FlashPlayer or ShockwavePlayer?

Hi guys

I was wondering what Adobe's Flash Player and Adobe's Shockwave Player have in common and what the differences are? Are they completely different softs, or are they somehow complementary?

Is it better to use one or the other?

Thanks for any answer from knowledgeable members.

Cheers

 

They are two different applications. From the website:

Flash Player delivers fast loading front-end web applications, high-impact web site user interaction, interactive online advertising, and short to medium form animation. Shockwave Player displays destination web content such as interactive multimedia product demos and training, e-merchandising applications, and rich-media multi-user games. Through Xtras, Shockwave Player is also extendable to playback custom-built applications.

If you have windows, then both could be installed. If you are on linux like I am, then you are out of luck in regards to the shockwave player. That is why many of the popular video games can not be played on linux (absent an emulator).