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The ColdFusion Podcast Roundup: Wednesday, May 10, 2006

by Charlie Griefer, Fusion Authority Media Reviewer

ColdFusion Weekly

Version 1.7 Beta: The State of the ColdFusion Union

A short while ago, The ColdFusion Podcast asked the question, "Where is ColdFusion?" In Version 1.7 of ColdFusion Weekly, Michael Dinowitz offers up his answer.

ColdFusion has certainly been through its share of changes through the years. Macromedia bought Allaire and ColdFusion developers wondered what would happen. Macromedia was a company known for Flash. It's all about graphics and design. Would ColdFusion survive?

Of course, ColdFusion not only survived, it succeeded.

Now Adobe has bought Macromedia and ColdFusion developers wonder what will happen. Adobe is a company known for Photoshop. It's all about graphics and design. Will ColdFusion survive?

If you?re reading this review, chances are you know of Michael Dinowitz. Michael has been around ColdFusion since the very early days. He's seen things many of us have not, and when he speaks on the subject, you can be confident that you're getting an informed, educated opinion.

So what is Michael's take on the State of the ColdFusion Union? It's decidedly different than some of the other opinions that had been made public at the time of the announcement of the Adobe/Macromedia merger. Not only is he not concerned... He's well past the point of optimistic to almost elated.

Why is Michael so happy? Because ColdFusion is now represented by the 5th largest software company in the world. Even though ColdFusion has been around for 11 years and predates technologies like Microsoft's ASP, it's never quite been given the respect in the industry that it deserves. The Adobe label helps to give ColdFusion the credibility that it had previously been lacking.

It's refreshing to hear such an optimistic and enthusiastic point of view, given all of the FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) that (understandably) gets spread when the status quo is shaken up. However, Michael is quick to acknowledge that there is still work to be done. As developers, we need to continue learning those aspects of ColdFusion with which we?re unfamiliar (CFCs, Application.cfc, event gateways, etc). We also have an obligation to teach others those aspects of ColdFusion with which we're comfortable. Community has always been one of ColdFusion's biggest strengths. We need to keep the momentum going by learning, training, and teaching.

While Version 1.7 is less technical in nature than previous weeks, it's still very much worth listening to. Matt and Peter keep the overall length of the podcast to a reasonable amount of time (under 45 minutes), which I think makes it more "approachable" and a bit easier to absorb in a single sitting. You also can't help but come away from Version 1.7 feeling optimistic about the future of ColdFusion. Michael Dinowitz is excited, and his excitement is contagious.

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Out Loud

Episode 23: Motorcycles

Hal Helms and Jeff Peters have a gift. They are very good at explaining technical concepts in easy to understand terms. It's easy to feel overwhelmed or intimidated when listening to an authority on a given subject (let's say... I don't know... software development). Yet, not only do Hal and Jeff manage to convey a lesson without intimidating, they actually manage to entertain while they teach.

That's usually the way I feel after I hear an episode of Out Loud. Episode 23 was an unfortunate exception.

A full third of the episode discusses motorcycles (which at least made for an appropriate title). It seemed to take longer than usual for the "reveal," when the analogy is made and we understand how the discussion relates to software development. It could just be that I'm not a motorcycle person myself, so many of the references were lost on me, but I found myself becoming somewhat impatient waiting for the segue into something having to do with software development... something to which I could relate. Almost 16 minutes into the podcast, Jeff finally said, "The point I'm trying to make is..."

That point is that there are many areas of software development; many facets and disciplines. It's important to be aware of them, but it's a futile effort to try and master them all. Be aware of the industry as a whole. But concentrate on one area and excel at it.

As usual, it's a very valid point that Hal and Jeff make. It's easy to run yourself ragged and drive yourself insane trying to learn too many distinct areas of any given industry. Very few of us can become experts in programming, databases, design, web server administration, network administration, etc. Pick one, embrace it, and become an expert in that area. You'll be a much more valuable commodity than someone who is, at best, a jack-of-all-trades but master of none.

I appreciate the lesson, but I feel that I spent too long waiting and wondering what it was. By the time the conversation had turned towards software development, my interest had dwindled. Had I not been obligated to write a review, I might not have still been around to hear Jeff say, "The point I'm trying to make is...," and that would have been a shame. Because Hal and Jeff are good at what they do, and when they do get to the point of this week's episode, it's worth hearing.

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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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