Jason Clark

Quite frequently, the question has been posed: "What kind of server should I set up to run ColdFusion MX?" Of course, any answer given by a software vendor, like Macromedia, would include a brief set of system requirements that detail what the minimum and recommended platforms are for the software. While this serves its purpose to inform you of your platform requirements, it doesn't really provide insight into what hardware would truly run the software at its optimum. To offer a response to this elusive question, a series of tests were performed on several platforms to illustrate just what makes ColdFusion MX fly. The CPU and How It Relates to ColdFusion During the tests, it was obvious that MX scales well with multiple processors, clock speed, and L2 Cache. Okay - hold on; you might say, "What the heck are clock speed and L2 Cache?" Before we get into the test result... (more)

Bring the Rich Internet Experience to Your Desktop Using Screenweaver MX

It's a week before your new ColdFusion application is set to go live, and your boss saunters in and asks, "If the client's browser is closed, and they aren't in their e-mail client, how will we notify them of new changes?" Of course, this should never happen in a well-managed project, but there is a relatively simple answer. When Macromedia launched their new MX suite of products, the theme was (and still is) "Building Rich Internet Applications." It's true that you can build rich Internet applications in the browser, and add life to your Web applications. But until recently, th... (more)

Swiff Chart from GlobFX

In its simplest form, text-based data provides a basic view of its structure and meaning. Charting enhances that view and puts the data in an entirely different light. ColdFusion has offered charting capabilities since version 5.0, but the functionality has always lacked some finesse - something that is present in other commercial charting solutions. I discovered Swiff Chart, a charting product, while working on a project for a client. This client required a charting solution that would produce professionallooking charts within their content management solution. Unfortunately for... (more)

ColdFusion Performance and Beyond

I'm sure you've heard this at some point in your ColdFusion career: "ColdFusion is just a scripting language. It can't handle load." Typically, such statements stem from one of three causes: Poor development practices Poor application environment design Poor choice of platform for the job ColdFusion can and does handle load, but it takes proper development practice and a thorough examination of the application from end to end. Most application server platforms have their cynics, those who don't believe in the server's ability to perform under load. And ColdFusion has more than it... (more)

Building Applications for Fun and Profit

How often have you worked on a project or piece of code and thought, "This is something that could save someone a lot of time," or "This is something that solves a business problem"? If this thought crossed your mind, there's a good chance that someone would pay for your application. There's a diverse market out there to buy ColdFusion applications. However, ensuring that your product is up to the task can be challenging, but it's worth the effort. Building and selling ColdFusion applications requires you to look at your application from different angles. There's a lot to think a... (more)