Jul 14
ClaudePlatform CFML, ColdFusion, Eclipse, IDE, ORM
I just read an article by Ben Forta on the new features of ColdFusion 9. Here is my initial take on them.
What I Like
- I’m really excited about CF9’s support for Object Relational Modeling. I think thorough testing must take place to make sure it scales properly under load. I imagine it’s solid since it’s based on Hybernate, but I’ve seen a few promising ORM frameworks flame out before they had a chance to be adopted due to their inability to scale.
- Access to server variables is also good. There is nothing worse than having to create service initializer hacks to pre-cache components in a clustered load balanced environment (think 4 physical boxes with 7 instances each) after server/instance restarts.
- Multi-server admin tools. Enough said.
- Although I prefer to code JavaScript applications separately from CFML, I am glad Ext-JS (3.0) continues to be the official JavaScript framework that ships with ColdFusion.
Not so Hot
I don’t think the new “local” scope adds any value. It seems we’re trying to hard to allow people to write inefficient code by being careless about scoping. Using “var” is fine with me as it is similar across multiple languages. “local” will just add another thing to remember when coding in CFML.
The Jury is Still Out
I’d like to get more testing done with the IDE, ColdFusion Builder, before making up my mind. I’ve been a fan of Aptana, the Eclipse-based IDE, for working with my favorite JavaScript frameworks, PHP and HTML/CSS. I hope the tool is both capable and fast, which has been tough to achieve with Flex Builder.
ColdFusion 9 and ColdFusion Builder Now Available on Labs
May 13
ClaudeArticles, Ext JS, Framework, JavaScript, Platform, Protocol .NET, ColdFusion, Ext JS, Framework, Java, JavaScript, Library, Perl, PHP, Ruby
Evan Trimboli of the Ext-JS team just published an article describing Ext.Direct, a remoting API that is part of Ext 3.0. The team has created a remoting specification that you can use to implement the server-side stack of your choice.
Details about server-specific implementations already being maintained can be found here.
Ext.Direct is a new package in Ext JS 3.0 that helps alleviate many of these issues by streamlining communication between your client and server. When using Ext.Direct, you can expect to write 30% less code by eliminating common boiler plate code.
The Ext.direct namespace introduces several new classes for a close integration with the server-side. New classes have also been added to the Ext.data namespace for working with Ext.data.Stores which are backed by data from an Ext.Direct method.
Ext.Direct uses a provider architecture, where one or more providers are used to transport data to and from the server. There are several providers that exist in the core at the moment, for example a JsonProvider for simple JSON operations and a PollingProvider for repeated requests. One of the most powerful providers is the RemotingProvider.
Read the rest here.
Feb 28
ClaudeHow-To, Protocol, Security Apache, ColdFusion, IIS, MachII, plugin, Rewrite
Today I came across some old ColdFusion & Mach-II (1.0) code where a plugin was used to force HTTPS. I assume the original developer decided to go with this solution because the target environment was Windows and Internet Information Server.
The task becomes a lot easier under Apache. So I threw away the plugin code and added the following rule to the Apache configuration:
<directory "/public_html/mysite.com">
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
RewriteRule ^(.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R,L]
</directory>
The directive above can be placed inside a VirtualHost or Directory directives, but this usually requires access to the Apache server configuration, which is not typically possible in a shared hosting environment — in that case, the rule can be added to the .htaccess file.
Alternatively we could have used the SSLRequireSSL Apache (2.x) directive, but this would only block access to the non HTTPS address. In our case we want to automatically redirect the users instead of displaying an error message.
Nov 21
ClaudeExt JS, JavaScript ColdFusion, Component, Ext JS, JavaScript, JSON, Library
Steve “Cutter” Blades has created a custom JSON Data Reader for ColdFusion, CFQueryReader. It allows Ext-JS developers to populate GridPanels using serialized ColdFusion queries in their native format or formatted for grid. CFQueryReader is designed to accommodate either format automatically.
Oct 22
ClaudeArticles ColdFusion, Survey
From CIO magazine:
The “user’s choice” for application servers, according to more than 700 software developers, include two of the oldest — one might say mature — and one relative newcomer.
In this survey, Adobe ColdFusion, Red Hat JBoss and Sun Java System Application Server/GlassFish also earned high marks from their users.
Adobe ColdFusion has a long history. Originally introduced by Allaire, it was acquired by Macromedia, then became part of Adobe in yet another acquisition. ColdFusion version 8.0 was released in July 2007, featuring Microsoft .NET integration, integration with Adobe Acrobat forms, and enhanced performance. ColdFusion scored best with developers for its scalability, support and security.
Mar 25
ClaudeHow-To ColdFusion, Tags
Ben Nadel of Kinky Solutions has posted his latest work. He has wrapped the Apache POI API in a ColdFusion tag to help us create “authentic” Microsoft Office file formats.
Now, the project contains more than just the POIUtility.cfc; it also contains all the ColdFusion custom tags and some additional CSS-based components that can be used to create Microsoft Excel files in ColdFusion.
Read more about it.
Dec 13
ClaudeProtocol ColdFusion, Flash, Flex
So far the standard way of making data connections in Ajax applications has been over XmlHttpRequest, which requires clients to constantly poll backend servers. Adobe is taking advantage of the opportunity to open up a solid platform capable of providing persistent connections (server push / Comet) and the AMF specification.
According to the Adobe Labs site:
Adobe is announcing plans to release source code for its server side remoting and messaging technologies under a new open source product named BlazeDS. Now, developers can easily connect to back-end distributed data and push data in real-time to Adobe® Flex™ and Adobe® Integrated Runtime (AIR) applications for more responsive rich Internet application (RIA) experiences. Previously available only as part of Adobe LiveCycle® Data Services ES software, the technologies included in BlazeDS, along with the Action Message Format (AMF) protocol specification, are being contributed to open source under the Lesser General Public License (LGPL v3) and are available immediately as public betas on Adobe Labs.
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