OpenLaszlo is a discontinued

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

platform for the development and delivery of rich web applications. It is released under the

Open Source Initiative The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a California public benefit corporation "actively involved in Open Source community-building, education, and public advocacy to promote awareness and the importance of non-proprietary software". Governance The ...

certified Common Public License (CPL). The OpenLaszlo platform consists of the LZX programming language and the OpenLaszlo Server. LZX is an

Extensible Markup Language Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. The Wor ...

(XML) and

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...

description language similar in spirit to XUL, MXML, and Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML). LZX enables a declarative, text-based development process that supports rapid prototyping and

software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

best practices. It is designed to be familiar to traditional web application developers who are familiar with

HTML Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the content and structure of web content. It is often assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets ( ...

and JavaScript. OpenLaszlo Server is a

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

servlet that compiles LZX applications into executable binaries for targeted run-time environments.

Deployment

Laszlo applications can be deployed as traditional Java servlets, which are compiled and returned to the browser dynamically. This method requires that the web server is also running the OpenLaszlo server. Alternatively, Laszlo applications can be compiled from LZX into Dynamic HTML (DHTML) or a binary SWF file, and loaded statically into an existing web page. This method is known as SOLO deployment. Applications deployed in this manner lack some functionality of servlet-contained files, such as the ability to consume

SOAP Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

web services and Java RPC remote procedure calls.

Licensing

OpenLaszlo is released under the Common Public License by Laszlo Systems.

Adopters

Laszlo-powered rich web applications have been deployed by Earthlink,

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

IBM WebSphere IBM WebSphere refers to a brand of proprietary computer software products in the genre of enterprise software known as "application and integration middleware". These software products are used by end-users to create and integrate applications ...

Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...

, Behr, Pandora, La Quinta Hotels, DeanForAmerica.com and Time.gov. Laszlo Systems, makers of OpenLaszlo, is developing their own software based on the Laszlo Presentation Server. One is a mail client ( Laszlo Mail) which is similar to

Microsoft Outlook Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager software system from Microsoft, available as a part of the Microsoft 365 software suites. Primarily popular as an email client for businesses, Outlook also includes functions such as Calendari ...

Mozilla Thunderbird Mozilla Thunderbird is a free and open-source email client that also functions as a personal information manager with a Digital calendar, calendar and contactbook, as well as an RSS feed reader, chat client (IRC/XMPP/Matrix (protocol), Matrix), ...

, but which operates within the web browser. Another, called Webtop, is an integrated application environment for enterprise use.

Version history

* OpenLaszlo 3.x – supports Flash Player, versions 6, 7, 8 * OpenLaszlo 4.x – supports Flash Player, versions 7, 8, 9, 10, and DHTML

Project history

Laszlo was founded by David Temkin. OpenLaszlo was originally called the Laszlo Presentation Server (LPS). Development began in the fall of 2001. Preview versions were released to select partners throughout 2002. Several of these were used for the first deployed Laszlo application, for Behr paint. The first general release of LPS was in early 2002. In October 2004, Laszlo Systems released the full

source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...

to the Laszlo Presentation Server under the

GNU General Public License The GNU General Public Licenses (GNU GPL or simply GPL) are a series of widely used free software licenses, or ''copyleft'' licenses, that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, or modify the software. The GPL was the first ...

(GPL), and initiated the OpenLaszlo project. In 2005, coincident with the release of version 3.0, the name of the Laszlo Presentation Server was changed to OpenLaszlo. Timeline * 2000: Prototyping begins * 2001: Development begins * 2002: LPS preview releases; first deployed Laszlo application (Behr) * 2003: LPS 1.0, 1.1 released; deployed applications (Yahoo!, Earthlink) * 2004: LPS 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 released; LPS open sourced * 2005: OpenLaszlo 3.0, 3.1 released; name changed to OpenLaszlo * 2006: OpenLaszlo 3.2, 3.3 released * 2007: OpenLaszlo 4.0 released * 2008: OpenLaszlo 4.1 released * 2008: OpenLaszlo 4.2 released * 2009 February: OpenLaszlo 4.2.0.1 released * 2010 October: OpenLaszlo 4.9.0. released * 2012 February: OpenLaszlo is acquired by Critical Path, Inc. * 2013 December: Critical Path, Inc. is acquired by Openwave Messaging

Naming

The name Laszlo is of Hungarian origin. The project was named after the cat of Peter Andrea, a graphic designer and co-founder of Laszlo Systems. The cat, in turn, was named in honor of the Hungarian constructivist painter and photographer

László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by Constructivism (art), con ...

References

External links

*. {{Adobe Flash Ajax (programming) User interface markup languages Rich web application frameworks Software using the Common Public License