Rich Internet Applications An alternative in web application development with Java - Vikas Bhatia

A few points before we start RIAs are early-adopter stuff This way of thinking is still new and not generally accepted Its not perfect, are DTML based apps perfect? You decide. Hold on to your preconceived preferences Give RIA a chance

Part 1 Why do we need RIAs?

RIA – A need The limitations of the platform frustrate users Mainly the user experience – currently, its about a serialized, step-by-step experience Not sure its about user experience? If its free, would you pick a no-name brand over an Apple iPod Users will pay more for a better experience and isn't making money the bottom line Is the end-user experience important for your application? Depends…. Are you running a scheduling system seen only by sysadmins, once a day – maybe not so much Are you running a book store, a shopping cart, a stock picking application, a supply chain application, an executive Dashboard – maybe so

More on RIAs Remember, its not about what the developer wants, its always about the customer Anyone been to home depot? Remember the Behr color chooser, it is built with OpenLaszlo 98% of all computers are supposed to have flash, even on mobile phones and ps2 source Macromedia website RIAs can be everywhere your html app can be and more So the question is how do we provide a better experience?

What are the options (All client side) Ajax – Asynchronous JavaScript and XML Java Web Start Canoo ULC – webstart, applets Nexaweb – xul (loosely) and applets Thinlet - applet XTT – XML Tunneling Technology – webstart?? Echo Framework Droplets – C++ client install?? OpenLaszlo – flash, xml Flex – flash, xml, action script XForms – next generation of HTML forms Isomorphic – DHTML, XML, tag-based, JavaScript XUL from Mozilla – XML tag-based Probably many more that I do not know about

Classification Java on the front end JNLP Nexaweb (applet) Thinlet (applet) Canoo ULC (webstart + applet) Non-java on the front end Ajax Flex OpenLaszlo Droplets? Echo Framework XForms – to create forms Isomorphic – DHTML, xml, tag-based XUL Mozilla

Ajax Something that I have wanted to look up for a long time Example: Gmail, Google Maps, Google Suggest, Backbase, Ta-Da Lists, new examples everyday Very intriguing Supposed to be for experienced web programmers Source:

Why to use RIA

What! Another new technology? This is bound to happen Have you looked at java lately, hibernate, webservices, countless xml specifications, EJB, etc.. Does it ever stop?

Costs Learning curve involved You have to change the way you have been brought up to think about web applications You can go hybrid HTML + RIA possible Development costs, licensing costs, training costs, SQA costs Acceptance by the customer If you believe it, you can sell it The customer (end user) will look for a better user experience (besides the actual functionality) The customer (sys admin) will look for performance, which is comparable in my view to HTML apps, if not better

Part 2 Open OpenLaszlo

What is OpenLaszlo The OpenLaszlo platform allows developers to create rich user interface capabilities of desktop client software and the instantaneous no-download web deployment of HTML source OpenLaszlo Wiki Open Source (Java, JavaScript, XML, action script) OpenLaszlo isn’t Flash – just uses Flash 6.0+ as runtime; could change Clients: Earthlink, Yahoo, Behr Paint, La Quinta, many more… Demo time Contacts, Amazon, Dashboard, Calendar, LaszloLucene Photoblox, WeatherBlox, Laszlo systems front page

Do I have to learn a new language with OpenLaszlo? Language – no, its XML and JavaScript Syntax - yes

Why Flash over Java applets Unfortunately, applets still have a stigma associated with them Even after all these years, still clunky Little industry momentum towards Java applets My opinion: Java rocks on the server side, not so much on the client side The runtime environment for lzx could be changed later on to applets, C++, C#, SVG (see the OpenLaszlo wiki)

OpenLaszlo Architecture Source: OpenLaszlo

OpenLaszlo Data Flow Source: Laszlo Systems

OpenLaszlo Development Cycle Source: OpenLaszlo

OpenLaszlo - Features OpenLaszlo in 10 minutes Proxied and SOLO Deployment Data Management XPath support Objects and Classes Event Management Delegates State management Animations Components Custom components Scripting support Font support Mouse and keyboard click management Drag and drop Browser integration KRANK Feature Persistent Connections Cache Management Import vs. Include

OpenLaszlo Data Binding Data in LZX Embed data directly in the application Directly XML file Sending/receiving data at runtime to a remote data source Sending/receiving data at runtime to a remote web service OpenLaszlo RPC Java RPC SOAP XML RPC

OpenLaszlo Caching Bandwidth used with OpenLaszlo is normally less than that used for HTML based applications since only data is passed back and forth once the application has been downloaded on the client Client side caching Server side caching Gzip compression

IBM IDE for OpenLaszlo

Limitations of OpenLaszlo No graphs/charts yet Coming very soon Lack of i18n Unicode support in 3.0 Work in progress Performance needs work, on a daily basis (not detrimental) Takes time to get used to the rules

Learn more _Page (wiki, mailing lists) _Page (Laszlo Systems) opers/community/forums/ (Forums) opers/community/forums/ aszlo (IBM IDE4Laszlo) aszlo Free Webinar Going SOLO Thursday, June 2, :00 p.m. EDT / 11:00 a.m. PDT Duration: 30 minutes Cost: Free

Conclusion – Part 1 Rich Internet Applications Here to stay User experience is important, there is no denying it Will not supplant HTML based apps Needs work and acceptance by developers Production ready

Conclusion – Part 2 OpenLaszlo Enthusiastic developer community Has lots of potential Performance can certainly be improved by the developer, but it takes work the first time, not so much the next time Has good community support It IS open source It does what it says Production ready

Thanks, I appreciate your time!!