is Lasso the way to go?

[rivet]

now that CDML is gone, do I learn xml/xslt or can someone tell me about lasso, How powerfull is it compared to xml of cdml.

[Steve T.]

Hi, r! We're going to continue using CDML for several existing solutions and will keep our FM5.5-Unlimited running for some things, but I gave myself a crash course in PHP/MySQL during the summer and we are probably sticking with that for a while. I haven't gotten around to looking at PHP/FM (with or without FX) but they maybe an open door still. I had thought FM-Unlimited was costly, but looking at Lasso prices and FM7SA prices didn't exactly inspire me to look at them too closely. Of course, it's how all the costs add up that count, but for us those steep startup costs were not really practical.

From what I understand, though, Lasso is very much like the CDML since CDML was based on Lasso. Lasso allows you great control and flexibility and even lets you custom define your own tags but migrating to Lasso from existing CDML I have heard is not necessarily a smooth transition.

For 1 project I worked on, I was able to keep a lot of the structure and web form pages of my CDML solution and just had to make PHP/MySQL adjustments. It was still quite a bit of work, but I didn't have to start completely from scratch. I like PHP/MySQL but I am slower in development time than I was in CDML. CDML (and I assume Lasso) was like adding some code to web pages but was not like pure coding, per se. With PHP/MySQL, you really need to be a programmer or at least some solid programming skills (loops, operators, arrays, functions, etc.).

Good luck!!

--ST

[mlindal]

PHP is our decision and we are now converting our whole solution this way. Much more flexibility than CDML, and so many open-source solutions available to help along the way.

I believe there is a CDML-LASSO converter that will take the CDML code and convert it to Lasso. When we looked at Lasso, it seemed like an acceptable way to go, except for the expense.

[Zero Tolerence]

CDML is lasso code from Lasso 6 and down. LDML is the new lasso code for FM 7. Is it a good solution. Of course, it works great, and it should for the price. It all depends on what you have to spend. If you go tthe buck, go with FMSA and Lasso 7 (or 8). If not, fx.php

[mlindal]

We have the bucks, but decided on PHP for many other reasons. Most of which is open source, and the number of options PHP provides.

[Zero Tolerence]

Which ever works best for your situation, We run both here and neither of them are that difficult to learn.

[Xas]

You may notice some of my posts concerning Lasso in the past have not been very cool - in fact they were the result of my freaking out over getting a very large and complicated database system converted. The problems I was having were not at all related to Lasso but were caused by corrupted data that FMP6 had absolutely no trouble with! FMP7 chokes on hidden binary nulls and other unusual cryptic characters that were coming from my mainframe connection. After I cleaned up the data - LASSO ROCKS. Since FMP6 had no problem with the data I had no idea FMP7 XML was choking on me. It was really hard to discover the source of my trouble. Lasso tech spport was very understanding and tried to help but they had no experience with this problem either.

I can heartly recommend it as a fantastic way to acces mySQL and FMP7 XML data. It's stable, efficient, fast and very very easy to use. Well worth the 650 dollars. It converts CDML to LDML in a flash (with a few little errors that are easy to correct) and your solution is up and running in no time. Just be patient and give it some time to sink in and get the settings right. Lasso tech will help with that too.

Lasso also has a fantastic security system to control data access and create user privileges using the Lasso Admin control panel. Something you won't get from any other FMP7 add-on - or you will have to write it yourself!