The Granddaddy of App Servers Returns
By Dave Watts
Since I started working with the Web six years ago, I've used ColdFusion (CF). Over that time, CF has progressed from a very simple CGI scripting engine to a mature, robust application server with a rich scripting language that lets me develop Web applications quickly. CF's advantage has always been its ease of use—ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) is a high-level language, focused specifically on the steps you take when generating HTML output programmatically. Other programmers may call it a toy language, but I can laugh my way to the bank by writing scalable, maintainable CFML applications faster than I could with its competitors.
Allaire, the company that originally created CF, recently merged with Macromedia. This aroused great concern among CF developers; after disappointments with products like Aria and LikeMinds, many doubted that Macromedia could successfully support server side products. CF 5, the first release since the merger, should allay those fears, as well as reveal some benefits of the union.
While CF originated on the Windows platform, CF 5 is also available for Linux and HP/UX. CF works as a traditional CGI program with practically any Web server, but you'll want to use it with servers that allow API integration, such as IIS, Apache, WebSite, and iPlanet (formerly Netscape Enterprise Server).
ColdFusion 5 Enterprise Edition
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