Sebastopol, CA--"ColdFusion MX represents perhaps the single most revolutionary release of ColdFusion yet," says Rob Brooks-Bilson, author of the just-released second edition of Programming ColdFusion MX (O'Reilly, US $54.95). "The application server itself was completely rewritten in Java--all previous versions were written in C++. The shift to Java enabled ColdFusion MX to take advantage of the J2EE framework and all that it has to offer in terms of standards, functionality, and scalability."
Macromedia has also integrated ColdFusion into its MX family of technologies, so ColdFusion is now capable of interacting with Flash applications, making ColdFusion more versatile than ever. "ColdFusion MX supports a new technology called Flash Remoting," explains Brooks-Bilson. "Flash Remoting opens up a whole new category of applications known as Rich Internet Applications that go beyond what's currently possible with HTML/DHTML front ends.
"You don't have to be a hard-core programmer to get started with ColdFusion," he says. "But that doesn't mean that ColdFusion isn't powerful. Quite the contrary. ColdFusion makes it simple to do common tasks--such as processing form data or querying a database. But when you need to create highly scaleable, robust applications--such as transaction processing or personalization--ColdFusion makes that possible, too." As Brooks-Bilson notes, sites and applications built using ColdFusion run the gamut of size and sophistication from small hobbyist sites cataloguing ceramic tiles or documenting the history of the Hottentots, for example, to large, commercial applications such as Autobytel.com's application for researching and purchasing a car or Williams-Sonoma's storefront application.
The first edition of this book has been praised as "the best reference book available on the subject." This new edition, "Programming ColdFusion MX, Second Edition," goes even further, documenting new techniques for using ColdFusion MX 6.1 to develop and serve dynamic web page content. This exhaustive guide covers everything from the basics to advanced topics, with numerous examples that programmers can use for their own applications.
Although the book was substantially rewritten to take advantage of both the new features of ColdFusion MX 6.1 and reader feedback from the first edition, it is still packed with the advanced strategies, insider hints, tips, and tricks that made the first edition so popular with ColdFusion developers. ColdFusion developers who want to be sure they're getting the most out of ColdFusion MX will keep this invaluable book close at hand.
Praise for the first edition:
"'Programming ColdFusion' is an invaluable resource, covering all major issues related to programming ColdFusion 5.0 web applications. Its 24 chapters and 4 appendices (totaling 953 pages) guarantees that even the most experienced ColdFusion programmers will benefit from reading it...if you are looking for a subject relevant to developing applications with the help of ColdFusion, you will find it here."
--Andreas Veglis, IEEE Distributed Systems, July 2002"There are about 200 pages devoted to tag and function references in the appendices at the end of the book, which are likely to become dog-eared through repeated use. This book is bulky, and I'm glad to say this is partially because of the generous example code...it is bound to find a place on the bookshelves of many ColdFusion developers. And deservedly so."
--Keith Schengili-Roberts, Computer Paper
Additional reviews of the first edition
Additional Resources:
- Chapter 11, "Advanced Database Techniques"
- More information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, author bio, and samples
- A cover graphic in JPEG format
Programming ColdFusion MX, Second Edition
Rob Brooks-Bilson
ISBN 0-596-00380-3, 1115 pages, $54.95 US, $85.95 CA, 38.95 UK
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