Finally a word from somebody who knows what they are talking about! I’ve read a lot of wild claims regarding the comparison of Canvas to Flash and even wilder predictions.
Tom Preston-Werner has actually converted a great Flash application, the GitHub Network Graph, to use Canvas instead. For one, that gives him credit to talk about the topic and he does so well at his post about the experience. IMHO it’s the most sober cross-section of considerations related to these two technologies. Really, read it if this matters to you, you’ll find a conclusion in it unlike most catch-phrase-throwing-time-wasting posts on this topic.
From my first opinion on using HTML5 in RIA from two years ago, the situation changed little in terms of standardization, but implementations of HTML5 have leapt in quality. Having said that, I agree with Tom’s conclusion completely. So what Canvas can’t deliver yet, I’ll deliver it in Flash.
As my final word, I would like to share another, much deeper insight in software development strategy coming from Clifford Hall, author of PureMVC, who has 25 years of experience in the business. Ideas explained in his post remind us that there is a bigger picture that we should drive our attention to in order to put an end to the Sisyphean task of making these choices.
