Flash is driven by ActionScript which is a language that reads quite a bit like JavaScript. The reason why it works for anyone is b/c they have the interpreter downloaded to their computer (and usually plugged into their browsers). To make something that acted like Flash but was driven by Perl, you'd have to write a mini-interpreter, probably as a plugin for every browser out there, and get the remote users to download and install it. Online life moves so fast it's easy to forget that just a few years ago practically no one had Flash plugins and there was quite a bit of resistance to Flash's continued existence.

So, the short answer is: no way. To make a similar kind of animation with Perl would be a monumental undertaking that would be recreating the work of hundreds of developers over several years; and it would only be an academic exercise b/c Flash (and Shockwave) have the market sewn up and getting everyone to download one more plugin would be unlikely. Even when your product is much better (eg, Quicktime vs the Windows and Real alternatives) you face enormous challenges to adoption.

update: color me wrong. See SWF::Builder.

In reply to Re: Flash animation by Your Mother
in thread Flash animation by Anonymous Monk

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.