5 ms·

Although I mainly write code in Python, JavaScript and Go, I have a SaaS web application that was written in the early 2000s using ColdFusion (CFML) which I sti

by harel 11y ago

Although I mainly write code in Python, JavaScript and Go, I have a SaaS web application that was written in the early 2000s using ColdFusion (CFML) which I still support (started at v5 and now runs on v8). In the mid to late nineties (and early 00s) it was one of the best ways to write web applications (it was actually the first Application server as far as I know). But today is 2016 and ColdFusion is one of the least fashionable language I know. I cannot with all honesty say I enjoy working with it, and all signs show that its a dying language with very few people to mourn it. Although it started its life as a standalone (C based) web application server and the CFML language, it was rewritten to run on the JVM when Macromedia acquired Allaire, and these days owned by Adobe. Essentially its a glorified JSP tag library. The CFML language itself looks like XML and offers a "script" alternative syntax which until recently didn't even support all the functionality of the tag based syntax. What as good about it was the ability to hook to a database and perform queries very easily. At later versions it even received OOP features. Fancy that.

Semiapies 11y ago
Hate to say it, but you'll want to upgrade to a later version than 8. There are a lot of exploits out for 8. Oh, that was the other crappy angle for ColdFusion I forgot to mention in my post - the $1500-and-up license fees.
- harel 11y ago
  I know. We actually rebuilt it from scratch and the first version will be ready soon. Redone from the ground up and fitting to the year we live in. So there is no real compelling reason to change anything in the ColdFusion version.
- bdcravens 11y ago
  To be fair, Lucee (formerly Railo) is a great open-source implementation of CFML.
mwpmaybe 11y ago
ColdFusion was a breath of fresh air in the mid-to-late '90s when the predominant technologies were CGI/Perl and ASP/VBScript (pre-.NET). I used to love showing other programmers e.g. "Here's how you create a database connection, execute a query, and iterate through a recordset in ASP (40 lines of opaque nonsense)... and here's how you do it in ColdFusion (cfquery, cfloop)." It enabled us to quickly deliver a lot of intranets and e-commerce sites for our customers, but man oh man did it require a lot of server hardware to run (at the time), and it was expensive as heck!
- harel 11y ago
  The compare-to-ASP scenario was my go to "there you go" shtick when trying to demonstrate the platform to ASP developers. And yes. It was expensive, and still is, considering there are free alternatives.
prawn 11y ago
I use almost entirely ColdFusion (well, Railo). Never studied computer science so don't know any better. Wouldn't know what to transition to if I wanted to use anything else.
- harel 11y ago
  Try Python. Its nothing like CFML but it has that "AHA" feel to it that reminded me of the same AHA ColdFusion gave me in the nineties.
  - prawn 11y ago
    Thanks. I'll investigate. I have used ColdFusion for 10+ years and as such am comfortable enough in it, and support 50-100 sites built with it. But sometimes it's hard to find tools/tips out there as the community isn't very strong.
    - harel 11y ago
      The "problem" with CF now, is the amount of legacy sites written with it. They will need support and maintenance. To me that is boring work I rather not do (with the exclusion of my own legacy business). Its a stable comfy income, but if you want the excitement and adrenalin (yeah, I'm exaggerating), you might find it in Python, Go, Rust etc.
- bdcravens 11y ago
  What kind of apps do you build? Framework-driven? If you use fw/1, look at Sinatra (Ruby) or Express (Node.js); ColdBox, look at Rails. You may wish to look at CF on Wheels - it may be a good on-ramp to Rails.
  - prawn 11y ago
    CMS/CRM-type things. No frameworks.
borplk 11y ago
just curious what kind of SaaS application is it?
- harel 11y ago
  I was trying to avoid the details but because you asked: Its a CRM application. Surprisingly (to me) its has a very large user base.
timsayshey 11y ago
CFML is currently ranking better than PHP and Go in a recent twitter survey: http://code2015.com http://code2015.com I would attribute that to the passionate community and open source version, Lucee.

by harel 11y ago

Semiapies 11y ago

Hate to say it, but you'll want to upgrade to a later version than 8. There are a lot of exploits out for 8. Oh, that was the other crappy angle for ColdFusion I forgot to mention in my post - the $1500-and-up license fees.

harel 11y ago
I know. We actually rebuilt it from scratch and the first version will be ready soon. Redone from the ground up and fitting to the year we live in. So there is no real compelling reason to change anything in the ColdFusion version.
bdcravens 11y ago
To be fair, Lucee (formerly Railo) is a great open-source implementation of CFML.

mwpmaybe 11y ago

ColdFusion was a breath of fresh air in the mid-to-late '90s when the predominant technologies were CGI/Perl and ASP/VBScript (pre-.NET). I used to love showing other programmers e.g. "Here's how you create a database connection, execute a query, and iterate through a recordset in ASP (40 lines of opaque nonsense)... and here's how you do it in ColdFusion (cfquery, cfloop)." It enabled us to quickly deliver a lot of intranets and e-commerce sites for our customers, but man oh man did it require a lot of server hardware to run (at the time), and it was expensive as heck!

harel 11y ago
The compare-to-ASP scenario was my go to "there you go" shtick when trying to demonstrate the platform to ASP developers. And yes. It was expensive, and still is, considering there are free alternatives.

prawn 11y ago

I use almost entirely ColdFusion (well, Railo). Never studied computer science so don't know any better. Wouldn't know what to transition to if I wanted to use anything else.

harel 11y ago
Try Python. Its nothing like CFML but it has that "AHA" feel to it that reminded me of the same AHA ColdFusion gave me in the nineties.
- prawn 11y ago
  Thanks. I'll investigate. I have used ColdFusion for 10+ years and as such am comfortable enough in it, and support 50-100 sites built with it. But sometimes it's hard to find tools/tips out there as the community isn't very strong.
  - harel 11y ago
    The "problem" with CF now, is the amount of legacy sites written with it. They will need support and maintenance. To me that is boring work I rather not do (with the exclusion of my own legacy business). Its a stable comfy income, but if you want the excitement and adrenalin (yeah, I'm exaggerating), you might find it in Python, Go, Rust etc.
bdcravens 11y ago
What kind of apps do you build? Framework-driven? If you use fw/1, look at Sinatra (Ruby) or Express (Node.js); ColdBox, look at Rails. You may wish to look at CF on Wheels - it may be a good on-ramp to Rails.
- prawn 11y ago
  CMS/CRM-type things. No frameworks.

borplk 11y ago

just curious what kind of SaaS application is it?

harel 11y ago
I was trying to avoid the details but because you asked: Its a CRM application. Surprisingly (to me) its has a very large user base.

timsayshey 11y ago

CFML is currently ranking better than PHP and Go in a recent twitter survey: http://code2015.com http://code2015.com I would attribute that to the passionate community and open source version, Lucee.