Who needs a Lino?

Imagine some small team somewhere in the world. If they use computers, they probably store some data in tables. And they want to share these tables within the team. Maybe they use Google Drive. Or –if they care about privacy and have enough money– they have their own file server where they store Excel files. And the more they use such data, the more they discover that things can go wrong: data is replicated in multiple tables and it gets difficult to find out where the most recent version is, or a team member accidentally deletes some data, or it becomes otherwise invalid. At some moment they will realize that they need a database application. Maybe they find some application that meets exactly their needs. In that case they don’t need a Lino.

Otherwise, if they are lucky, one of the team members writes an application for them, for example in MS Access. That works fine for some time. Until the hobby programmer leaves the team. Or until the application gets bigger and more complex. We have met MS Access fans who developed great applications but didn’t dare to change anything because they had learned that every new change can potentially break the whole thing.

At some moment they will decide: Let’s find a professional developer and ask them for help.

As a site operator you might wonder why you should choose a development provider who uses the Lino framework.

Lino is for you, if…

  • you have a concrete need for a customized database application

  • you are ready to invest your own time for analysis and testing

  • you want a stable and sustainable solution

  • you want to keep control over your investment even when your relationship with a given development provider breaks.

Lino is not for you, if…

  • you just want quickly some nice web site with dynamic content

  • you don’t want to invest your time into developing a new software

  • you want a cool website featuring the latest web technologies

  • you don’t worry about long-term maintenance of your application

Lino’s design goals:

  • Lino applications are easy to understand for the end user (see The values behind Lino).

  • Lino applications are easy to develop because Lino encourage agile programming, rapid prototyping and short release cycles.

  • Lino applications are easy to maintain because Lino encourages sustainable application development.

  • Lino applications are stable as rock once you decided that they satisfy your needs. No forced upgrades.

  • Lino applications are easy to share because Lino encourages a deeply modular approach with libraries of highly reusable code.

  • Lino applications do not try to be sexy. They are optimized for people who get a few hours of training before they start using it and who will use it for their everyday work. With Lino it takes a few hours before an end user starts loving it, but that love will –hopefully– be deeper and last longer.