Flash Naming Conventions

With the introduction of the MX family of products, including Flash MX, Macromedia abandoned a standard numeric versioning system for its Flash authoring tool. The Flash Player, however, is still versioned numerically. Table P-1 describes the naming conventions for Flash used in this book.

Table P-1. Flash naming conventions used in this book

Name	Meaning
Flash MX	The Flash MX authoring tool (as opposed to the Flash Player).
Flash Player 6	The Flash Player, version 6. The Flash Player is a browser plugin for major web browsers on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. The platform-specific versions of the plugin are referred to collectively as "Flash Player 6," except where noted.
Flash Player x.0.y.0	The Flash Player, specifically the release specified by x and y, as in Flash Player 6.0.47.0.
Flash 6	Short name for "Flash Player 6," used where the distinction between Flash MX (the authoring tool) and Flash Player 6 (the browser plugin) is irrelevant.
Flash 5 authoring tool	The Flash 5 authoring tool, which came before Flash MX (as opposed to the Flash Player).
Flash Player 5	The Flash Player, version 5.
Flash 5	Short name for "Flash Player 5," used where the distinction between Flash 5 (the authoring tool) and Flash Player 5 (the browser plugin) is irrelevant.
Flash 2, Flash 3, and Flash 4	Versions of the Flash Player prior to version 5.
Standalone Player	A version of the Flash Player that runs directly off the local system rather than as a web browser plugin or ActiveX control.
Projector	A self-sufficient executable that includes both a .swf file and a Standalone Player. Projectors can be built for either the Macintosh or Windows operating system using Flash's File Publish feature.