Since the first announcement of the DHTML runtime for OpenLaszlo in March 2006, the OpenLaszlo team has been working hard on improving the DHTML runtime – making it possible to run very large and complex RIAs as both Flash and Ajax/JavaScript applications. The release of a first version of OpenLaszlo with official support for DHTML came in March 2007. There was a lot of excitement around the release, but as it is with new technologies – some frustration as well. Anyone with technical expertise will admit that the support of as different runtimes as ActionScript2 bytecode and JavaScript 1.6 is not a trivial task.
Making the same application run in Firefox and Safari – and the little-loved and troublesome Internet Explorer 6 & 7- required probably more effort than originally estimated. As an OpenLaszlo user for 5 years – I did my first LZX coding in July 2004 – for a long time I was hesitant to use the DHTML runtime in projects, and there were some good reasons for that – at least in my eyes:
- Doubts about quality of DHTML support in older browser - especially in IE6, but IE 7 as well
- Limited performance of large Ajax/JavaScript applications in older browsers – including Safari and Firefox back in 2007/early 2008
- Added risk in projects: I knew that the Flash runtime with OpenLaszlo 3.x was very solid, and didn’t want to lose the luxury of not having to care about cross-browser scripting
- Little knowledge of the DHTML runtime implementation within the OpenLaszlo server
Other community members were quicker in adopting the DHTML runtime, but I had the feeling that many of them were dissatisfied with the quality of the DHTML runtime in earlier versions of the OpenLaszlo server. With OpenLaszlo, the quality of a runtime very much depends on how actively the runtime is used by companies in larger, demanding projects. Using a runtime in such a project definitely speeds up work on bugs and new features – as could clearly be witnessed with the SWF9 runtime and g.ho.st’ involvement and sponsoring.
OpenLaszlo DHTML runtime ready for prime-time
Maybe this sounds provocative, but – based on my knowledge of the platform – I’d say that starting with the 4.4 release of OpenLaszlo the DHTML runtime is ready for prime-time. Which means, the OpenLaszlo team and external committers – especially André Bargull with his amazing free support of the platform – have done an excellent job at creating what I consider the leading platform for creating state-of-the-art JavaScript/Ajax application. If you see Laszlo Webtop running as a DHTML/JavaScript application, you’ll understand what I mean. I stress the word “application” here, very complex applications – and not simple RIAs or web widgets.
And the timing couldn’t be better, with new exciting CSS and HTML features supported by the better browser, like Firefox, Webkit/Safari and Opera. Opera is not fully supported, but based on my testing the DHTML runtime works well in Opera (officially, DHTML is supported on any browser that adheres to DOM2 and CSS2.1 standards, which Opera is very good at; “official support” by OpenLaszlo means, that work arounds for standard non-compliance in browsers will be added to the platform).
OpenLaszlo multi-runtime – transitioning the web from Flash to open standards based RIAs
This is – what I believe – should be at the core of the strategy for OpenLaszlo:
“The only RIA framework capable of delivering Flash-like UIs for all browsers, powering the transition from Flash to open standards!”
Does that mean that I’d use OpenLaszlo to build pure DHTML/JavaScript applications now? You could do that, but I don’t see the real value of OpenLaszlo in delivering Ajax/JavaScript-only applications, if you plan to deploy the application for consumers using PCs (for mobile devices like the iPhone, it’s a different story, more on that later). If you have control over the browser which is used to access the OpenLaszlo application, providing only a DHTML/JavaScript application can be very interesting (take for example embedded devices like set-top-boxes, where you have Webkit pre-installed and no Flash Player, saving royalties).
I believe that the real power of the platform lies within the fact, that you can build very innovative Ajax applications showing many of the exciting new features supported in new versions of Firefox, Webkit, Safari and Opera – and still have a Flash backup of your application for Internet Explorer and older versions of Firefox and Safari. Features like HTML5 video, HTML5 audio, downloadable fonts, push-to-client, and the 3D effects possible with Flash Player 10 and CSS transform.
Following such a strategy, we – the OpenLaszlo team, committers and active community members – should add these features to the platform:
- Open video and audio support with HTML5 video and audio tags (http://jira.openlaszlo.org/jira/browse/LPP-8290)
- Support for downloadable fonts in DHTML (http://jira.openlaszlo.org/jira/browse/LPP-8313)
- Support for box-shadow and text-shadow across DHTML and SWF runtime (http://jira.openlaszlo.org/jira/browse/LPP-8399)
- Support for persistent connections (push-to-client) across runtimes (utilizing RTMP for SWF – either BlazeDS or Red5, and Comet approaches for DHTML)
- x-axis rotation for all runtimes (already in TRUNK, just added that for Firefox with this changeset)
- Support for CSS transform in DHTML and the 3d effects in Flash Player 10 (here’s a proof-of-concept for CSS-based y-axis rotation I did a few weeks ago, and a Flash 10 demo Henry Minsky put together last summer, and the JIRA entry http://jira.openlaszlo.org/jira/browse/LPP-8338)
A new OpenLaszlo Dashboard – with multimedia and realtime features in the DHTML runtime
If you add these features to the platform, we could build a new, more fancy DHTML version of the Laszlo Dashboard, with new features like 3D effects in components, HTML 5 based video and audio playback, real-time chat in both Flash and DHTML runtime, custom-fonts in both SWF and DHTML:
OpenLaszlo on phones and mobile devices
With more powerful smart-phones appearing every few months – integrating modern JavaScript engines like Webkit – the DHTML runtime is even more valuable. The first generation of the iPhone could already run OpenLaszlo applications, as Ben Shine and Bret Simister proved with this application at the first iPhoneDevCamp in San Francisco, 2007. But the performance of the 1st and 2nd generation iPhone CPU wasn’t that good, and the initial download of the application and initialization took too long on those phones. That definitely changed with the Palm Pre and iPhone 3GS.
OpenLaszlo gives you a choice of DHTML applications for smartphones without Flash Players, and the additional Flash runtime for the upcoming Flash Player 10 beta in October 09, for both webOS/Palm Pre and Android phones.
A splendid 6th year of OpenLaszlo in 2010
On October 4th we can celebrate 5 years of OpenLaszlo as an open source project. I believe that the 6th year will bring the breakthrough for the DHTML runtime. I haven’t regretted my decision to not jump on the Adobe Flex train or switch over to pure Ajax development. Flash has been a huge success, is still very succesful, but I believe the technology has peaked. It is going to stay around, but it’s not going to play the role it has played for paving the way of RIAs, as it has done in the last 9 years. With OpenLaszlo, you can still use the fantastic features of Flash, like access to the camera and microphone, all the multimedia features. And at the same time you can participate in the next technical revolution of the web, a move from closed to open standards for highly-interactive, real-time rich Internet applications.
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