ColdFusion Reborn

ColdFusion is doomed to ship next month. Professional Edition (the version we tested) would cost $ 799 per server and upgrades, $ 549 per server.

This is a hot product for hot prices especially considering the search engines included in the text and graphics generation.

ColdFusions reasonable prices also gives developers more freedom to prototype applications without fear of deadlock: the ColdFusion code can be run within a Java application server to provide a safe way to growth and "small" applications, which become strategic tools of society.

ColdFusion Server Enterprise Edition (which supports server clustering) costs U.S. $ 4,999 per server, ColdFusion MX for J2EE, the version that runs inside the servers of third-party application, is priced at $ 3,999 per processor. Macromedia JRun (which is integrated in the low-end versions of ColdFusion MX), IBM WebSphere and iPlanet s Sun Microsystems Inc. will initially be supported by ColdFusion MX for J2EE with BEA WebLogic Server certification comes later this year.

ColdFusion MX Server, which runs on Windows, Linux, Solaris or HP-UX, is a bottom-up and re-write the biggest change since ColdFusion was first released. With this release, ColdFusion web pages are not interpreted by a database engine for C-runtime, but now they are compiled into Java bytecode and runs in a Java application server.

Unfortunately, the JSP (JavaServer Pages) or Java is not inserted directly into the ColdFusion pages, although the Cold Fusion can use the JSP custom tag libraries via a special interface and call any JavaBean or a method defined by a file Java class. ColdFusion or JSP pages and servlets can also share the application, session and application variable information.

But the real value of ColdFusion has always been the language, not the server. EWeek Labs believes ColdFusion CFML (ColdFusion Markup Language), the easiest scripting language to learn, and it does not sacrifice power for simplicity (though it is more detailed than Microsoft Corp. Active Server Pages or PHP PHP groups). This update combined with CFML maturity and a superb cross-vendor support of J2EE world.

This change is very strategic for enterprise customers who previously had to balance the rapid development of ColdFusion and the developer base, with its status as a supplier and the additional cost of maintaining and even an application server (especially the one without the support of the industry at large).

During the experiments, we found ColdFusion MX is fully compatible with most ColdFusion applications. Our bookstore Nile reasonably complex reference, written for ColdFusion Server 5.0, running on the first try, when we tested with ColdFusion MX.

There are a number of compatibility of reservations with less common ColdFusion tags, but Macromedia has a tool for analyzing source code that identifies the areas where you can upgrade problems can occur.

ColdFusion MX installer did an excellent job porting options for existing ColdFusion the new model. We were asked to manually edit our Oracle and DB2 data connections for obtaining and running, but this amounted to only a few minutes of work. ColdFusion includes Java Database Connectivity drivers for all major databases.

The portion of C for a Java engine can result in a decrease in performance, but Macromedia has compensated for this by build ColdFusion pages, instead of interpreting them. Macromedia staff said its tests showed similar performance between ColdFusion and ColdFusion MX 5.0, with some functions a little faster and a little slower some MX.

We did their tests, comparing the two using the Nile Bookstore and stated that the ColdFusion MX was actually a bit 'faster for most users to download. We conducted the tests, Quest Software Benchmark Factory Inc.s load testing tool (www.quest.com), and tested one of 100 concurrent users who do not have time to think.
The change of platform is the largest circulation in the long term for ColdFusion MX, but native XML and Web services support, and enhancements CFML are also strong attractions. ColdFusion can still access the Microsoft Component Object Model objects as before in a Java-COM bridge supplied with the product.

XML data objects can be handled as native data types in ColdFusion (like a table) and the server now includes XPath query and XSLT (Extensible Style Language Transformation) properties.

A new component object responds to a weakness of many years in CFML: their inability to encapsulate the code effectively. Components allow inheritance, and function of the components can be converted to SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) Web based simply adding a "remote" attribute to the function.

ColdFusion MX users to find a stable partner for the development of future instruments Macromedias Dreamweaver MX. Dreamweaver MX combines two lines of business development tool, Dreamweaver and HomeSite, a single well-integrated web development tool.

Dreamweaver MX, which runs on Windows and Mac OS offers a Web site and page editing functions in CFML pages, as well as many other types of pages: simple HTML, JSP, ASP, ASP. Net (C # and Visual Basic. NET) and PHP. The package is scheduled to ship later this month to $ 399 per song.

We were regular users of JRun Studio (the home version of the site) has a number of years, and Dreamweaver will be taken on the characteristics of packet editing, automatic tag completion, the database files, navigation and use.

Its interface is a marvel of depth, but at the expense of some clutter folding windows platforms, which have labels, menus that have remained open to see, like a Mandelbrot fractal.

Beta 3 of the Code, that the test was also significantly unstable, crashing several times a day. With a file, the cut consistent text when published. He expressed the hope that these issues will be removed from the final version.