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The ColdFusion Podcast Roundup: Wednesday, March 28, 2006

by Charlie Griefer, Fusion Authority Media Reviewer

The ColdFusion Podcast Episode 20: Model-Glue II Electric Bugaloo

A recap of the week?s newsworthy items included:

• since1968.com has a tutorial on using event gateways in CFMX 7
• Trond Ulseth's blog posting (http://www.waterswing.com) asking whether or not a bean should have an init() method garnered quite a few responses
• A June 2006 ETA for the release of Flex 2
• Mark Drew calls for volunteers on the CFEclipse project
• ...and speaking of Eclipse... RDS support is here!

In Episode 19, Bryan and Michael departed from their usual technical discussion to examine why ColdFusion is not a more prevalently-used technology. In Episode 20, they mentioned that fan reaction was split about 50/50, and they went full swing back into the technical realm with an in-depth discussion of Model-Glue.

As you may have guessed from the episode title, this is not the first Model-Glue discussion that the podcast has aired. If you?ve not yet heard part one, it might be in your best interest to listen to Episode 16 first (http://media.libsyn.com/media/coldfusionpodcast/ep016.mp3).

If you?ve not yet played with the Model-Glue framework, much of this episode will probably be over your head. Even though Bryan and Michael did explain various aspects of Model-Glue (event handlers, controllers, views), and even discussed the MVC methodology itself, Episode 20 was not a podcast for those who have not yet tried their hand at Model-Glue. This is not meant to be a criticism, as I feel that the episode was very well done... I just want to set realistic expectations.

If you've played around with Model-Glue but don?t quite understand what a controller is supposed to do, how scopes are properly used, or what a scope facade is (or why you may want to incorporate it), this episode may help you gain a greater understanding of the framework itself.

Ray Camden?s ongoing "Building your first Model-Glue application" tutorial (http://ray.camdenfamily.com/index.cfm/2006/3/13/Building-your-first-ModelGlue-application-part-1) is mentioned, and would likely be a great place to start before listening to the podcast. Ray's series is up to part seven (as of this writing). I?d suggest following the tutorial through part three or four and then tuning in to see if Bryan and Michael can't help you put some of the puzzle pieces together.

I'll be giving this one a second (and maybe third) listen myself, just to help solidify some of the concepts that were discussed.

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ColdFusion Weekly Version 1.1 Beta

How can a podcast that opens with an introduction by Charlie Griefer be anything less than stellar? 'Nuff said. On to the next review...

(One phone call from an unamused Judith Dinowitz later...)

Okay... So one introduction does not a podcast make.

ColdFusion Weekly returned to the airwaves with its second show... curiously labeled Version 1.1 Beta. I would have expected 2.0 Alpha. Maybe next week they'll give some insight into their numbering scheme.

This week's version, broadcast in stereo, experimented with putting Matt in one channel and Peter in the other. This was novel, but after about 10 minutes I found myself tapping on my left speaker when Matt was speaking (or my right speaker when Peter was speaking) because it seemed odd to be getting sound out of one but not the other.

In the segment called the CFReport, we got a rundown of the week's news, which included:

• The Flex2 Beta, including an explanation of what Flex2 is, how it works, and pricing, which segued into a discussion of Flash Player 8.5.
• RDS Support in CFEclipse
• Reactor (Doug Hughes' ORM framework)

The segment concluded with Matt and Peter briefly discussing their current projects. While this may not be "news" per sé, I found it interesting to hear about what kind of applications they build, and the challenges they encounter.

The CFQuery segment allows listeners to call in (or Skype in) with a question. This week, Matt Williams from Colorado asked about Object Oriented programming as it relates to your database. Do you create your database first and then build your objects around the database? Should one be independent (or even unaware) of the other?

This was followed by an interview with Jeff Coughlin (http://www.jeffcoughlin.com) on the FarCry CMS (specifically version 3.0). This is the second in series of interviews that were conducted at cf.Objective(). Jeff spoke on FarCry at the conference, and gives Matt and Peter a very in-depth exploration of the topic. FarCry is fairly well known in the ColdFusion community, but some of what it's been known for is that it can be somewhat intimidating for new users. Version 3.0 addresses that and attempts to be a bit more user-friendly out of the box.

See Jeff?s web site (http://www.jeffcoughlin.com/?pg=9) for a video overview of FarCry 3.0 (based on his cf.Objective() presentation).

Because FarCry is open source, the discussion drifted towards ColdFusion and open source and the question of why there aren't more open source ColdFusion applications. Matt and Peter expounded on the benefits of open source software from the perspective of both the user and the developer.

The lucky winner of last week's CF_Quiz was announced, and the new challenge was issued (http://coldfusionweekly.com/index.cfm?event=showCFQuiz).

All in all, Version 1.1 beta was a strong second version of ColdFusion Weekly. The volume normalization issues that I mentioned last week were no longer present. In fact, Peter mentioned that they had re-edited Episode 1 to address that and had posted the new file (which is what I would have expected to have been labeled 1.1). I look forward to what I assume will be Version 1.2 Gamma. Will they be able to maintain their streak of introductions by guys named Charlie?

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Helms and Peters Out Loud Episode 18: "Very High Tech"

After a one-week hiatus, Hal and Jeff returned with an episode titled "Very High Tech."

Of course, if you're familiar with Hal and Jeff, it's little surprise to find tongue planted firmly in cheek. Episode 18 dealt with the issue of effective communication... not terribly technical, but certainly a subject that warrants discussion.

Before getting into the topic at hand, Hal mentioned that he spoke at cf.Objective() and gave the conference another great review. Jeff made mention of some web site issues that he was encountering and the fact that the guys at New Atlanta went over and above in their efforts to help him troubleshoot and resolve the problem.

They then delved into a subject that many programmers probably like to ignore in the hopes that it will go away: effective communication. How do we make sure that we're communicating our thoughts clearly?

They didn't spend a lot of time trying to "sell" us on the idea that effective communication is important, which is fair. I'd like to think that most of us recognize that being able to convey our thoughts clearly and effectively is a valuable skill that should not be taken lightly.

Hal and Jeff listed some methods for practicing effective communication, and the importance of an editor (my mental note: Buy flowers for Judith to show appreciation). Writing down your thoughts, outlining, and mind mapping were all touted as tools to assist your quest for better writing skills and more effective communication.

Hal even extended an offer to act as your editor (yes... your editor). It's a pretty bold offer, as I can only imagine people will appreciate this gesture and take him up on it. Think you can write well (or even "good enough")? You may be surprised.

Speaking of writing... Jeff mentioned that he has written a new book (ColdFusion XML Objects), which is available at http://www.protonarts.com.

I mentioned last week that I like to come away from a podcast feeling that I've learned something. Though it's not necessarily technical in nature, "Out Loud" Episode 18 was certainly a valuable lesson.

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Charlie Griefer is a Software Engineer at Vurv Technology (formerly Recruitmax) in Jacksonville, FL, where he spends his days (and on occasion, evenings and nights) developing world-class workforce management, staffing and recruiting software solutions.

In his spare time, he enjoys being a father of two and a husband of one.

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