Attributes to Check for while Hiring a ColdFusion Developer

ColdFusion makes it easier for businesses to create and deploy both internet applications and mobile apps by using a single platform. Adobe also allows companies to choose from the standard, enterprise and developers editions of the rapid web application development platform. ColdFusion 11 further comes with a set of innovative features for end-to-end web and mobile enterprise application development.

The ColdFusion 10 Features That Developers Would Like To Have

Before we discuss about the features of ColdFusion 10, let us see what ColdFusion is. It is a rapid web application development platform that was originally designed to make connecting HTML pages to a particular database easier. Since its inception in the year 2005, a number of versions have been published and currently, version 11 that was published this year in the month of April is in place. However, we will discuss some of the most important salient features of the earlier version 10 that was published earlier in January 2014 this year.

With the introduction of every version, a string of new features is being added to the platform and version 10 is no exception. In case of the version 10, the entire set of features can be categorized into three main foundations or pillars.

• Accept the state of the art futuristic technologies
• Deployment of applications that are enterprise-ready
• Building applications quickly

Let us now discuss some of the features:

Enhancement of Security
With every new version, the developers have incorporated new features that have made the platform more secured than the previous one and CF 10 is no exception. This version has come up with some value added features that make the app more secured.

CF applications that have been developed all throughout have always been safe and secured. However, thanks to the native support for the OWASP ESAPI functions, the apps will become even more secured and will be able to meet the new age security threats with more vigor.

Syntax Sugar
This feature, which helps in language enhancement, is one of the most important features that make a developer’s life a lot easier.

REST webservices
This is another feature that helps the CF 10 become such an indispensable platform. Native support meant for REST webservices from within a CFC or ColdFusion Component is baked on for POST, DELETE, GET, HEAD, PUT, OPTIONS, and POST request models of HTTP.

WebSockets
This is another feature that helps in easier and faster communication over TCP and helps the server as well as the browser to exchange messages between each other if and when needed. With the introduction of WebSockets, sending a particular request from the browser to the service becomes faster as well as easier by many folds.

Tomcat
CF 10 comes up with another feature called Tomcat, which is its new default J2EE container. Tomcat has replaced JRUN, the aging J2EE container of the earlier versions. Though one quarter of experts are of the opinion that this has hardly made any difference, this has certainly made deployment of CF to a wide array of cloud based systems far easier. This is true in case of both public as well as private systems.

HTML5 charting
This feature helps the CF 10 in supporting various interactive client-side charts that are based on Canvas, Flash, or SVG. The functionality of this feature is supported by the existing CFCHART tag of CF. Apart from this there is immense support for a wide range of various client-side charts. Also, it is also possible to customize the chart style by using JSON objects in the CF 10.

Closures
This is one of the most favorite JavaScript technique that has been incorporated it the CF 10.

Java First Class
With the help of this particular feature, it is now possible to build JavaLoader into the language, which in turn allows loading of the Java classes that are placed on the system. This is particularly great for the Java developers as they can access CFCs from within a Java class.

Scheduler
This is another extremely handy feature that helps in improved handling of Priorities, corn commands, application level tasks, chaining, errors, grouping, and so on.

You can hire developers from top custom ColdFusion development company in India who can help you build your website within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide ColdFusion development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert ColdFusion web developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why choose ColdFusion over PHP or Any Other Web Language?

The choice of web programming language varies from one developer to another. As they have options to choose from a several web languages, programmers often choose the language that enables them to build dynamic and robust internet application at rapid pace. As a powerful web programming language, ColdFusion is being used widely by enterprises across the world. Adobe has further released ColdFusion 10 with a set of innovative and extended features to meet the latest trends in user choices and web application development.

If you are evaluating different programming languages, it is a good idea to choose the right option according to the nature and specific requirements of the internet application. However, you can always consider using ColdFusion to avail a number of advantages. Also, the programming language is powerful enough to create web pages on the fly using the information and content stored on various databases. Along with building the internet application at a rapid pace, the language will further contribute towards enhancing its performance, scalability and security.

Why Choose ColdFusion over Other Web Programming Languages?

Tag-Based Scripting Language: ColdFusion has evolved as a tag-based web programming language. So it does not required programmers to write longer lines of code, unlike other web programming languages. Instead of writing long code, a developer can simply use tags to add new features and functionality to the website. The feature further makes the scripting language both simple and easy-to-learn. A programmer familiar with HTML can learn ColdFusion without putting any extra time and effort. Also, the scripting language is designed based on Java. So the internet application becomes compatible with the operating systems and web browsers that support Java.

Support for HTML5: The popularity of a website, nowadays, depends on its compatibility with major operating systems and web browser. Also, an internet application must be accessible on both conventional and mobile devices to attract more users. So, programmers often look for easy ways to make the website compatible with major devices and operating systems. The developers use HTML5 to optimize the performance of their web application by suing syntactic tags like < video > and < audio >. The latest version of ColdFusion is designed with full support for HTML5. Some of the features like interactive HTML5 charting, webs sockets, video player and map functionality will allow you to build internet application to meet the latest technological trends.

Enhanced Web Services: Most new internet applications use web services to optimize user experience. So programmers often look for quick and simple ways to build robust web services. Unlike other web programming languages, ColdFusion is updated with support for Representational State Transfer (REST) web services. Also, the language supports all types of HTTP methods including XML serialization and JSON. The feature enables you to publish the ColdFusion Components as a RESTful web service. Adobe has further made it easier to build, publish and access the web services without writing long code. You can simply use the revamped engine that supports both SOAP 1.2 and WSDL 2.0 to optimize the usage of web services.

Content Driven Internet Application: Each user loves internet applications that use the most relevant and updated information. So the enterprises want their websites to be driven by dynamic data. Further, the information, content and files can be stored on several data sources. ColdFusion makes it easier for you to build on the fly webpages using the content stored on a database. You also have option to store several types of data and information as a single piece of content. So when a user types the URL, the webpage is created using dynamic data stored as pieces of content. The feature further enables you to optimize the performance of the website without regular content updates.

The updated version of ColdFusion also comes with a set of language enhancement features that help you in improving the quality and readability of the code. Also, you can optimize coding efficiency using features like CFC Method Chaining. If you are thinking of ColdFusion migration, please do ensure you do thorough research about the migration expertise of software development providers before you hand them the reign.

We provide Coldfusion development services. If you would like to speak to one of our certified coldfusion programmers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

What You Need To Know About CFHTTP, SSL and SNI?

Adobe has released ColdFusion 10 with a set of innovative features to complement the current trends in rapid web application development. The latest version of the rapid web application development framework comes with language, security and HTML5 enhancements. At the same time, it also supports some of the advanced communication protocols to optimize the user experience. ColdFusion supports some of the widely used technologies like CFHTTP (ColdFusion HTTP), Secure Socket Layer (SSL), and Server Name Indication (SNI). These technologies make it easier for programmers to optimize the performance, scalability and security of websites without writing lengthy code.

CFHTTP

For improving user experience, coldfusion application development teams often design web applications with features to access an external web page, and display the content as part of its own website. The functionality becomes much simpler and easier through the CFHTTP tag provided by ColdFusion. The tag will be used initially to do an HTTP call. Once the connection is established, the content of the external web page will be stored in cfhttp.filecontent which is a string variable. As a string can be manipulated flexibly, the content can be displayed as part of the website without putting any extra effort. The CFHTTP tag is being used by developers to provide updated and relevant information to users related to weather, news and stock prices collected from third-party websites. Along with allowing developers to write less code, the ColdFusion tag further enables them to optimize user experience by providing the latest information collected from reliable sources.

SSL

A constant increase is noted in the number of people carrying out online financial transactions. However, each user wants to make payment through a web application only when he is sure that his sensitive financial information will remain secure. As the users have to submit details of their credit card, PayPal account or net banking, it has becomes essential for developers to use advanced encryption and security technologies. ColdFusion is designed with support for Secure Socket Layer (SSL). The standard security technology is used widely by developers to establish an encrypted link between the client and server. The technology can be used to encrypt the connection between a mail server and a mail client, or web server and a web browser. Also, SSL, as a security protocol, describes what algorithm needs to be used to encrypt the links and information during transmission. When a website is designed with SSL, it can convince users that their sensitive financial information will not be used for identity thefts and similar frauds.

SNI

While developing a website, no developer can predict how many users will access it at a time. So enterprises look for effective ways to optimize the performance and scalability of their websites. ColdFusion is also designed with Server Name Indication (SNI) protocol support. As an extension to Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol, SNI decides the hostname the client is trying to access at the beginning of the communication. The protocol further makes it smoother for the web server to generate and issue multiple certifications on a single IP address and port number. Thus, multiple websites need not use a single certificate while several websites are being served from a single IP address. However, the SNI protocol, at present, is not supported by all web browsers. The users will receive certificate warning if they are using a web browser that does not support the SNI protocol.

Adobe is regularly updating ColdFusion to meet the latest trends in rapid web application development. The support for advanced protocols and technologies makes it easier for developers to optimize the performance, scalability and security of their web applications without putting any extra effort. ColdFusion 10 comes with both caching and language enhancements to enable programmers to build robust websites, web applications and web services at a rapid pace.

We provide coldfusion development services. If you would like to speak to one of our certified coldfusion programmers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

ColdFusion Use on the Rise

ColdFusion is widely used by developers across the word as a powerful web development platform. But the platform was developed in 1995 with some simple features to establish connection between HTML pages and a database. The version 2 of the ColdFusion was released in 1996 with a full scripting language and an IDE. But the latest version of the rapid web development platform, released in 2012, provides application developers with a set of advanced features to easily develop a variety of rich internet applications, along with carrying out enterprise integration.

According to FarBeyondCode.com, in February 2013, Adobe reported, “ColdFusion 10 brought sales and positive feedback to the highest point since 2008. They just had their best quarter at the end of 2012.” The commercial success further encouraged the company to release “a roadmap for versions of the ColdFusion server and the Eclipse IDE, ColdFusion Builder. They project to offer support for security and bug fixes for these new products until around 2020.” The report clearly indicates the growing usage of ColdFusion 10 to meet the needs of web applications developers to build robust application for clients belonging to different industries.

The constant rise in the popularity and usage of ColdFusion was also confirmed by a report published on WebProNews.com. To quote from the report, “Stephen O’Grady over at RedMonk compiled a ranking of programming language popularity based on an interesting set of metrics: StackOverflow questions and GitHub projects. Comparing Stephen’s findings from September 2011 and February 2012 show a significant improvement in ColdFusion’s position.” Also, a number of reports have highlighted the initiatives taken by Adobe to optimize the growth and popularity of ColdFusion.

Key Initiatives Taken by Adobe to Make ColdFusion more Popular

Discussing New Roadmaps

Each company has to collect feedback, suggestions and comments from its clients on the features and functionality of the applications developed by it. Often the interaction with customers also makes it easier for the organization to decide how to boost the performance of its application development framework. Adobe has initiated roadmap discussions to make ColdFusion programming more popular. As per the initiative, the senior leadership from the company will engage in discussions with customers. The feedback and suggestions received from customers will be used in deciding the features and functionality to make the updated version of ColdFusion 10 more powerful.

More Frequent Updates

Each software development company has to impress users by launching updated versions of its products. The updated frameworks also come with a set of advanced features that saves the programmers’ time and efforts while developing rich internet applications. Adobe has implemented a strategy to reduce the release cycles for ColdFusion. So the updated versions of the framework will be released more frequently with a number of advanced features and functionalities. Also, the reduced released cycles will make it easier for Adobe to meet the changing trends in technologies.

Launching ColdFusion on the Cloud

The Cloud-based application development frameworks are popular among developers due to their flexible and convenient features. Many companies have launched the Cloud version of their frameworks to meet the needs of developers. But the Cloud release of ColdFusion on Amazon EC2 was delayed due to some issues between the two companies. So Adobe has resolved the issues with Amazon, and is ready to offer Amazon Machine Image (AMI) for ColdFusion 10 at hourly rates. The Cloud version of ColdFusion 10 will encourage more programmers to avail the advantages of this powerful platform.

Expanding the ColdFusion Community

The popularity of an application development framework often depends on the size of developer community. So Adobe has taken initiative to promote ColdFusion at various community colleges. The initiative aims to educate programmers with a detailed semester curriculum for server side programming concepts using ColdFusion. Also, the program includes quizzes, tests, instructor guides and software to encourage new programmers to use this platform to develop rich web applications. At the same time, both instructors and students also have options to clear their doubts by interacting with a community expert.

Engaging the ColdFusion Users Actively

Adobe has further implemented a program to keep the users actively engaged. It is planning to organize ColdFusion events to keep the interested user groups by working with them in an active way. At the same time, the ColdFusion Business Unit at Adobe is planning to organize a full-fledged ColdFusion conference to encourage the involvement of user community. However, Adobe will work only as the primary organizer, while allowing the maximum involvement of the community in several aspects like content selection. The constant interaction with developers will further make it easier for the company to contribute towards the growth and popularity of this rapid web application development platform.

The initiatives taken by Adobe will encourage both novice and experienced programmers to migrate to ColdFusion. Also, the active participation and involvement of developer community will contribute towards boosting the popularity of this web development platform.

We provide coldfusion application development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert coldfusion developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.