Ajax Toolkit Buffet: OpenLaszlo
Okay, there are many toolkits available now for Ajax applications. If you’re the brave type, you’ll develop in straight javascript, which is a pain and can get messy. I’m not brave, so I’ve decided to play with several toolkits available.
For a good run-down on the toolkits curnocopia, turn to Max Kiesler — he gives a great summary, though it’s incomplete, since new toolkits and frameworks are surfacing almost daily.
Back to not being brave — I decided to try out OpenLaszlo this week. OpenLaszlo is a developement framework that, for now, outputs to Flash, but later this year will output to DHTML. The coolest thing about OpenLaszlo is that it resolves all the underlying environment issues for you: cross-browser issues and stuff, which is pretty painful in Ajax.
It’s also easy to get started. The language is almost ruby-like: a high level, but powerful declarative syntax.
Here’s the description on the OpenLaszlo site:
OpenLaszlo is an open source platform for creating zero-install web applications with the user interface capabilities of desktop client software.OpenLaszlo programs are written in XML and JavaScript and transparently compiled to Flash and soon DHTML. The OpenLaszlo APIs provide animation, layout, data binding, server communication, and declarative UI. An OpenLaszlo application can be as short as a single source file, or factored into multiple files that define reusable classes and libraries.
OpenLaszlo is write once run everywhere. An OpenLaszlo application developed on one machine will run on all leading Web browsers on all leading desktop operating systems.
I’m looking forward to running OpenLaszlo with some other language as the middle tier. I’ll need to evaluate the Rails Framework also; I’ve been playing with Ruby, but not Rails. From what I hear, that’s also very easy and powerful. I need to find a good combination for building something that I’ve been thinking about.
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