Adobe Flash (formerly called Macromedia Flash and Shockwave Flash) is a multimedia and software platform used for creating vector graphics, animation, games and rich Internet applications (RIAs) that can be viewed, played and executed in Adobe Flash Player. Flash is frequently used to add streamed video or audio players, advertisement and interactive multimedia content to web pages, although usage of Flash on websites is declining.

Flash manipulates vector and raster graphics to provide animation of text, drawings, and still images. It allows bidirectional streaming of audio and video, and it can capture user input via mouse, keyboard, microphone and camera. Flash applications and animations can be programmed using the object-oriented language called ActionScript.

Adobe Flash Studio is the official Adobe authoring tool for creating the Flash content, which also allows automation via the JavaScript Flash language (JSFL). Flash Studio is included in the Adobe Creative Suite for Windows and Mac OS.

Adobe Flash Player makes the Flash content accessible on various operating systems such as Windows, OS X and Linux, and is available free of charge for common web browsers (as a plug-in) under a few of the major operating systems, some smartphones and tablets, and a few other electronic devices using Flash Lite.

The Flash Player installed in all Windows and Mac labs, and is installed by default on all faculty and staff computers.  Flash Studio is a part of the Adobe Creative Suite Design and Web Premium.  UNCC has a site license for all faculty and staff computers and it is available for installation upon request.