, and it can capture mouse, keyboard, microphone and camera input. Interactive Flash animations are created using the object-oriented language called ActionScript. Flash content can be developed using an IDE such Adobe Flash Professional. Adobe's attempt to foster open source Flash development appears to have been abandoned.

Adobe Flash Player makes Flash contents accessible on Windows, OS X and Linux, some smartphones and tablets, and a few other electronic devices using Flash Lite. It is available free of charge for web browsers as a plug-in. Flash-enabled computer programs can be created with Adobe AIR.