ColdFusion: With ColdFusion, you can build and deploy powerful web applications and services with far less training time and fewer lines of code than ASP, PHP, and JSP. Version 7.0 introduces powerful new application services including rich Flash forms generation, structured reports, and dynamic generation of printable documents. Coupled with version 6.1’s simplified installation and migration, updated key features, and increased in runtime performance, these features open up a new world of applications beyond the browser.
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What is ColdFusion?
ColdFusion is a program based on the CFMX programming language that builds and deploys powerful web applications and services. With proven tag-based methodology, ColdFusion’s features allow web developers to easily harness the power of the Java Platform to deliver powerful Internet applications to millions of people worldwide. ColdFusion is a server side language, which is executed by a ColdFusion application server. It works by executing CFM templates (which is a mixture of HTML and ColdFusion instructions) to return normal HTML to the requesting browser. The ColdFusion MX Enterprise software suite provides all the necessary software to create large-scale websites, applications, and hosting environments, and is available for either a stand-alone installation for web developers or for industry-level deployment on J2EE application servers.
The true power of ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML)
The core functionality of ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) is centered on the use of tags. These server scripting tags give ColdFusion its speedy development applications for the web. CFML is quite simple to learn, but is powerful enough to handle even the most complex and demanding web applications. Processed entirely on the server, CFML uses syntax closely resembling that of HTML and XML. CFML consists of two primary language elements: tags and functions. Tags let you perform operations such as accessing a database. Functions can return data and do other operations like retrieving the system date. Tags, functions and operators make up expressions. Building expressions in ColdFusion is easy and can include simple as well as complex elements. The ways in which these expressions and elements are used determine how ColdFusion processes your program.
Is ColdFusion easy to learn?
Out of the many different methods used to develop and build web applications, pages, and services, ColdFusion is by far the easiest to learn and use. For ColdFusion 7.0, Macromedia has created a helpful ‘Getting Started Experience’ interface that gives the new user access to tutorials, whitepapers, topic index, and even two sample applications to play with.
There is no other language or product as well suited to web developers as ColdFusion. Easy-to-use visual tools and an intuitive server scripting environment allow new users to easily pick up the CFML language.
Windows, UNIX, or Linux…which Should I Use To Run My Website?
Macromedia ColdFusion MX supports most operating systems including Windows, Unix, Linux, IBM AIX and HP-UX. Below is a list of operating system versions and system requirements for the latest ColdFusion version:
Windows OS Intel Pentium processor or higher 256 MB RAM but 512 MB is highly recommended 400 MB of hard disk space available Works on MS Windows 98 / ME / NT 4 / SP6A / 2000 /SP3 / XP/ 2003
Linux OS Intel Pentium processor or higher 256 MB RAM but 512 MB is highly recommended 400 MB of hard disk space available Red Hat Linux 7.2 / 7.3 / 8.0 / 9 / AS & ES 2.1 / AS & ES 3.0 SuSE Linux 7.2 / 7.3 / or 8X Turbo Linux 8 Server ( Japanese Only)
Unix SPARC, PA-RISC 1.1 / 2.0 / Power 3 processor Sun Solaris 7 / 8 / 9 256 MB RAM but 512 MB is highly recommended 400 MB of hard disk space available HP-UX 11i IBM AIX 5L 4.3 / 3 / 5.1 / 5.2 Apple Mac OS X
What Databases and Web Servers are supported with ColdFusion?
ColdFusion MX supports most major databases including Microsoft SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2, Sybase and IBM Informix. In addition, CFMX can run on most major web servers including IIS, Apache and Sun One.
What are the differences between the ColdFusion 7.0 editions?
Standard Edition: This edition is for single web application or small workgroup environments. It builds accessible, high-quality rich forms, transforms existing HTML content into PDF or FlashPaper 2 formats, creates structured business reports for workgroup applications, delivers charts and graphs, and increases text searching capabilities.
Enterprise Edition: This edition is ideal for the quickly growing business. It includes all the features of the Standard Edition as well as scalability, performance, and enterprise management capabilities for larger web and business applications. The Enterprise Edition has multi-instance deployment and management, clustering, high-speed enterprise database drivers, server security J2EE packaging and deployment, and high-performance e-mail delivery. Yet the most anticipated feature of this edition is the event gateway, which enables ColdFusion applications to connect to mobile phones and instant messaging.
How does ColdFusion run on application servers?
The ColdFusion MX runtime environment is actually a Java application that takes advantage of the many powerful services in the J2EE platform. What this J2EE platform does is connects the various databases, manages its own security, as well as processes the requests sent in by the application itself. When ColdFusion MX is installed in the J2EE configuration, the compiled infrastructure will be on top of the application server in order to execute the language’s applications. This configuration will allow developers to cultivate and set out pages, as well as manage the MX server settings using the ColdFusion Administrator.
What are the advantages & disadvantages of using custom tags in ColdFusion?
Using custom tags within ColdFusion has its advantages and disadvantages. Custom tags written in CFML primarily try to achieve a simple balance between three aspects; taking argument statements, having body tags begin and end with the appropriate tag, and ensuring proper processing when a beginning tag is encountered by the ColdFusion program. If designed properly, these custom tags will also be able to be called recursively (meaning that it will have the functionality to call itself within the body tag). Although a custom tag in ColdFusion will call a page included the CFinclude tag, the disadvantage is that the code must be recursive, have developed complex functionality, and must be convenient for others (although often times code is not convenient). If creating either a User Defined Function (UDF) or a custom CFML tag, weigh the options carefully, since invoking a UDF requires less system overhead than using a custom tag.
What are the new features for ColdFusion 7.0?
ColdFusion 7.0 brings a whole new level of features to developers. With better web application creation, new server management and deployment options, and a new class of applications, users are able to quickly create powerful Internet applications without spending a lot of time or money.
Macromedia developed the new features to help web developers be more efficient in performing routine tasks such as structured business reporting, Flash-rich forms, and PDF and FlashPaper 2 document generation. ColdFusion Report Builder, a tool that helps users develop detailed business reports, will create sub reports, charts and graphs, automatically generate subtotals, and much more. ColdFusion 7.0 simplifies the form building process with the new Rich Flash and XML Forms capabilities. The new CFDOCUMENT feature eliminates chopping page printing with a single tag that transforms web pages into PDF or FlashPaper 2 formats.
How do I purchase my own copy of ColdFusion?
The ColdFusion MX suite is available directly from Macromedia, local computer software resellers, licensing programs and some web hosts.
Switching Web Hosts – Why And How.
When you first sign up with a hosting provider, you may think that it is a permanent arrangement. After all, you spent a lot of time researching different hosting providers and evaluated their offerings. You have the perfect host for your situation.
This is not always true. Sometimes you come to find out that your web host just cannot live up to their promises. Alternatively, your website might have become so popular that your current web host just cannot handle the sheer volume or scalability that you now need.
Lets face it; there are many reasons to switch web hosts, both pleasant and unpleasant. If done right, it can be accomplished with relative ease.
First, you need to take the time to shop around for a new hosting provider. It may help to make a list of the features you need for your website, as well as any that you feel you might need in the near future. When evaluating new hosting providers, compare the available features of each one with the list that you have created. You will undoubtedly find at least a few that offer packages that will fit your needs. Be sure to investigate their options for scalability and support as well.
After you have made your selection, contact the host to make arrangements. During the signup process some companies want to transfer the domain to their servers immediately. Make arrangements to transfer the domain at a later date. You may have to contact the web host directly to accomplish this, since most automated sign-ups do not accommodate such a request.
Now that you have a new web hosting account, make a fresh backup of all your content on your original website. Backups are something that should be done on a frequent basis, but that is a topic for another time. Make sure that you have backed up all of the information needed to run your site. This includes HTML, scripts, images, database files, downloads, etc.
Once you have backed up all of your data, it is time to upload it all to your new website. Since you have not transferred your domain name yet, you will either have to use an IP Address to access your website, or some kind of sub-domain (i.e., http://www.webhosting.com/yournewwebsite). Using an FTP program or another method, upload all of the required files to your new web account. It may be necessary to have your new provider make security modifications to files or folders in your account, depending on the provider and your website requirements.
It’s now time to test. Test your website very thoroughly on your new server. Try every option and click every link. I know this seems like a lot of work, but it is necessary. The last thing you want to do is switch over to your new web host and have problems right away. Testing everything will ensure that the transition will go more smoothly for you and your website visitors.
After fixing any problems you encountered while testing your site you will want to transfer over any content from your original web host that may have change while you were setting up and testing your new service. It is important to make sure the two sites are completely in sync, since you are now about to enter the transition period of your domain transfer.
I refer to it as a transition period, since it is the easiest way to describe it. When everything is tested and ready, you will need to notify your new hosting provider that you are ready for them to transfer the domain name to your new account. Your hosting provider will make it so your domain name now points to their name servers. The problem with this is that it is not an immediate process. Once the changes have been made, it can take as long as 10 days for the changes to propagate completely throughout the Internet.
Since it can take so long for the changes to completely propagate, or spread throughout the Internet, you may not only need to keep both web accounts functional but completely synchronized as well. There is no telling when a visitor types in the URL for your website, which one that they are going to hit. So, for at least one week after the transfer of the domain name, you will be in the transition period between the two providers.
This transition period is not only for your website. It can also affect your other services such as email. You may need to check email for your website on both services for the duration of the transition period. As a matter of fact, any service of your website that can be located using the domain name is affected by propagation, so be sure to take those cases into consideration.
After your transition period, your new provider will now be handling all of your site traffic. It is now appropriate to discontinue your old web service. One final backup is recommended, just in case there is something that slipped through the cracks and did not get transferred to the new web provider. In the case you find yourself in need of a new hosting provider, following the above guidelines will help you complete the transfer with a minimal margin for error.
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