The file extension SWF is a Shockwave Flash file format. It is a partly open format used for multimedia, particularly vector graphics acquired by FutureWave Software (now Adobe Systems). Intended to be of small size for publication on the Internet, files with the extension SWF contain applets or animations of varying degrees of function and interactivity. The file extension SWF generates animated menus and display graphics for television commercials and DVD movies.
The file extension SWF is presently the leading format for presenting animated vector graphics on the Internet, far beyond the open standard SVG of W3C with troubles over opposing implementations. Adobe dropped its accrediting restrictions for the SWF file extension specifications on May 1, 2008, as division of the Open Screen Project. Adobe released codes allowing search engine giants Yahoo and Google on July 1, 2008 to index and fix data in files with the SWF extension.
Initially limited to offering vector-based images and objects in a simple chronological manner, the latest versions of the file extension SWF enable video, audio, and many different forms to interface with the end user. Created files with the extension SWF are run by the Adobe Flash Player, operating as a standalone player or as a browser plug-in. Files with the extension SWF integrate with the player, making a self-running movie file called "projector". FutureWave first developed the SWF file extension. Macromedia later purchased this company with its primary purpose of generating small files for showing visually appealing animations. The initiative was to have a file a player could reprocess, operating on any system while working with gradual network connections. Plugins that play files with the extension SWF on Internet browsers are accessible from Adobe for all desktop platforms including:
Apple Mac;
Microsoft Windows;
and Linux on the x86 architecture.
