OpenLazlo Exploration

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.