Macromedia Flash 4.0 Understanding Flash Paul Jones
Macromedia's Flash 4 is the leading vector-based animation tool for the Web. It slices, it dices, and it even comes with a free knife. Well, not really. I just made that up. But figuratively speaking it's very true. If you want fast-loading, sleek animation on the Web, you want Flash 4.
Vector Vs. Raster
RASTER
VECTOR
Raster images consist of small squares called pixels. They are resolution-dependent and appear jagged and lose detail when zoomed in on. Raster images are best for photographs or images created in painting programs such as Photo-Paint and Photoshop.
Vector images are made up of mathematically defined lines and curves called vectors. These resolution-independent images are perfectly scalable and are easy to move or change color without losing detail. Vector images are best for type, bold graphics (such as logos), and Web animation.
To appreciate just how cool Flash 4 is, you need to know what vector and raster graphics are. If you're already familiar with this concept, you'll probably want to skip ahead to page 2 of this review. But if not, make a note of these important differences between vector and raster images.
The table to the right points out the major characteristics of each image type. There are far more technical ways of explaining it, but that's out of the scope of this review. In short, raster-based images are made out of a grid of squares (pixels), and vector-based images are made of pre-defined shapes, lines, and curves. Raster is great for photographs and the like, but when you zoom in on a raster-based image, it will become very jagged and lose much of the detail (see screenshot). Vector-based images, on the other hand, are mathematical descriptions of how to draw the image. The letter "G" (or any other line, curve, shape) looks just as smooth when zoomed in at 1600% as it does at 100% or smaller (see other screenshot). Vector images typically have much smaller file sizes than raster images, so it's particularly well-suited for the Web and animation.
