Matt Jadud
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)