What is ColdFusion?

This is an update of our original "What is ColdFusion" article, and we will be changing this on a daily basis until it is closer to being perfect. If you have any suggestions, feel free to email us.

ColdFusion is a programming language that resembles standard HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) that is used to write dynamic webpages. It lets you create pages on the fly that differ depending on user input, database lookups, time of day or whatever other criteria you dream up! ColdFusion pages consist of standard HTML tags such as <P> or <BR>, together with CFML (ColdFusion Markup Language) tags such as <CFQUERY>, <CFIF> and <CFLOOP>. ColdFusion was introduced by Allaire in 1996, acquired by Macromedia in a merger in April 2001, and acquired by Adobe in December 2005. It is currently in version 7.0.1, but the next version of the product (codenamed Scorpio) is already in development.

Creating an application with ColdFusion is as straightforward as creating a static Web site. However, in a ColdFusion application you can introduce an incredible range of functionality that is not available either in static Web sites or in traditional client/server applications. Unlike the pages in a static Web site, the pages in a ColdFusion application include the server-side ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) in addition to HTML. CFML gives you the ability to control the behavior of your applications, integrate a wide range of server technologies, and dynamically generate the content that is returned to the Web browser.

When a page in a ColdFusion application is requested by a browser, it is automatically pre-processed by the ColdFusion Application Server. Based on the CFML in the page, the Application Server executes the application logic, interacts with other server technologies, and then dynamically generates an HTML page which is returned to the browser.

Here are more ColdFusion tips for new users:

• Join your local CFUG (ColdFusion User Group)! These are groups of ColdFusion users that meet to discuss programming and other developer issues. See http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/usergroups/index.cfm for a list. Michael and Judith Dinowitz, the publisher and editor on this site, run one in New York (NYCFUG). Visit http://wwww.nycfug.org for details.
• For questions you could join the ColdFusion Techincal Talk (CF-Talk) mailing list at http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/. Be warned: This list generates 100-200 emails per day! Digest format is available for those who cannot handle that much traffic as well as a fully interactive archive.
• A good site for ColdFusion newcomers: CFNewbie.com, run by Rey Bango, a well-respected ColdFusion programmer and community leader.
• The 'ColdFusion Bible(s)' by Ben Forta's can be bought from Amazon.com:
  Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit
  Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Application Development
  Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Certified Developer Study Guide
• CFEclipse is an opensource ColdFusion editor based on the popular Eclipse package.

Good luck in checking out ColdFusion, and welcome to the ColdFusion community, a great place to be!

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