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Why ColdFusion is worth the money!

by Serge Jespers on 22. Oct, 2009 in ColdFusion

coldfusion.jpg-jpeg-image-253x250-pixels-1.jpgI’m currently installing this new dedicated RackSpaceCloud server. While I have fallen in love with ColdFusion in the last year or so, I am still a CF n00b and not ready to completely switch. So my new server needs both ColdFusion (for new projects) and PHP (mainly for my WordPress blog).

After I installed Apache, MySQL and PHP, I started the CF install. It literally took me less than 10 minutes to get ColdFusion up and running (even on the officially unsupported Debian distro). I just downloaded the installer, launched it and when the installation was done, I had a fully working CF9 server that ties in to my Apache install. I set up my datasources, uploaded some of the scripts I used in the MAX widget and found that everything was working just fine.

I started copying over the files and databases from my WordPress blog on the old server and when that was done, I tested my WordPress install. While the public side of the blog seems to work just fine, the admin side is totally messed up. Even though my PHP.ini file clearly states that scripts have 128Meg to play with, some plugins in the admin nag that the “Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted”. Wait a minute… That’s 32M instead of the 128M I specified in the config file. So I ask “the Googles” if they know a solution. I get hundreds of links back. They all suggest the same things.
1) change the memory_limit in the PHP.ini
As it was already on 128M, that was not the solution.
2) add define(’WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘128M’); to your wp-config.php file
Did that. It didn’t solve the issue.
3) Add php_value memory_limit 128M to an .htaccess file
Tried that. No change.

So… While I did get hundreds of results back, none of them actually solves this issue. I contacted RackSpace’s helpdesk. Even though they can’t really help me as I am on a dedicated box, they were very accommodating and genuinely wanted to help out. But… They also gave me the exact same suggestions I already found on Google. And so now I am stuck. This seems to be a very unique problem and I have no idea what is causing it and no way of getting support.

I have now spent over 10 hours trying to fix this with no luck.

So yes… ColdFusion is a paid solution but if I can get that up and running in 10 minutes compared to the 10+ hours I’ve now spent on this PHP install, it is totally worth its price. And then I’m not even talking about the features CF9 provides out of the box without any additional installs… Now… Can someone please port WordPress to ColdFusion? kthxbye.

Oh… If you happen to think of a possible solution, feel free to leave a note in the comments or send me a message.

Update: For the record: This is NOT CF love vs PHP hate. As this post clearly shows, I am still using PHP next to CF. It is also possible that I did something wrong in the install but I’m sure you’ll agree that there is a big difference in the user experience…

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Behind the scenes of the MAX widget – ColdFusion, FMS and Flex

by Serge Jespers on 15. Sep, 2009 in ColdFusion, Flex, MAX2009, projects

While I was taking some time off, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a peak at what’s running behind the scenes of the MAX widget and why I chose ColdFusion and Flex to build it.

Why ColdFusion?
There are a number of reasons why I chose ColdFusion but the main reason is that I wanted to create something fast and not worry too much about possible config issues when connecting to my Flex front-end. I wanted a solution that I could just quickly install on a new server and be ready to go without the need to add new extensions or plugins. ColdFusion is perfect for that. With one simple install, you have everything ready to go. From Flash Remoting to image manipulation libraries.

The other big reason is also very simple. I think eating our own dogfood is a big part of our job. I’m fairly new to ColdFusion. I actually first touched CF about a year ago on the On AIR Train Tour through Europe. That was the first time I played around with CF after oh… some 10 years of working with PHP. I looked at CF a few years ago and never really took another serious look at it. I’m sure there are many of you out there in the same situation and I would like to invite you to take another look at ColdFusion. CF has changed and matured a lot since the early days and is just a breeze to work with. With a minimum amount of code, I was able to rapidly code my database calls for the widget. Another cool thing about ColdFusion is that once you write your database code, you can use it in a number of different ways. You can directly call the methods using Flash Remoting in your Flex application, call it as a webservice from a mobile Flash application and/or call it from an HTML page without changing anything in the original code. I surely was pretty impressed when I saw that the first time. If you’re a long time PHP user and want to know more about ColdFusion, I’d like to invite you to my session at MAX. I’m going to talk about the difference and similarities between PHP and CF and also talk about what CF can do right out of the box.

Why Flex?
I thought long and hard about this one. Using the Flex framework does add a bit of overhead (about 200k) to my application but the return is well worth it. I also wanted to prove that you can easily do these types of applications using Flex. Even though it’s built with standard Flex components, it looks nothing like a standard Flex application. What’s even more important is that all the transitions and styles you see in the widget are available today. No Flash Catalyst or Flex 4 styling was used in this application. Another reason why I chose Flex for this is the fact that your application becomes so much more organized using the Flex framework. I know there are other frameworks out there that provide similar functionality for pure ActionScript 3 projects but over the last couple of years, I’ve really become accustomed to using the Flex framework and since time was limited I went with what I know best.

maxwidgetadmin.jpgWhy Flash Media Server?
Well… That’s obviously an easy question to answer. Yes, there are third party solutions and even services that would offer more or less the same functionality but I do work for Adobe and so I also chose our own dogfood for this task. It also just works. You download the installer package, install the server, run it and you’re ready to go.

How long did it take to build this?
Obviously the team size is very important in any project. So let’s talk about that first… Oh wait… It was just me ;-) From concept phase to development took just about 3 weeks. That also includes setting up the ColdFusion server and Flash Media Server from scratch, writing the back end and creating a little content management system (pictured here on the left) to easily add facts, administer user videos and check the Twitter stats. I also created a static image version using nothing more than some standard ColdFusion features and reusing the database calls that I already created for the Flash based widget.

Building this widget has been great fun and it was great to also be able to build a real application again. Now don’t get me wrong. Building demos is also a lot of fun but knowing that millions of people are going to see and use this application is a good feeling. Well… Maybe not millions but you have to set the bar high enough, no? ;-)

Anyway… I hope you enjoyed playing around with the widget as much as I enjoyed building it. Hope to see you at MAX in Los Angeles… Oh wow… Is that really just 3 weeks away? I better get back to preparing my demos then ;-)

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ColdFusion on tour – SOTR Europe

by Serge Jespers on 07. Sep, 2009 in ColdFusion, Events

coldfusion.jpg-jpeg-image-253x250-pixels-1.jpgAfter a very successful and fun tour though the UK, SOTR is now going to mainland Europe. Most of you  know that my love for ColdFusion is growing with every project I do using it. I think you can really only appreciate ColdFusion after getting a taste of it and SOTR is the perfect place to get that taste. With SOTR Europe being a free event, there really is no excuse to not be there. ;-)

Hope to see you in Munich, Zurich, Milan, Amsterdam, Brussels or London!

More info and free registration on http://www.scotch-on-the-rocks.co.uk

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My 9 favorite ColdFusion 9 features

by Serge Jespers on 13. Jul, 2009 in ColdFusion

coldfusion.jpg (JPEG Image, 253x250 pixels)-1.jpgIn case you haven’t heard: ColdFusion 9 Beta and ColdFusion Builder Beta are now available on Adobe Labs. Some of you may find this surprising (;-)) but I’ve been playing with CF9 for a few months now and actually really love it!

To give you a bit of an idea on what I like about CF9, I’ve listed my 9 favorite features.

1) Adobe AIR database synchronization
By enabling this feature in your AIR application (both on the server and in the client app), the application syncs the data from a ColdFusion datasource to a local SQLite database. On the server side, it’s as simple as setting the persistent property to true on an ORM component. On the AIR side, it takes a little bit more depending on the features you need. In some cases you may need things like conflict management but even something as complicated as that can be done with just a few lines of code. Read more about this feature.

2) Object Relational Mapping (ORM)
This was a true eye-opener for me. ORM allows you to do complex database calls without writing a single SQL query thus making your code a lot cleaner and more manageable. This is a serious time saver and your apps will even run faster because of the built-in ORM optimizations. Read more about this feature.

3) Flex integration
I’m not just talking about the data centric development features in Flash Builder here. By using the ColdFusion proxy ActionScript classes, you get access to several ColdFusion services without actually writing any ColdFusion code. You just call the ColdFusion service straight from your Flex code. Read more about this feature.

4) ColdFusion Builder
Not really a ColdFusion 9 feature but ok… ColdFusion Builder is an Eclipse based IDE for CF development that is deeply integrated with CF9. So it’s ok to post it in this list ;-) I absolutely love how easy it is to create your ORM code. With just a few clicks, you can create all the necessary CRUD code to use in your CF application or your Flex application. I also really like that it’s extremely easy to extend ColdFusion Builder with your own extensions. You can easily write those extensions using CFML. Read more about ColdFusion Builder.

5) ColdFusion as a service
Ever tried calling an Exchange server from a PHP server (or any other server)? Or read a PPT, DOC or XLS file? Did you have fun? ;-) Next time, you should consider using CF9. ColdFusion 9 has an exposed service layer meaning you have direct access to a bunch of CF9 services from any server language you use. You can even call them using SOAP. Read more about this feature.

6) Server manager
If you work with multiple CF servers, this is surely going to make you very happy. Server Manager is an AIR-based desktop application that allows you to centrally manage multiple ColdFusion servers from one location. Apply hot fixes, change configs, create data sources, etc to all servers at once. Read more about this feature.

7) Office application integration
Ever wanted to create a presentation (PPT) from an bunch of images? Or from an HTML page? The <cfpresentation> tag allows you to do that and more! With just a few lines of code, you can create, convert and read presentation files. The same thing goes for documents and spreadsheets. Read more about this feature.

8) PDF integration
With the enhanced PDF support in CF9, you can extract all the content form a PDF file. You can also update PDFs and even optimize them on the server. Read more about this feature.

9) <cfscript>
The <cfscript> tag was really confusing to me when I first started playing with CF. Some CFML tags could also be scripted and others couldn’t. With CF9, everything you can do with CFML, you can also do with <cfscript>. Read more about <cfscript>.

Obviously there are a lot more new and cool features in ColdFusion 9 and ColdFusion Builder but I thought 9 was an appropriate number ;-). Go ahead and download the public beta versions available on Labs and start playing with it yourself.

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A sneak peak at the future of ColdFusion

by Serge Jespers on 01. Apr, 2009 in ColdFusion, Events

coldfusion.jpg (JPEG Image, 253x250 pixels)-1.jpgBen “ColdFusion” Forta is coming to the UK and Belgium to give you a sneak peak at the future of ColdFusion.

This is your chance to find out more about Centaur and Bolt on April 21st in London and April 22nd in Brussels. Registration is free but required and seats are limited!

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ColdFusion rocks! Come see for yourself at SOTR.

by Serge Jespers on 11. Mar, 2009 in ColdFusion, Events

ColdFusionYes… I know… It may be a little bit strange to read this on my PHP driven WordPress blog but hear me out for a second. I used to be like many of you. I used to think that ColdFusion could not even touch the capabilities of PHP and I’m sure many of you still think that. But have you really seen the power of ColdFusion up close and personal? Have you downloaded the developer version and played with it for a while? Well, I did and it blew me away. I always find it so amazing to see that CF can do the same task in only a fraction of the code needed in other languages.

You really have to see it and/or play with it before you can really appreciate the power of ColdFusion. Scotch On The Rocks, the ColdFusion conference, is giving you the opportunity to do just that. They’re going to try and reach out to the non-CFMLers and see if they can’t offer them a little incentive to give CFML a go. They’re offering 10 tickets for each location to JSP/PHP/.NET/Rails developers to come along and see what all the fuss is, for absolutely zero cost.

Come and see the power of ColdFusion yourself!

PS: I am now working on a super-secret project powered by ColdFusion. So yes… I do use ColdFusion these days!

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Free ColdFusion workshops throughout Europe

by Serge Jespers on 07. Jan, 2009 in ColdFusion, Events

coldfusion.jpg-jpeg-image-253x250-pixels-1.jpgIf you have any doubts, let me make this clear: ColdFusion is alive and kicking! Together with a number of European partners, Adobe is organizing a series of free workshops throughout Europe. If you want to find out more about what’s new in the latest version of ColdFusion or how to build ColdFusion-powered RIAs, go ahead and register for this event.

  • Cologne, January 20th
  • Amsterdam, January 22nd
  • Brussels (NL), January 27th
  • Brussels (FR), January 28th
  • Paris, February 3rd
  • London, February 5th

For more info and links to the registration forms, check out Andrew Shorten’s blog.

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ColdFusion is alive and kicking in Belgium

by Serge Jespers on 22. Sep, 2008 in ColdFusion, Events

coldfusion.jpg (JPEG Image, 253x250 pixels)-1.jpgI can’t keep count of how many times people have asked me if ColdFusion was dead and the answer is pretty simple: “Hell no!”. Actually, ColdFusion 9 is currently in active development and from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s going to kick some serious behind!

In Belgium, ColdFusion is powering some seriously big and high-traffic sites (like Kinepolis, Immoweb and ZDNet to name a few) and so it’s great to see that the Belgian ColdFusion user group is now being rebooted. Their first meeting is on September 29th at 2pm in Brussels. Fellow platform evangelist Adam Lehman is going to talk about CF and LiveCycle DataServices, monitoring and system alerts and will also let you in on the ColdFusion 9 (codenamed Centaur) roadmap.

More info on their Facebook event page or via http://www.cfforum.eu/ (currently only in French though).

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Learn about ColdFusion 8 in your backyard (free eseminars)

by Serge Jespers on 04. Jul, 2008 in ColdFusion, Events

I have to be honest with you guys. I have only recently started playing with ColdFusion 8 but I am rapidly falling in love with it. CF really does dramatically/extremely increase your productivity. The amount of code you have to write to do pretty complex things is amazingly small compared to other server-side code.

If you haven’t had a chance to dive in to CF8 yet, Kristen Schofield (ColdFusion product marketing manager) just published a list of free webinars starting on July 8th. This is a great opportunity for you to find out more about ColdFusion 8’s new features and powerful capabilities.

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CMS done right with ColdFusion

by Serge Jespers on 07. May, 2008 in ColdFusion, News

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Can you tell I’m really excited? I was just reading up on today’s blog posts and came across a post that talks about something called “ColdBricks”.

Oscar Arevalo writes:

ColdBricks is a free and open source content management system specially tailored for highly modular websites like portals and dashboards. The current version runs on ColdFusion 7, 8 and Railo 2

I was immediately curious to see it in action. The ColdBricks website has a fully working live demo and I am totally impressed! This is a great piece of programming and it’s free and completely open source. Go ahead and try it yourself! I am sure you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I am. This really is a serious competitor for the Drupals and Joomlas out there and it runs on ColdFusion ;-)

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