LASSO vs. PHP
Background:
I have been a Mac user for many years. Naturally I choose solutions that work well with that system. Years ago before OSX server I used WebStar to run my websites. FileMaker was the database of choice by much of the Mac users. Over time, I found the need to execute simple dynamic content and forms. Being more a graphic designer than a programmer I needed a simple solution that was easy to implement.
After scouring the net for solutions and communicating with my Internet provider (DigitalForest). I turned to Lasso. Lasso allowed me to work with WebStar and FileMaker out of the box. The configuration was straightforward. With lasso, and having used FileMaker I could do a lot of the heavy lifting (programming) through FileMaker. I could do math functions bind data together in an environment I was comfortable in, FileMaker.
Now I have used Lasso configured on many systems, using multiple types of databases. The need to incorporate PHP has also come up. So which one is truly better?
PHP is free, Lasso is not. Edge PHP
Lasso’s web based administration is easy to employ, right out of the box. PHP is configured through config files and server settings witch can be hard to navigate. Security could become an issue if configured poorly. Edge Lasso
Lasso has built into it a database abstraction layer. PHP initially does not come with one, though you can add one through a 3rd party. Though database abstraction helps if you were to move your data to a new database more easily it does add a level of programming process which inevitably slows the process down. I give the edge to Lasso though many could give it to PHP
PHP’s user base and visibility is many times the size of Lasso’s. This give the edge to PHP for supportive user groups and open source solutions provided by others. Though low visibility does provide a level of security to Lasso through the fact that many hackers are not experts with the language.
For me It comes down to a couple of major things.
- If you use FileMaker as your database, Lasso is your solution hands down.
- If you are not much of a programmer I would choose Lasso and purchase lasso studio as it makes your life easy.
- If your site needs to be easily transported to other servers I would use PHP as it is used on more servers.
- If you do have a strong programming background try PHP or LASSO.
