OpenLaszlo is a Web development platform built on top of release 1.4 of the Java SDK. Packaged as a Java Servlet, OpenLaszlo can be dropped into any compatible Java Servlet container.

The Apache Tomcat server comes with the OpenLaszlo distribution and is already configured and ready to go, so I use it in this article. Whether or not you use Tomcat, it still is necessary to install the Java SDK before attempting to install OpenLaszlo (assuming it's not already installed). If you are on a Debian¬derived version of GNUlLinux (like me), installing release 1.4 of the SD K is a breeze:

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Users of non-Debian distributions should check their package repositories for the Java SDK and install appropriately. Once the Java SDK install is complete, edit the /etc/bash. bashrc file as the root user, adding the following lines to the end of the file:

export JAVA_H0r1E=" lusr/lib/j2se/l. 4" export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
These lines effectively allow Java programs to find the Java runtime environment. Be sure to set these environment variables, as without them, nothing works. With the Java SDK configured, it's time to get OpenLaszlo. Download the latest compressed tarball from the OpenLaszlo site (see Resources), then copy it to your /usr/local directory:

At the time of this writing, the latest and greatest OpenLaszlo is release 4.0.10. Be sure to adjust the release number within these instructions if you're using a newer release. Change directory to /usr/local, and unpack the distribution:

This creates an lps-4. 0.1 0 directory under /usr/local with all the OpenLaszlo goodies unpacked in place. Of importance is the existence of the Tomcat server under the newly created Server directory at lps-4. 0.1 O/Server/ tomcat-5. 0.24/. To start the server with the OpenLaszlo servlet pre-configured, type:

Using CATALINA_BASE: /usr /locaI/lps-4. O. 10/Server /tomcat-5. 0.24 Using CATALINA_HOME: /usr/local/lps-4. O. 10/Server /tomcat -5.0.24 Using CATALINA _ TMPDIR: /usr / local/ Ips-4 .0. 10/Server /tomcat¬5.0.24/temp
Using JAVA_HOME: /usr/lib/j2se/1.4 Tomcat and Openlaszlo are now up and running on port 8080.