Adobe Releases Public Beta of ColdFusion Builder 2

by Judith and Michael Dinowitz

March 3, 2011 - Adobe announced the public beta of ColdFusion Builder 2, codenamed "Storm". Fusion Authority sat down with Allison Huselid, Product Marketing Manager for ColdFusion, and she went over what to expect in this upcoming release.

For this version of the IDE, Adobe focused on three main goals. First, Adobe enhanced the editor features to make the developer more productive when using the IDE. Second, Adobe focused on creating a more complete Getting Started page, with access to Adobe and community content. Third, Adobe looked at making the product even more customizable and extensible. Unstated by Huselid was a focus on fixing any bugs and stability issues that may have existed in version 1 of the product.

Editor Enhancements

Here are some of the features that Huselid focused on:

Enhanced Code Insight: This feature was fleshed out to make it more robust and easier to use. The editor can now auto-insert required attributes of a tag, gives a better display of a tag?s attributes, and gives finer control over the attributes that code insight provides.

Function Assist: Now if you need a function, the IDE will show you a list of functions, not just tags. The editor is smarter and knows if you are looking for a query, string, number, etc. It will show you a more exclusive list.

Inline Task Support: ColdFusion Builder now supports the ability to specify TODO and FIXME tasks. These tasks are not bound to the editor but exist in the page's code. This allows for easier transport of tasks between editors.

Tag Block Selection and Jump to Matching Tag: It's much easier to pick a specific line of code without having to scroll through line by line. Also, if you hit ctrl-shift-m, you can move between matching tags easily without having to move down a page.

Code Folding: ColdFusion Builder 1's code folding options did not allow for a page?s specifically folded code to be saved. It would revert to the IDE's default every time the page was opened. In ColdFusion Builder 2, you can fold your code, save it, and see it the next time you open the IDE. That will allow developers to save code configurations (or change them) from time to time so that they don?t waste time looking for specific sections of code.

Customizable CFML and CFScript Code Formatter: Developers can create custom profiles determining the look and feel of their code, and can import and export formatting preferences. This ability does not only cover CFML, but also extends to HTML, JavaScript and CSS. Developers can reformat code that they've imported, or can import other custom profiles and apply it to their own code on a per-project basis..

Custom Key Bindings: Programmers can more easily create their own key shortcuts to mirror the shortcuts they are used to in other editing environments, and can save them as key bindings. This will help those who are working with or switching from other editors. For example, shortcuts can be created to insert code snippets, open dialogs and invoke wizards, run the current page or project, or to execute ColdFusion Builder extensions. These key bindings can be saved and shared.

Default Keybindings: The editor comes with predefined key bindings for CFEclipse, DreamWeaver and HomeSite, making the move from these IDEs to ColdFusion Builder easier.

Enhanced Search and Replace: Adobe has made ColdFusion Builder's Search and Replace feature more granular. One can search through a workspace, project, directory or document, working sets, remotely over FTP and RDS, open documents and text. Developers can search through regular expressions, mult-line queries, search history, or do a reverse or incremental search. Before a replace is executed, the developer can preview and compare the code sets before and after the replace, to catch any major errors ahead of time.

Enhancements to ColdFusion Builder's Extensibility Feature: This release gives extension builders more options, and ties their extensions tighter into the IDE. Extensions now have the ability to talk to data sources connected to the IDE and the extensions can even modify parts of ColdFusion Builder, such as adding text to the IDE's Code Assist. ColdFusion extensions added to RIAForge now have a place to live in the ColdFusion Builder Getting Started page.

The Getting Started Experience

The amount of material generated by Adobe and the community that's accessible from the new Getting Started screen is a bit daunting, and includes videos, articles, forum posts, blogposts, twitter feeds and a ColdFusion Bug Tracker. Adobe's intention is to have as much material as possible available to those who are new to the IDE, or who have come in from other editors. Huselid said, "We knew that we?d be playing catchup with other tools such as Dreamweaver, CFEclipse and even with legacy tools such as HomeSite... In ColdFusion Builder 2, we wanted to build on the foundation that we created in ColdFusion Builder 1 and make this the only professional tool there for ColdFusion development."

ColdFusion Builder Now Part of a New Business Unit

This release of ColdFusion Builder comes along with a new enhanced focus on the ColdFusion product line. Some of you may not be aware that ColdFusion Builder was moved recently to a new business unit — for good reasons, not bad. Adam Lehman, who was recently promoted from ColdFusion Builder Product Manager to Flash Builder Product Manager, spoke of his and Ms. Huselid's plans for taking ColdFusion X and ColdFusion Builder to a new level. In his blog, he said, "Back in September of 2010, Alison Huselid and I traveled to San Francisco to present our plans for ColdFusion X, ColdFusion Builder 2 and the future of the ColdFusion business. It was a culmination of nearly a year of research, design and countless customer meetings. We presented a plan that broke from the norm of how ColdFusion was being developed, sold and marketed. Our plan was overly ambitious and aggressive. Our goal was to aim high and let Adobe upper management cut us down to size. To our delight, we got the full and complete sign-off from upper management!"

To implement these ambitious plans, the ColdFusion products are now part of the Print and Publishing Products Business Unit, together with Contribute and Acrobat, which has more resources and where ColdFusion won't be like an afterthought. He added that, "The only effect this move has on the product team is that all product management and marketing would be moved to Bangalore, India to be closer to engineering... Adobe just upped their commitment to ColdFusion in a HUGE way. This change only affects Alison [Huselid] and I. Engineering, evangelism, sales, community team, support, etc. remain completely unaffected." His blog post, "The Modern Age of ColdFusion", gives more detail.

To Download ColdFusion Builder 2

The best way to experience the public beta is to try it out. Download ColdFusion Builder 2 at http://www.adobe.com/go/cb2. For information on ColdFusion 9, go to http://www.adobe.com/go/coldfusion.

Further Links

ColdFusion Builder 2 Labs Page

What's New in ColdFusion Builder 2

Getting Started with ColdFusion Builder 2

ColdFusion Builder 2 Extensions

Adobe ColdFusion 2 Public Beta Now Available (Business Wire)

"The Modern Age of ColdFusion" by Adam Lehman

SEC Filing Noting Business Units (Under Products and Services Overview)

"I lvl-d Up: Flash Builder Product Manager" by Adam Lehman

Judith Dinowitz is the Master Editor-in-Chief of the House of Fusion magazines and journals, where she enjoys serving up ColdFusion and Flex goodness on a weekly and quarterly basis.

Michael Dinowitz is a longtime ColdFusion expert (since early 1995) and is well-known for his troubleshooting, experimentation, and ability to take complex topics and break them down into simple elements. He is President of House of Fusion, Publisher of Fusion Authority, and a founding member of Team Allaire/Macromedia/Adobe Community Professional.

• Subscribe
• RSS

• Editorial
• Specials
• Community
• News
• Tech and Tags
• Views
• Reviews
• Techniques
• Security
• Best of ColdFusion Talk
• Knowledge Base
• Blog Watch

• Tipical Charlie