Filemaker & lasso: a viable web app?
We have a huge web application powered by lasso, mainly because it was a huge internal Filemaker database that needed to be exposed to the public as a web application.
However, the web application doesn't use Filemaker, it runs on a MySQL database that is created every day.
The only reason I know of using lasso is for the simple Filemaker integration, but I've never used lasso. (I'm a Perl / php / mysql / javascript guy)
So I have three questions:
Is lasso a viable language for a web application? Are there any important advantages that it offers over other languages?
Should we update this app, should we use a more widely used and know language, or should we stick to the lasso?
Is there anyone here who actually uses the lasso?
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Hey there ... just thought I'd add my two cents to the discussion: I currently work daily at Lasso. I was hired here (large University of New England) about 1.5 years ago as a web programmer ... with little programming experience (in my previous life I was a web designer. I knew CSS and HTML, as did the back of my hand but only some very limited php). In fact, I hadn't even heard of the Lasso programming language before I started here. Anyway, they were pretty confident that I would pick it up quickly. As I was skeptical, they were right. Lasso syntax is fast and easy to learn. After you wrap your head around the syntax and[SquareBrackets]
, the rest will instantly fall into place. In a short time, I was able to create some really complex database-driven web applications.
As far as the community is concerned, it is clear that Lasso nowhere comes close to php or ruby size ... but what I found is that the Lasso developers have a love of the language and are therefore very active and helpful. Personally, I find a small, dedicated community more approachable and less intimidating. Most of Lasso's really juicy conversations take place on LassoTalk . Oh, also, I went to the Lasso developer conference last year and was overwhelmed by the dedication of Lassosoft and the developer community. (Not to mention all the cool stuff coming out in Lasso 9 ... later this year?)
Some disadvantages of Lasso: first of all, cost. It is expensive. There are no two ways to do this (although if you just want to build something for a demo or for a very small deployment, you can get away with the developer installation ). Second, the lack of mature hosting options. Take a look at the sheer amount of stuff you can get for any random $ 5 / mo. php hosting plan and compare that's all you can find for Lasso. Yes, it's pretty crude (these guys aren't a lot to look at, but pretty reliable: cheaplassohosting.com ). I would guess that most Lasso users have their own solutions.
If you do decide to continue with Lasso, here are a few resources that I have found invaluable:
tagSwap - doll swap for lasso custom tags
It's also worth noting that there is a Lasso environment for Eclipse as well as built-in support for Panic Coda (which I enthusiastically endorse!).
Yeesh ... didn't mean it was that long. Anyway, I would be happy to answer some of the specifics for you. Good luck in whatever direction you choose to go in!
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Lasso has a long history. Our firm has used it very little in the past before switching to PHP. Lasso had a rather cumbersome syntax, but that was a lot of turns back (3.6.6, in 2001) and it may have improved. I believe the developer community is relatively small.
I would focus my solution on two questions:
1) Does it work now? 2) How easily can you find or train someone who knows Lasso?
Since your back end is MySQL, there is no obstacle to using a language like PHP on it. Transliterating Lasso to PHP is usually pretty straightforward, depending on how many of the more advanced Lasso tools you use. But even those who tend to have PHP equivalents, etc.
There is actually no pat answer. If an application does not work properly or does not work well, and / or you expect that you will have to modify it in the near future, and you have doubts about seeking qualified assistance, this may be an argument in favor of moving to a new platform.
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We unfortunately support the Lasso app here and it's an absolute nightmare. Lasso drops once a day on average. The folks at LassoSoft take our money very quickly, but they don't provide any helpful support. Also, as you probably noticed, no one uses Lasso and you will struggle to hire qualified personnel. You will be better off with Ruby, Python, Perl, Java, or even PHP.
I used Lasso many years ago (with FileMaker 6). I remember it was tricky but I can't remember it anymore so don't comment further, I believe there is a Lasso Studio plugin for Dreamweaver and I hope this has improved since 2003.
However, I can comment on the alternatives
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FileMaker provides a php site helper (since you are a php guy this should be of interest), I have not used this but have heard very good reports
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A company called Six Fried Rice has developed a Ruby on Rails plugin called Rfm (see http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/products/rfm/ ), so you can create a site in Rails and easily talk to your FileMaker server - if you like a new language, why not try it, while I'm not a Rails expert, it was very easy for me to get to the competent level.
With alternatives so big, so well supported by active communities, I gave up on Lasso early on.
I hope my opinions, as subjective as they are, can help you
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We have been using Lasso for 10 years now and are very happy with it. Over time I have had 2 different developers, each of whom knows some PHP when they started. We covered both points if there was a reason to drip Lasso and move everything to PHP. Since each developer got a comfortable position, both came to the conclusion that Lasso was easy to use and in many ways much more intuitive to work with than PHP. In each case, we never moved very far towards full transition.
Our database needs are still almost entirely met by FileMaker. since it can work with Oracle, MySQL and MS Server Server, it remains the ideal database solution. Most of our Lasso / web work is just displaying data on the web and simple web forms. We've played some with FileMaker PHP and I think this looks promising. We also used FileMaker Instant Web Publishing in a limited way. Choose the right tool for the job, rather than thinking that one tool does everything.
Unlike the user before, we have not had any crashing issues for years. Our Lasso / webserver hasn't crashed once on the move for more than 5 years.
If I haven't used fileMaker and had a 10 year history with Lasso, I would still look at it. It is my experience that it is quite easy to pick up, and if your code is well written and documented, you don't need to worry about how easy it is to find an experienced Lasso developer. I think the hard part for a PGH person opening Lasso code that is not documented is they have nothing to start with. so documentation is everything!
Finally, the Lasso community is an amazing resource and extremely helpful. While there can be a gazillion resources for PHP, it can be hard to find helpful, helpful PEOPLE. There are some really great resources with Lasso, but also a very active community of people very willing to help you.
Our company uses Lasso and Filemaker. I found this to be a great departure from what I was using. The reason it was chosen in the first place was because of Filemaker. If you are using MySQL, I recommend switching to PHP or something else. There's just more documentation, forums, and some sample code you can use. But then again, the cost of porting such a huge project may not be worth it.
FYI, our Lasso server crashes about once or twice a month, which happens most often.
Let us know what you decide and good luck!
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