HTML5 Canvas / Flash substitutes?

I'm looking for a good plugin for: a) rapid rendering of b) lines, shapes, and imagery on top of a c) rectangular canvas area who's size can be declared at load time.

It needs to run at 20-30fps without putting a heavy load in the browser. It also needs to be able to interface with JavaScript and the DOM.

Creating my own Flash plugin is the first choice, but I'd like to aim f开发者_JAVA技巧or a free, open-source and/or non-proprietary solution first. HTML5 canvas is out of the question - it renders way too slowly.

Anyone happen to know of anything that does these features? (I'd even be okay with a pre-made Flash plugin that meets the requirements mentioned above)

Your request is still vague. What do the lines and shapes need to do? Sit there looking pretty?

If your lines, shapes, and imagery are going to be fewer than say 5,000 objects total, I'd recommend using SVG and perhaps the Raphael library to go with it. Every SVG object is a DOM object from the get-go, which will save you some associated headaches with trying to use Flash or Canvas.

If you really need a lot more performance or plan on having 50,000 objects on screen, Canvas may be for you.

"Creating my own Flash plugin is the first choice"

I'm unclear what you mean by "plugin" here - I assume you just mean "flash file" (an SWF?).

I think @WTP is making a good point. You say "rapid rendering" but of what? how complex is it? Flash has very good speeds when it comes to vector graphics, and much faster rendering of optimized bitmap data (the technique of choice is blitting here). It all comes down to optimizations / complexity of graphics. No matter the plugin / tech solution, you will always be able to cripple a machine with inefficient design.

To answer your question, Flash will definitely meet your needs.

I would also venture that Canvas/JS would as well, but apparently you've tried that already? I've seen quite complex scenes running quite rapidly, so that surprises me.

I'll note, also, the upcoming Molehill APIs for Flash. This provides low-level access to the GPU - and will create the potential for breathtaking 2d/3d performance in the browser. But its still in alpha, so... don't hold your breath ;)

I know of only four major players in the "Vector graphics capable" department -- HTML Canvas, Flash, Silverlight, and Java applets. Aside from canvas, all them are proprietary in some way or another. The good news is that all of them have the ability to compile for free in some way or another and they are generally faster than canvas by my understanding. Now, I happen to know Flash so that might color my opinion, but I am fairly certain that it is your best option. It has decent performance and a solid install base. It also runs on Linux and does not raise major security issues.

Look up the Flash Builder (Flex) sdk. There is command line compilation for it.