OpenLaszlo is starting off 2007 with a beta candidate of version 4 of the OpenLaszlo platform. This is a significant release as it includes a new DHTML runtime target in addition to the previously available Flash based runtime. OpenLaszlo competes in the Ajax/RIA space with traditional Javascript based Ajax frameworks and Adobe's Flash based Flex API. The OpenLaszlo SDK consists of a compiler written in Java, a runtime JavaScript library, and an optional Java servlet that provides additional services to the running application. OpenLaszlo applications are programmed using a mix of a declartive XML UI language and ECMAScript based syntax. The OpenLaszlo runtime framework provides a foundation for applications by including UI components, a data binding API, network services, etc.
OpenLaszlo 4 which started development in 2006 adds in target runtimes of Flash 9 and DHTML to the previously supported Flash 7 and 8. Including DHTML support will allow developers to program "Ajax" style applications at a higher abstraction layer than interacting with Javascript and DOM elements directly. Work is also being done in conjunction with Sun to provide a JME target runtime.