ColdFusion vs other language

I feel ColdFusion isn't used widely. What advantages does ColdFusion have? I've used PHP and Java to develop website. I wonder when and why we should use ColdFusion.

 

coldfusion offers a good deal of nice features like creating flash forms (they look cool), easy creation of pdf and flashpaper output, easy integration with Rich Internet Applications like Flex / AIR. Besides Coldfusion itself is a fully compliant J2EE application which means you can leverage all that stuff a J2EE application can do.

 

cf has no advantages whatsoever.

i would stay away from it if i were you.

try c# or php.

 

actually....shes right. thats about the ONLY advantage.

 

difference between cf and asp is :-
If you have a choice between both, go with just ColdFusion. It's easier to learn, and comes with more functionality out of the box than classic ASP. Also, if you're using ColdFusion MX, your pages get compiled as Java Byte code so you get Java's speed. You don't even have to know Java. ColdFusion can do pretty much what ASP can do and much more.

 

I'm also a big fan of Coldfusion and love how easy it is to read code and modify code that other's have written. There's many open source applications that you can use on riaforge.com and cflib.org, for example.

 

I use CF daily for various clients (usually they already have sites written in CF).

Advantage: I would categorize Coldfusion as a "high level" server language in that you can do alot of nice interfaces, and add many advanced features easily in a few lines of code. Unlike PHP,ASP classic,etc (which I would call "low level" server languages.

Disadvantages: Many of CF's features require Java (not javascript) to be installed on a user's computer. Prolly not a big deal, but that IS imposing an additional requirement on your user.

Also, CF can be a memory and slow at times.

To me it really boils down to the old "high level" or "low level" debate.

 

Can you give an example of a Coldfusion feature or function that requires Java to be installed on the users Computer? I was aware that a Coldfusion Server is built with Java behind the scenes, but I didn't know Java was required on the client end.

 

Java's speed? pretty slow then.



Isn't coldfusion propriety software you have to pay for? PHP is free and asp comes with windows.

 

I would say that some of the biggest advantages are the features that are built in to ColdFusion.

PDF manipulation is great, as is the cfimage tag. The cfimage tag is extremely powerful, and very easy to use.

Actually when it comes down to it, 'ease of use' is the number one feature for me. Everything works, without a bunch of 3rd party add-ons.

 

Yep, 'ease of use'. That is the big advantage.

Very easy to quickly make dynamic websites. PHP would take you twice as long.

 

Coldfusion is a server side language so wont require anything other then normal web apps on client end. Also there are several flavors of CF. I have used Adobe Coldfusion, Smith Project, and Blue Dragon ( which myspace is built on by the way)

 

Thats a disadvantage. Accessiblility, anyone?

I'd always recommend PHP, its very easy to use, tonnnes of documentation and its free etc etc.

The whole .NET thing is a decent idea, and C# is a great language, but I don't think it applies well with the web, and is better left to desktop software.

ColdFusion, to be frank, offers very little advantages, but for a much larger price tag. It is very powerful, but not moreso than either PHP, JSP or .NET.

 

The flash forms are accessible (see adobe.com/macromedia/accessibility/features/coldfusion/richforms.html). Flash has had an accessibility class and features built in for over 5 years.

You can run coldfusion cfml on openbd or railo engines which are both open source and free, so your assertion that you need 'a much larger price tag' isn't necessarily correct.

Even if you account for including coldfusion licences, if e.g you're working on an enterprise level web application and your team takes 2 months to do it with CF where it would have taken 4 months in php then the big cost is developer time, not licences, which are only a small part of the total.

An advantage of CF in it's latest version is the native multi-threading, particularly in high traffic enterprise applications. PHP's hacky way of doing multi-threaded processing is poor in comparison.

At my company we use php, coldfusion and .net, each has it's different advantages.

 

So from what I gather there is no real problem with have a website programmed in CF??? All I hear is a preference between one popular language and the other.

I dunno.....i am sticking with CF. I wish i had the patience to learn PHP, get more in line with you mainstreamers.

 

Here is my experience over the past 10 years:

1. Rapid development. I can build something in CF that will take my .NET buddies 2x to 4x as long. This also looks good to clients. What they often get quoted in .NET for a project I can quote half and provide more features.

2. Easy to use and learn. It's tag-based, and so easy to use, you can start developing very quickly.

3. It can be slow IF you code poorly or have an under-powered server. I've never had problems, but YMMV.

4. I am finding many developers are leaving it in favor for other languages such as PHP or .NET. That's because those languages often have more granularity and you can do more intense things with the code, but at the expense of needing more time to do so. However, the BENEFIT of this means that I can charge more per hour. I easily charge double what my .NET buddies charge.

5. Companies that have invested in ColdFusion rarely switch over. I have been working for a lot of government agencies in the DC area and they all use CF. They are not changing any time soon. My current client is a fortune 500 company with thousands of client sites which we manage with one CF instance. They're not changing any time soon.

So, basically, it's not overly popular which is good for a good developer. In my opinion.

 

I'm very much in agreement with OneWebAve about speed of development and ease of use.

As a web project manager I've had responsibility for completing projects based on several different coding environments. My ColdFusion projects finish much more quickly and with less stress. It is easier to debug than the equivalent ASP/PHP code, and that means time and money saved.

Given a choice I would always use CF for website development.

 

Coldfusion is Just Awesome, No Other langugae can make website is less time span as coldfusion can and that too very cool features.

It can build website that take 30 days in php will be build in 10 days in coldfusion.

This is the power of Coldfusion

 

ColdFusion really sucks. It doesn't integrate well with Flex / Air apps, it is hard to learn, and it takes a long time to develop with. I would TOTALLY stay away from ColdFusion.

 

This has to be sarcasm?