08.18.05

Matt Jadud

Posted on August 18th, 2005 in Mentions by Oliver

From Matt Jadud, who wrote that nifty scheme tool to generate lzx:

No doubt I’ll be playing with this technology more in the future, so I thought I’d introduce it now.

OpenLaszlo, released unto the world by Laszlo Systems, is an interesting combination of languages and ideas. It is an XML-based language for specifying the layout and behavior of rich internet applications. For example, I wrote a tabbed slideshow for photographs that you can find on my personal weblog, here. I think it would be difficult to write in JavaScript and CSS. Consider:

1. When you open a slide, audio begins playing.
2. When you switch slides, the current audio stops, and new audio is started.
3. I can layer objects (and remove them) over the photo content quickly and easily, when and where I want them.

I imagine this is all possible in JavaScript/DHTML, but… I don’t know how. And, I don’t feel I need to; the OpenLaszlo crew has provided a powerful platform for me to work from—a compiler, GUI toolkit, RPC mechanisms, and more. It seems to me that the whole JavaScript/CSS/AJAX thing is nothing more but a poor reinvention of the technology that OpenLaszlo provides. Granted, for full RPC-functionality, OpenLaszlo currently requires a servlet container, whereas AJAX-apps just need a browser with a JavaScript engine. However, you don’t get much support from the compiler or run-time for debugging AJAX applications, whereas OpenLaszlo apps have a compiler and run-time debugger. That’s worth installing a server to me. (It was a double-click operation on my Mac.)

(via John)

08.10.05

IT Conversation with David Temkin

Posted on August 10th, 2005 in Events by Oliver

IT Conversations has an excellent interview with David Temkins, founder and CTO of Laszlo Systems. Listen to it here.

Before AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) had a name, there was Laszlo Systems, a software tools developer using AJAX-like methods along with with Macromedia’s Flash player to deliver richer Web experiences. David Temkin tells us why he chose the Flash player as a platform. Laszlo went open source and chose IBM’s Common Public License as it was flexible enough to fit their needs without curbing commercial use.