Beyond Scripting... Professional Programming for the Web.

Introductory

What do Lasso products do?
Lasso products provide Web developers tools to quickly build and serve powerful data-driven Web sites. Web developers can use Lasso Studio to build their data-driven Web site and then use Lasso Professional to serve their site. Lasso Studio is used only for development and testing. Lasso Professional can also be used for development, but is primarily used for deploying Lasso solutions. Lasso Studio and Lasso Professional are available in various editions as explained below.

Why should I use Lasso products?
Lasso products excel in ease-of-use, performance, security and power. No other Web application server product line offers a more complete, easy to use total solution for both building and serving robust data-driven Web sites.

Who are the target customers for Lasso products?
Lasso products appeal to small and medium sized businesses that have a need to tie their databases to their Web site.

Who are the competitors for Lasso products?
Lasso Professional competes with the following products: ColdFusion, PHP, ASP, JSP and more. LassoSoft provides white paper reports showcasing the benefits of Lasso compared with some of these products.

What products work well with Lasso products?
Web Authoring Products
Adobe GoLive CS and Macromedia Dreamweaver MX support Lasso products via Lasso Studio. Lasso Studio extends the environment of these leading Web authoring tools with syntax coloring, live data preview, site and form builders, interactive tag editors, and more. Many Lasso developers also use text editors such as Bare Bones BBEdit and Macromedia HomeSite for editing Lasso-powered sites. There are third party plug-ins available for these editors which add Lasso-specific features such as syntax coloring and tag glossaries.
Databases
Lasso works very well with everything from workgroup databases such as FileMaker Pro, Access and 4D up through enterprise level SQL databases such as Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL and more. Lasso's built-in JDBC support provides access to a wide array of data sources. The C/C++ and Java APIs in Lasso Professional 8 allow developers to establish direct connectivity between Lasso and any data source for which a Lasso data source connector does not already exist.
Web Servers
Lasso works very well with leading Web servers such as Apache, IIS, and WebSTAR. The Lasso Connector Protocol in Lasso Professional 8 allows developers to establish direct connectivity between Lasso and any Web server for which a Lasso Web server connector does not already exist.

What vendors have licensed Lasso products?
FileMaker, Inc. acquired Lasso technology for inclusion in the FileMaker Pro Web Companion with millions of units distributed worldwide. Starnine Technologies (now 4D, Inc.) licensed Lasso as the basis for WebSTAR Lasso Publisher, a component of their WebSTAR Server Suite.

What software vendors have aligned themselves with Lasso products?
Several leading software companies in the Web publishing sector have aligned themselves with LassoSoft and Lasso products, including Adobe, Macromedia, FileMaker, Inc., MySQL AB, 4D, Inc. and more.

How many users of Lasso technology are there?
There exists hundreds of thousands of Web sites powered by Lasso technology. Via direct and licensee sales, millions of units of software have been sold and distributed which include Lasso technology.

Is there a strong community of Lasso developers?
Yes. Thousands of Lasso developers and companies participate in assisting the Lasso developer community via Lasso-specific user-to-user email forums, Web rings, solutions directories, seminars, conferences, training resources, publications and more.

Isn't Lasso just a Mac/FileMaker thing?
No. Lasso products work equally well on Windows and with any supported database. In fact, independent benchmark tests show that Lasso beats ColdFusion and ASP on Windows with MS SQL Server in performance, security, ease-of-use and more. While Lasso products began on Mac working with FileMaker Pro, the code and architecture for Lasso have been database- and platform-independent since the release of Lasso Web Data Engine 3.0 in October 1998.

Why haven't I heard more about Lasso products in the Windows and Linux markets?
Lasso products are the clear leader in the Mac and FileMaker Pro markets which Lasso has dominated for a number of years. LassoSoft has assumed a conservative approach with respect to building awareness and market share in other markets. During the transition to providing a truly database- and platform-independent product, LassoSoft has focused heavily on product support and stability. In the future, increased emphasis and visibility will be placed on Lasso products in the Windows and Linux markets.

What is the mission for LassoSoft, LLC and the Lasso product line?
The mission is to optimize Small to Medium size businesses empowering them to create and manage dynamic Web sites.