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CFUNITED Express NYC: Interview with Michael Dinowitz

by Clark Valberg

Today I sat down with Michael Dinowitz, proprietor and headmaster (OK, I made that title up. His real one goes on for a page) of the popular House of Fusion (http://www.houseoffusion.com) and Fusion Authority (http://www.fusionauthority.com) websites. I wanted to find out more about Michael's upcoming talk at CFUNITED Express in New York City (http://cfunitedexpress.com/go/newyork/2007/).

Clark Valberg:	So Michael - I hear you've got a pretty interesting talk at the conference? What is it called again?
Michael Dinowitz:	The name of my talk is "From UDFs to CFCs".
CV:	Sounds like an epic journey! Would you say it's a beginner's topic?
MD:	Well, it's suited for any ColdFusion developer. Anyone who wants to write better code.
CV:	Right... It seems like OOP is certainly a hot topic (a hotly debated one at that) in the ColdFusion community these days. Why do you think there's so much buzz?
MD:	Well, there's been a strong push from Adobe and Macromedia before them for people to use more of an object-like approach to ColdFusion. Just about every 'voice' in the community has gotten behind the push as well. For some people, this means trying to make their code pure OOP. For others, this is just a means of organizing and segmenting their code. Either way, the basis of this is ColdFusion Components (CFCs). The problem is that many people don't really know how to use CFCs or, if they do, they don't understand their full power. I aim to change that.
CV:	Wow, all that in one session. Sounds like a tall order. Why do you think OOP has become a source of frustration for so many ColdFusion developers?
MD:	Because to some it's a religion and they expect it to be followed exactly. Not everyone is comfortable with all of the concepts used in OOP or even understands them. Some of the concepts don't even apply so well to ColdFusion but are used anyway. Not everyone agrees as to what should be used or how far to go.
CV:	So you think it's the whole "OOP scene" (whatever that means) that is a bit overwhelming for many?
MD:	Maybe a little. Many times people new to CFCs are thrust into the mix with terms like Beans, DAOs, Frameworks and other strange terms before they even get the basics down. It can be scary. I'm avoiding most of that.
CV:	Right, there is quite of a bit of "vocabulary" involved. I can see why beginners might be a bit mesmerized. So where does one start?
MD:	Start where everyone else does: in a ColdFusion template. Start with the code they know and show how it can be wrapped up into a custom function (User Defined Function - UDF). After they understand the basics of a UDF, I can then show them how they are the basis for CFCs.
CV:	Are you talking about migrating code from UDFs over to CFCs?
MD:	In some cases, but not all. While putting code into reusable custom functions and building components of related functions may be great, it's not the end all and be all of ColdFusion code. It's just a part of ColdFusion programming.
CV:	So what's the big picture?
MD:	That there is a better way to write ColdFusion applications now than there was in the past. That combining custom functions and components with the procedural code that we've been doing until now is a boon to our work.
CV:	Oh, I get it. So you're not talking about a full-out OO approach; you're talking about finding ways to kick our everyday apps up a "few notches" using CFCs?
MD:	Exactly. OOP is nice and all but not only can it be scary to people, it's just too much to start with. I'll cover some OO concepts but nowhere near all of them.
CV:	Who do you think would benefit the most from this?
MD:	Everyone. Even people who are using CFCs now will probably learn something new.
CV:	Nice.. sounds like a pretty low-pressure way to get started!
MD:	Exactly. Nothing to confuse people, no DAOs or other strange terms (yet...)
CV:	All right, Michael, anything you want to add?
MD:	Well, one of my titles is Publisher of the Fusion Authority Quarterly Update print journal (http://www.FusionAuthority.com/quarterly/). Issue 2 is dedicated to OOP concepts in ColdFusion. My presentation is a companion to my 23-page article of the same name.
CV:	Nice, what else is inside?
MD:	We've got a veritable "who's who" of the ColdFusion community all weighing in on OO related topics. Everything from DAOs to Design Patterns to a look at different Frameworks and a lexicon of terms to explain what it all means. 120 pages of pure content.
CV:	Sounds great! I, for one, am looking forward to your talk. Thanks for chatting with me today, Michael. See you at CFUNITED Express!
MD:	Any time. See you there!

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Clark Valberg is President of Epicenter Technology Consulting in Albany, NY. Epicenter provides software design and consulting services to organizations of all shapes and sizes. Clark's under-visited and under-authored blog can be found at this cleverly worded URL: http://www.clarkvalberg.com/

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