Editing Lasso (programming language) (section)

{{advert|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox programming language
| name = Lasso
| title = Lasso
| logo = LassoSoft and Lasso Logo.png
| family = 
| released = {{Start date and age|1995}}
| designer = Kyle Jessup
| developer = LassoSoft Inc.
| latest release version = 9.3.1
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2015|10|23}}
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| typing = [[Type system#Dynamic type-checking and runtime type information|Dynamic]] with constraints (strict-hybrid), [[Nominative type system|nominative]], [[Duck typing|duck]] (hybrid)
| scope = 
| implementations = Lasso 8, Lasso 9
| dialects = 
| influenced by = [[Dylan (programming language)|Dylan]], [[Smalltalk]], [[Scala (programming language)|Scala]]
| influenced = 
| programming language = [[C (programming language)|C]], Lasso
| platform = [[Cross-platform]]
| operating system = ([[OS X]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Linux]])
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
| file ext = .lasso, .LassoApp
| fileformat = 
| website = {{URL|www.lassosoft.com}}
| wikibooks = 
| paradigm = [[Multi-paradigm programming language|Multi-paradigm]]: [[Structured programming|structured]] [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]] ([[Multiple dispatch|multi-dis]]),
[[Imperative programming|imperative]]: [[Procedural programming|procedural]], 
[[Concurrent computing|concurrent]],  
[[Expression-oriented programming language|exp-oriented]],
[[Metaprogramming|Meta]]: [[Reflection (computer programming)|reflective]]
}}

'''Lasso''' is an [[application server]] and server management interface designed to develop internet applications. It is also a [[general-purpose programming language|general-purpose]], [[high-level programming language]]. Originally a web datasource connection tool<ref>{{citation
 | last = Dave
 | first = Parkhurst
 | title = New Web tools help servers link to legacy data
 | newspaper = MacWEEK Magazine
 | date = April 25, 1997
 }}</ref> for [[Filemaker]] and later included in [[Apple Computer]]'s FileMaker 4.0 and [[Claris Homepage]] as CDML,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macworld.com/article/1014068/filemakerpro.html
|title=Filemaker Pro Requires external connector|date=Feb 1, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macworld.com/article/1001543/lasso.html
|title=Web-Enabling Filemaker Pro Databases|date=Aug 1, 2002}}</ref> it has since evolved into a complex language used to develop and serve large-scale internet applications and web pages.

Lasso includes a simple template system allowing code to control generation of [[HTML]] and other [[Internet media type|content types]]. Lasso is an [[object-oriented]] programming language in which every value is an [[Object (computer science)|object]]. It also supports [[procedural programming]] through ''unbound'' methods. The language uses [[Trait (computer programming)|traits]] and [[multiple dispatch]] extensively.

Lasso has a dynamic [[type system]], where objects can be loaded and augmented at runtime, automatic [[memory management]], a comprehensive [[standard library]], and three [[Compiler|compiling]] methodologies: [[Dynamic compilation|dynamic]] (comparable to [[PHP]]-[[Python (programming language)|Python]]), [[just-in-time compilation]] (comparable to [[Java (programming language)|Java]] or [[.NET Framework]]), and pre-compiled (comparable to [[C (programming language)|C]]). Lasso also supports Query Expressions,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb384065.aspx
|title=Microsoft on Query Expressions|date=6 March 2024 }}</ref> allowing elements within arrays and other types of sequences to be iterated, filtered, and manipulated using a natural language syntax similar to [[SQL]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lassoguide.com/language/index_language.html
|title=Query Expressions Defined}}</ref>
Lasso includes full [[Unicode]] character support in the standard string object, allowing it to serve and support [[Variable-width encoding|multi-byte characters]] such as Japanese and Swedish, and supports transparent [[UTF-8]] conversion when writing string data to the network or file system.

Lasso is often used as a [[scripting language]], and also used in a wide range of non-scripting contexts. Lasso code can be packaged into standalone executable programs called "LassoApps", in which folder structures are compiled into single files.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lassoguide.com/operations/lassoapps.html|title=An explanation of LassoApps}}</ref>

The Lasso Server application server runs as a system service and receives requests from the [[webserver|web server]] through [[FastCGI]]. It then hands the request off to the appropriate Lasso Instance, which formulates the response. Multiple individual instances are supported, allowing one server to handle multiple sites, each as separate processes. The server uses a high performance [[Input/output|IO]]-based [[Green threads|green threading]] system designed for [[Multi-core processor|multi-core]] systems.

Lasso can be compared to the [[server-side scripting]] languages [[PHP]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.22/22.07/PHPvsLasso/index.html
 | last = Chris 
 | first = Tracewell
 | title = A Closer Look at Two OS X Scripting Languages
 | newspaper = MACTech
 | year = 2006
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.briandunning.com/browse/browse0205.shtml
 | last = Brian 
 | first = Dunning
 | title = Pick the Right Tool for the Job
 | date = February 1, 2005
 }}</ref> and [[Python (programming language)|Python]], [[ColdFusion Markup Language|ColdFusion]], [[Ruby programming language|Ruby]], etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://w3techs.com/technologies/reportlist/programming_language|title=Lasso vs Scripting Languages on W3Techs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.langpop.com|title=Comparison of Popular Languages|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116080326/http://www.langpop.com/|archivedate=2009-01-16}}</ref>