I went to the OpenLazlo site recently (http://www.openlaszlo.org/) and tried out the demos. They work very well. As I was looking through the overview to understand how it works, some questions came to mind.
OpenLazlo is a fairly interesting and unique design. Code is developed in Javascript and compiled into Flash. As I was reading, I started to wonder why they would choose this architecture. Who are they trying to appeal to? Flash is a stable and widely supported web design technology. You may find Javascript programmers wishing to wander into the world of Flash, but don't you stand to alienate staunch supporters of either technology? Is Flash performance/functionality so much superior/widely supported compared to Javascript to warrant the need to adopt the different technology? If you know Javascript, why not just use an existing and fully functional Javascript library such as Dojo or DHTML Goodies? Is there any consolation for Flash developers that don't know Javascript?
As I mentioned, the demo widgets worked very well, but there was nothing revolutionary in the functionality when considering the possibilities with other, pure Javascript libraries. Other offerings, such as Google Web Toolkit and Echo2, also choose the code conversion method of bringing rich user interfaces to the web. Developers using these frameworks are able to write purly in Java code and compile to Javascript and DHTML. This may enable Java programmers to venture into the web design arena, but is the transposition of a traditional application programming language on top of a web architecture a flexible enough concept? jMaki takes a different approach, embedding Javascript components in JSP/Servlet Tag libraries. Components can be placed on the page with JSP-type tags. This could be a good solution for the multitude of web designers with less programming skills.
What are your thoughts on these questions? Your personal experiences with these different technologies are welcome.
2 comments:
Hey there,
After looking at OpenLazlo for half an hour, i discovered it was quite cool. As you said, it is essentially a Flash compiler. However, one should also note that they also support outputting HTML, which pretty much allows you to take Flash out of the equation.
In theory, i could write my entire frontend with OpenLazlo and basically let it handle all the "what if?"'s that pop up during the presentation of the frontend to the client. This is good, provided of course it works (which i have yet to find out).
However, one should also remember that OpenLazlo is essentially a big abstraction layer around presentation. It will invevitably run slower than if you writ everything yourself using good ol' Flash, HTML, and JavaScript. There is also of being able to implement things not covered by its abstraction.
Speaking from experience doing everything myself, i have been implementing a feature-filled HTML & JavaScript based web application (with a server backend written in Django) primarily using the MooTools JavaScript framework. Safe to say, its more or less hell considering there are different issues running it in different browsers, despite my best efforts. It would be interesting if i could port it all across to OpenLazlo so i could get a nice Flash version which would work regardless of which browser i use.
My only problem with OpenLazlo at the moment is that it outputs some rather dodgy looking HTML in "DHTML" mode. I hope that this improves in the future.
Thanks for the comment! It seems cross browser functionality is a big issue at the point. If Flash is a way around this, OpenLazlo may be a good alternative.
Plus, some of the Flash I am seeing lately is really quick and smooth. I would think some of the effects would be difficult to recreate with Javascript.
http://www.dreamweavergraphics.net/dreamweavertemplates/manufacturing-company-templates.html
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