the future of coldfusion christian cantrell cantrell@macromedia.com ell

The Future of ColdFusion

Christian Cantrellcantrell@macromedia.com

http://www.macromedia.com/go/cantrell

ColdFusion Evolution

Before we talk about the future,let’s start with a look at the past.

•Script-based User Defined Functions

•Query of queries

•Log analyzer

•CFFLUSH and CFLOG tags

•Generator integration

ColdFusion 5:What Was New

•XML support

•Tag-based UDFs

•Support for components

•SOAP-based web services

•Flash Remoting

•Try and catch in cfscript

CFMX:What’s New Now

•CFCHART and related tags

•CFCOMPONENT and relate tags

•CFIMPORT

•CFLOGIN, CFLOGINUSER, CFLOGOUT

•CFTRACE

•CFXML

New CFMX Tags

•createObject

•getPageContext

•getMetaData

•isUserInRole

•XML related functions

New CFMX Functions

•What does it mean to you?

•CFMX is Java

•Runs on other vender’s application servers:

•JRun

•Sun One

•WebLogic

•WebShpere

Java Interoperability

So What’s Next?

RedSky

•Code name for the ColdFusion MX maintenance release

•Scheduled for release this summer

•Free upgrade for licensed users of ColdFusion MX

What is RedSky?

•Redesigned installer

•Enhanced upgrade/migration tools

•New web server configuration wizard

What’s in RedSky?

Streamlined installation and migration

•Protocol tags (CFHTTP, CFFTP, CFLDAP) optimized, and more backward compatible

•New Unicode-capable MS Access driver

What’s in RedSky?

Increased backward CFML compatibility

•Windows 2003/IIS6

•RedHat 7.3, 8, 9; SuSE Linux 8

•Solaris 9

What’s in RedSky?

Updated platform support

•Optimized CFML compiler

•Increased runtime performance and stability

•Updated JDBC/ODBC drivers

•New version of the Java Virtual Machine (Java 1.4.2)

What’s in RedSky?

Significant Performance Enhancements

•Faster, more reliable COM integration

•Improved database error messages

•Expanded and updated documentation

•Enhancements to the scheduler.

What’s in RedSky?

Addresses Outstanding Product Issues

•CFEXECUTE's and CFHTTP's timeout attributes now work

•CFLOGIN can be tied to sessions

•Fixed more than 400 customer-identified bugs (2,700 in the JVM)

What’s in RedSky?

Addresses More Outstanding Product Issues

•Latest version of Flash Remoting

•Latest version of JRun 4

•Updated CFCHART engine

•Axis 1.1 Web Services engine

What’s in RedSky?

Updates to Integrated Products

•Transactions can span multiple functions

•Included files now have access to the arguments, localvariables, and this structs

•You can now pass arguments to components as attributes to cfinvoke and by passing a struct into the argumentcollection attribute simultaneously

What’s in RedSky?

ColdFusion Component Fixes and Updates

•pageContext bug is fixed (cached CFCs can output and access shared scopes)

•Component names can be mixed case on Unix now

•Addition of the keyword "super"

What’s in RedSky?

More ColdFusion Component Fixes and Updates

•Dramatically improved performance

•Support for backup mail servers

•Support for multi-part mail messages with the new CFMAILPART tag

What’s in RedSky?

Improvements to CFMAIL

•CFPOP now supports retrieval of both text/plain and text/html message parts

•CFMAIL now takes a username and password so it can authenticate against an SMTP server

What’s in RedSky?

More Improvements to CFMAIL

•http://www.macromedia.com/go/cfmxbeta

•Production, anyone?

See For YourselfWhat’s New in RedSky

Apply to Join the RedSky Beta

Beyond RedSky

What’s Next?

•Additional deployment options

•Advanced data aggregation and reporting

•Tighter integration with other Macromedia products and technologies

•Support for any technology that keeps ColdFusion developers building high-performance, feature-rich applications in the least amount of time

After RedSkyBased on Customer Feedback...

The Future of ColdFusion

Christian Cantrellcantrell@macromedia.com

http://www.macromedia.com/go/cantrell