Bruce Eckel is asking about OpenLaszlo. There's a lively discussion there – join the conversation!

New York Magazine praises BlaBlaList, an Openlaszlo application developed by Geert Bevin, the creator of Rife:

There are other competing to-do list services on the Internet, but Bla-bla List has by far the most elegant design and coolest functionality...

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)

In the July 2005 print edition, and online here:

As a community, we need to continue to recognize good technologies and ideas from experienced developers and Open Source projects. We need to be willing to support remote scripting with Ajax, and we need to adapt to produce rich-client experiences, like those that Laszlo offers with the Open Source Flash-rendering system. By accepting and enhancing these technologies, we can continue to use J2EE and its APIs to make our lives easier.