CF411: Tools and Resources to Consider for CF developers,
by Charlie Arehart (over 700 tools/resources in over 125 categories)
Find what you're looking for by viewing the categories below or just use your browser's find feature to search this one long page for something in particular.
Last Updated: Apr 14, 2009
Introduction
How often do you see a question asked on a list, "does anyone know where I can find CFML resources about xxx", or "what tools are available to do yyy?". Now you have one place you can point people to answer most such questions. See the bottom of this page for additional background information on this service.I look to improve this interface over time, adding RSS feeds for when I add/change items, perhaps enabling comments per tool/resource, etc. We'll see. Until then, use your browser "find" feature (ctrl-f) to search for things, or the table of contents below, and enjoy.
The Categories
- CFML-Oriented Resources
- CFML Blog Aggregators (and bloggers)
- CFML Certification Preparation Resources
- CFML Conferences
- CFML Documentation/Help Tools and Resources
- CFML Hosting Alternatives
- CFML Job Resources (Hire/Be Hired)
- CFML Lists and Forums (finding help and support)
- CFML Podcasts
- CFML-powered Web Sites (Who's using CFML?)
- CFML Resource Sites
- CFML-specific Search Resources
- CFML Tuning/Troubleshooting Resources
- CFML Tutorial/Article Sites
- Professional CF-oriented Assistance
- Tools (CFML and other)
- Blogging Tools (written in CFML)
- Browser Alternatives
- Bug/Defect Tracking Tools
- Caching Tools for CFML
- Captcha Tools/Alternatives for CFML
- CFMAIL Replacement/Enhancement Tools
- CFML Debugging Tools
- CFML Documentation/Help Tools and Resources
- CFML Engine Alternatives
- CFML Frameworks/Methodologies
- Code Formatting Tools
- Code Generators
- Comparison Tools
- Content Management Systems (written in CFML)
- Database Engines
- Database Tools
- Distributed Caching Tools
- E-commerce Enabling Solutions (written in CFML)
- Editors/IDEs
- Excel File Processing Tools
- COM
- CSV
- HTML Table
- Java (including JExcel, JXLS, and POI)
- .NET
- Office Automation
- ODBC/JDBC
- Report Builder
- WebQueries
- XML
- File Find/Search Tools
- File Sharing Tools/Services
- File Upload Tools
- Form Creation/Validation Tools
- Forums/Bulletin Board Tools (written in CFML)
- Graphing/Charting Tools
- HTTP Debugging Proxy Tools
- Image Processing Tools (for CFML)
- IP Address Reporting Tools
- Log Analysis Tools
- Monitoring Tools/Services
- Project Management Tools (written in CFML)
- Regular Expression Generation/Testing Tools
- Remote Presentation/Assistance/Remote Desktop/Shared Desktop/Web Conferencing Tools
- Reporting and Report Builder Tools
- RSS to Email Tools
- Server-side Spell Checkers
- Source Code Control
- SQL Injection and CrossSite Scripting Detection/Prevention Tools
- Testing Tools/Services
- Screen Capture Tools
- Time Tracking/Invoicing/Billing Tools
- URL Rewriting Tools
- Web Services Browsing/Testing Tools
- Web Site Design Repositories
- Wiki Tools
- Wireframing/Prototyping Tools
- WYSIWYG/Rich Text Editors
Check out Brian Rinaldi's list, too!
Be sure to also check out Brian Rinaldi's excellent site listing open source CFML products and projects: http://www.remotesynthesis.com/cfopensourcelist/.Lest anyone think I'm trying to compete with his list, I'm not at all. Besides the fact that I started mine in 2002, I also don't focus just on CF O-S projects. Indeed, I've been pointing to Brian's list (on the old SysteManage page) since Aug 06 (which was 4 years after I started my list). If anyone's interested, you can see this by viewing pages from back then via the web archive site. I definitely have long been a supporter and fan of his list. These complement rather than compete with each other.
Of course, there's some cross-over (things on both lists), but I'm not going to just grab things from his list if they're not on mine. I just list here things I've heard of on my own. Indeed, where he has a corresponding category, I point to it (at the end of each of my lists) so people can check out his also, which may have updates I don't.
Additions/Corrections
This is a perpetual work in progress. I welcome additions or corrections to this list. If you have any to offer, please let me know. Be sure to clarify that you're providing additional items for "the 'CF411' list".CFML-Oriented Resources
CFML Blog Aggregators (and bloggers) [link]
There are literally hundreds of CFML blogs. Some are popular and known by most, while some less popular ones may well offer some hidden gem. Rather than try to list them all here, and indeed rather than you having to read them all, the following aggregators focus on CF-oriented blogs.Some blogs are in all the aggregators, but it's worth keeping an eye on more than one. I provide as well a link to the list of all CFML blogs that each aggregator follows. This way, you can find out all the folks who blog about CF.
- Adobe Feeds CF category (formerly MXNA), which follows these blogs
- CF Bloggers (aka cfbloggers.org, coldfusionbloggers.org), which follows these blogs
- Feed Squirrel CF category, which follows these blogs
- Full As A Goog CF category, which follows these blogs
- Geexoo CF category
- If you're looking for a list of all CF bloggers, note that there is no one list, but again each of the aggregators above offers a list of the blogs that they aggregate, and I've offered the links to those lists above
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Blog Highlight Services [link]
I want to mention, separately from the aggregators above, that there are also some bloggers who have started organizing periodic highlights of what they deem to be "best of the blogs" in the CF blogosphere. It's a tough job, and it may be hard for them to keep it up, but let's enjoy (and thank) them while they do it.
- Kay Smoljak's The week in ColdFusion (and available RSS feed)
- Stephen Moretti's Blog Round Up (and available RSS feed, of just these "best of" posts)
- Steve Bryant's CF_BlogPicks (and available RSS Feed, of just these "best of" posts)
Dont' forget to consider using a Feed Reader or RSS to Email service to be kept informed of updates to these.Browser Alternatives [link]
Since most CFML developers build browser-based web applications, it may be helpful to be aware of many of the different browsers out there, which your users may use. There's more than just Firefox and IE (and even Opera and Safari.) This is not an ultimate list. There are a few more I found which I've just never heard of. Can't be an ultimate compendium in every category.
- Camino, for OS X
- Chrome, multiplatform
- Epiphany, for Linux
- Firefox, multiplatform
- Flock, multiplatform
- Internet Explorer, for Windows
- Konqueror, for Linux
- Links, multiplatform, open source
- Maxthon, for Windows
- Opera, multiplatform
- Safari, multiplatform
- Shiira, for Mac, from Japan (learn more at makeuseof.com)
- See also IE Tester, a free tool which allows you to run multiple IE engines at once (say, 5, 6, 7).
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Certification Preparation Resources [link]
The tools mentioned here are still only oriented toward CF 7, so if you're looking for CF8-specific information, the best bet is the CFML documentation.
- Adobe ColdFusion Certification site (including exam guidelines, example questions, and information on registering to take the exams). There is a CF7-specific page, but none for CF8, though of course there is a CF8 Cert. Since the CF7 page may go away some day, I offer another as the main link.
- CFMX ExamBuster, commercial by inexpensive. The leading product in the space of CFML exam preparation.
- ColdFusion MX 7 Certified Developer Study Guide, by Ben Forta
- ColdFusion Certification Resources, by Ben Nadel
- ColdFusion Questions, by Charlie Griefer
- Learn by Heart CF Exam Practice
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Conferences [link]
The following conferences have some, if not an entire, focus on ColdFusion and CFML. While I normally list other tools and resources in alphabetical order, in this case it seems useful to list them in order of their occurrence.
- cf.Objective(), organized by Jared Rypka-Hauer, et al (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, USA; May 14-16 2009)
- WebDU, organized by Geoff Bowers, et al (Sydney, Australia; May 21-22 2009)
- Scotch on the Rocks, organized by Andy Allan, et al (June 1st, 3rd and 5th, in London, Edinburgh and Dublin respectively: yes, three one-day conferences)
- Spring <br>, organized by Dave Hannum, et al (Athens, OH, USA; Tues June 9 2009)
- CFUnited, organized by Liz Fredericks, Michael Smith, et al (Washington, DC area, USA; Aug 12-15 2009)
- Adobe Max, organized by Adobe (location varies, North America in Los Angeles, CA; Oct 4-7 2009)
- See also Teratech's list of Upcoming CFML conferences
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
- There was also a CFDevCon, organized by Russ Michaels, et al, last held in London, England, though it did not happen in 2008, and as of this writing no plans for 2009 have been announced.
- Webmaniacs, which was previously set for Apr 27-28 2009, has been replaced with CF & Flex Top Gun Training, organized by Fig Leaf Software, to be held June 8-10, 2009 (Washington, DC, USA)
CFML Documentation/Help Tools and Resources [link]
While the Adobe docs are the best source for CFML documentation, there are online versions of that both from Adobe and others, providing access to the docs in various ways. Please note, though, that while most of the other resources show only the CFML reference, the actual Adobe docs contain more than just the CFML Reference, including a Developer's Guide, Installation Guide, Administration Guide, and more. See the Livedocs for more on those.
- Adobe Livedocs, for CF7
- Adobe Livedocs, for CF8
- Adobe ColdFusion 8 Security Guidelines
- CFQuickDocs, by Jacob Munson
- CF Docs on Air, by Brian Love (If not working, try google cache version)
- CFML Docs for IPod, by Randy Nielsen of the Adobe docs team
- CF8 Help files for Eclipse, from Adobe
- ColdFusionDocs, by Anuj Gakhar
- Complete List of CF tags, for 7 and 8, by Andy Jarrett
- Pete Freitag's ColdFusion Cheat Sheet
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
ColdFusion Hosting Alternatives [link]
This is not an ultimate list of all CF hosts. Indeed, after this list I link to other places (Ben Forta's site, Adobe, and others) that have other lists of CF hosts. These are just some of the more widely used and named hosts that have specific CF support, some supporting CF 6, 7, and/or 8 specifically (some even offering BD), and most offer a choice of either shared, private, or virtual private servers (VPS).
- AFPWebworks
- AHP Hosting
- Ayera Technologies
- CFDynamics
- CFMX Hosting
- CrystalTech
- Edge Web Hosting
- eFree2net.com
- Enterhost
- FastHit
- Free ColdFusion Hosting, which offers both free production and development hosting
- FusionLink
- GoDaddy
- Hostek
- Hosting.com
- HostMySite
- Sozo Hosting
- Viviotech
- There are also various sites/articles/blog entries that list or discuss other hosting alternatives:
- Adobe CF Hosting list
- Ask a Jedi: ColdFusion Hosting Plans
- Ben Forta's long-standing resource, ColdFusion ISPs
- CFNewbie hosting resources
- ColdFusion Hosting Plans, a listing of many different hosts and their plans and prices (though it seems not updated since 2003)
- ColdFusion Pro News hosting options
- 10 ColdFusion Hosts Under $10/month, September 2007.
- FlashCFM hosting resources
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Job Resources (Hire/Be Hired) [link]
- Atlanta CF User Group jobs mailing list
- Bay Area (SF) CFUG jobs board
- Ben Forta's jobs category on his blog
- CFBlog's search of the CF blogspace for jobs
- Clark Valberg's Developer Circuit, which besides being a list, also offers a useful flex-based widget that user group managers or bloggers may want to add to their sites
- ColdFusion Careers
- General Job Opportunities Forum hosted by Adobe (CF jobs and others)
- Getcoldfusionjobs.com's list of jobs
- House of Fusion CF Jobs mailing list
- JustColdFusionJobs.com's list of CF jobs
- EasyCFM's list of jobs
- Mid-Michigan CFUG list of jobs
- Rob Gonda's list of CF/Flex jobs (done with Flex)
- Twin Cities CFUG CF job board
- CFMCentral's list of jobs (and cfmcentral.com itself) seems defunct
- Of course, many user group mailing lists permit sharing of jobs. See Adobe's list of CF user groups.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Lists and Forums (finding help and support) [link]
- Adobe ColdFusion Forums
- ColdFusion Community forums and mailing list
- ColdFusion Object oriented Programming Google group
- FlashCFM forums (14 forums on CF, Flash, integrating the two, and more) and mailing list
- HouseofFusion.com, home of the famed CF-talk list
- SitePoint CF forums
- Tek-tips CF Forums
- Yahoo coldfusion-howto forum
- See also the lists or forums offered by any of the many CF User Groups
- Note as well that some individuals in the CF community also offer an open door policy for you to ask them questions. They can't commit to answering every one, but I know they try hard, and we certainly thank them for that. Among them are Ben Forta, Ray Camden and Ben Nadel, Mark Kruger, Jeff Houser, Russ johnson, and Scott Bennet, who say on their contact forms that they welcome questions. I'm happy to add others, if you know of any.
- There are also generic question-asking places, some of which focus on IT. You may or may not get a good answer, but it's an option (some have a fee mechanism). See Experts Exchange, IT Knowledge Exchange, All Experts CF questions, Yahoo Answers. (Google Answers is no longer accepting questions.)
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
- (If you're looking for CFML-based software to run lists and forums, see that category elsewhere on this list.)
CFML Podcasts [link]
I've divided the list into those that are active and those that seem no longer to be.Active CFML Podcasts [link]Seemingly Inactive CFML Podcasts [link]
- CFConversations, with Brian Meloche and others
- CF Docs, hosted by Mark Drew
- CFHour, with Dave Ferguson and Michael Sean Becker
- CFUnited, playing recordings of conference presentations, hosted by Christian Ready
- All Things Adobe has had one CF-related podcast, but has a category for them so may have more
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
The following podcasts seem no longer to be updated:Other Media Resources
- ColdFusion Weekly, with Matt Woodward and Peter Farrell, went off the air in early 2008 after a 2 year run
- OutLoud, with Hal Helms and Jeff Peters, ran for 47 episodes from Oct 2005 through Sep 2007
- The ColdFusion Podcast, with Bryan Kaiser and Michael Haynie, ran for 38 episodes from Oct 2005 through Jan 2007
- ColdFusion Muse, with Mark Kruger, ran for 13 episodes from Nov 2005 through May 2006
- cfframeworks.com offered 8 interview podcasts hosted by Nick Tong and Kola Oyedeji, from Jan-Mar 2007
- Mark Drew offered a few CFEclipse Videos as a podcast in 2006 (note they videos were designed to be small enough to view in an iPod)
- the WebDU conference organizers (Geoff Bowers and Daemon), presented a couple of recordings of previous WebDU conferences in 2005
- the Scotch on the Rocks conference organizers (Stephen Moretti and Andy Allan) tried to do this also with one episode in 2007
- Aboutcast ran for a couple of episodes in 2006, hosted by Nic Tunney and AboutWeb
- Steven Erat made two attempts at podcasts in 2005, first with the CFMX 7 podcast, where he read selected Macromedia Devnet articles about CF7, and then the even shorter-lived CF NewsRadio
- I'm my own sql, hosted by C. Hatton Humphrey, ran out of HouseofFusion.com for just a couple of episodes in late 2006
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
See also other media resources which, while not podcasts, may appeal to those seeking audio/video presentations:
- Charlie Arehart's UGTV, a list of over 200 recorded CF user group presentations and tutorials, from over 100 presenters
- Online ColdFusion Meetup, a weekly online CF user group meeting, and recordings of all sessions
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML-Powered Web Sites (who's using CFML?) [link]
- Adobe's list
- Ben Forta's list of highlighted sites, as well as his list of all sites.
- ColdFusionPro's list
- Rey Bango's list
- WhoUsesColdFusion.com
- Consider also searching Google for pages using .cfm as a file type. Just be aware that if you've configured Google to show you only pages in your language, you're not seeing all the pages worldwide (which totalled 44 million+ at my last check). Of course, that counts all pages in all domains found. It would be nice to get a count just of the number of domains, but it's a start.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Resource Sites [link]
This site has many different kinds of resources, but here are some other sites that try to aggregate other CFML resources. See the list after these for other sections of this site that offer resources.
- Adobe Resource Sites
- ColdFusion Product page
- ColdFusion Technotes (see as well this list of other and popular technotes, articles, and more, as well as this categorized list of CF Technotes), and feeds for recent and top technotes
- ColdFusion Forums
- ColdFusion Security Bulletins (and you can receive them by email)
- ColdFusion User Groups
- ColdFusion Exchange
- Ben Forta's ColdFusion section (see links on left)
- Ben Nadel's ColdFusion Community page (see links on left)
- Brian Rinaldi's open source CFML products and projects
- CF developer community
- CFCzone.org
- CFerror.org
- CFFAQ
- CFFrameworks.com
- CFlex (note that this is short for Community Flex, not CF/Flex, but there are many CF-Flex resources on the site)
- CFLib.org, the Common Function Library Project
- CFNewbie
- CFPrimer, from Daryl Bantari
- CFSearch
- CFTips Plus, from Nathan Stanford
- Charlie Arehart's resource lists page
- coldfusioncommunity.org
- ColdFusion and Oracle tech tips
- ColdFusion Portal
- ColdFusion Pro News
- DMOZ ColdFusion section
- DZone ColdFusion section
- EasyCFM (and their available mobile interface)
- FusionAuthority.com
- Google Directory ColdFusion resources
- HouseofFusion.com
- Instant ColdFusion links
- Jason Bartholme's 101 ColdFusion Resources To Add To Your Toolbelt of Awesomeness
- NASAdobe list of CF resources
- Neil Middleton's Ultimate ColdFusion Tools List
- Online ColdFusion Meetup, a weekly online CF user group meeting, and recordings of all sessions
- Ray Camden's CF resources page
- RIAForge
- Sean Corfield's ColdFusion section
- UGTV, a list of over 200 recorded CF user group presentations and tutorials from over 100 presenters
- Wikibooks ColdFusion book
- Wikipedia CF page
- Yahoo CF Developer Center
- Yahoo ColdFusion Java Hacks group
- See also the web sites of any of the many CF User Groups
- Consider also these sites that are commercial CF tag repositories.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML-specific Search Resources [link]
Google has a feature called "Custom Search Engines" (or CSEs), where one can create a search mechanism that limits searches to a given set of sites, with the intention that this could produce a better topic-specific search. When this feature first came out, several people stepped up to create them. The following seem to be those that are more active and udpated (providing the ability to search upwards of 1,000 CF-oriented sites or more).
- Charlie Arehart's CF custom search engine
- House of Fusion's CF custom search engine
- Jeff Gladnick's CF custom search engine
- There are still a few more, which all were created about the same time when the CSE feature was introduced. I wrote about them back then.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Tuning/Troubleshooting Resources [link]
Rather than list specific articles and blog entries (as there are so many), here are resources that are themselves lists of other CFML tuning/troubleshooting resources.
- Alex Skinner's blog entry on ColdFusion Tuning resources
- Brandon Harper's blog entry on ColdFusion Tuning resources
- Greg Stewart's blog entry on JRun tuning resources
- Pete Freitag's blog entry on ColdFusion tuning resourcs
- Simon Whatley's blog entry on ColdFusion tuning resources
- See also Grant Skinner's online book, available for purchase
- See also my sections here on CFML Debugging Tools and ColdFusion Monitoring Tools.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Tutorial/Article Sites [link]
- Adobe DevNet ColdFusion site (and here's a feed of CF-specific articles)
- Adobe ColdFusion Support site
- ASFusion, devoted to CF+ActionScript/Flex integration
- CFNewbie tutorials
- ColdFusion Cookbook
- ColdFusion Developers Journal (no longer publishing in print, but 10 years of archived CF content)
- CommunityMX (coldfusion tutorials section)
- EasyCFM
- FlashCFM articles and tutorials, focused on Flash/CF integration
- FlexCF
- Flex.org's Flex for CF Developers
- LearnCF
- Sitepoint's CF tutorials
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Professional CF-oriented Assistance [link]
While there are many resources listed above where you can obtain free support (from mailing lists, to blogs, to user groups, and more), sometimes you just may be more interested in paying someone who provides professional support, whether on-site or over-the-web. I've divided this category into the following groupings:Where possible, I've offered any direct link the company/person may have to their coverage of that specific sort of assistance. I've pre-populated the list with several folks but as always I definitely welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
- CF-oriented Application Development
- CF-oriented Troubleshooting Consultants
- CF-oriented Mentors
- CF-oriented Trainers
CF-oriented Application Development [link]
If you're looking for assistance with CFML coding, here are some alternatives. I do not want to list here web site development shops, unless they specialize in CF and/or CFML. (See also the later list of CF-oriented Troubleshooting Consultants, who can help with issues other than application development.)CF-oriented Troubleshooting Consultants [link]
- Alagad
- Daemon
- FigLeaf
- Fuzzy Orange
- Mark Kruger/CF Webtools
- Roundpeg
- Teratech
- Webapper
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
If you need help with CF-oriented consulting services, including troubleshooting, here are some alternatives. Note that some require a minimum commitment of days, while others (like myself, the Carehart.org listing) have no such minimum. (See also the previous list of folks who perform CF application development.)CF-oriented Mentors [link]
- Alagad
- Charlie Arehart/CArehart.org
- Daemon
- FigLeaf
- Fuzzy Orange
- Hel Helms
- Pete Freitag/Foundeo
- Mark Kruger/CF Webtools
- Intergral (makers of FusionReactor)
- Teratech
- Universal Mind
- Webapper
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
This list includes those who mention mentoring services on their sites. Note that their services may be very specific (mentoring in a given area or technique).CF-oriented Trainers [link]
- Charlie Arehart/CArehart.org
- Hel Helms
- Mark Kruger/CF Webtools (see his blog entry on the subject)
- Teratech
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
This includes both those who do Adobe CF training and their CF-oriented own training, whether in their own locations, at contract training facilities, or over the web.
- Alagad
- Ascend
- Charlie Arehart/CArehart.org
- Daemon
- Echo Eleven
- FigLeaf
- Fuzzy Orange
- Hal Helms
- Intergral (makers of FusionReactor)
- LodeStone
- Lynda.com
- Roundpeg
- Scott Antall
- Sterling Ledet & Associates
- Teratech
- Webucator
- You can also find a list of all Adobe ColdFusion training partners near your location
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Tools (CFML and other)
Blogging Tools (written in CFML) [link]
The following are blogging tools (tools for creating a blog) that are written in CFML. Of course, you can find blogging tools written in many other languages that you may choose to use on your site (as well as hosted solutions, where the code platform doesn't matter to you). I don't want to try to keep here a list of all such CMSes, so this focuses on those that are written in CFML and that you can download. I list, after that, hosted solutions written in CFML.There are also a few blogging solutions that, while written in CFML, are not available for download but instead are available as hosted solutions:
- 1ssBlog, open source, from Ed Tabara
- AVBlog, open source, from Andrea Veggiani
- BlogCFC, open source, from Ray Camden
- BlogCFM, open source, from Rick Root
- CFBloggy, open source, from John Ramon (see also his blog)
- cfBlog, open source, from Francois Levesque
- Fuseblog, open source, from James Husum (not updated in some time)
- KoldKast, free for download, and also available as a fee-based hosted solution, from Rick Smith
- MachBlog, a blogging package from Matt Woodward and Peter Farrell, and based on Mach-ii
- Mango, "a sweet ColdFusion blog engine" from Laura Arguello of asfusion
- My Blog , "a small blog application", from Gurpreet Singh Randhawa
- See also Brian Rinaldi's Open Source CF list of blog tools
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Besides the tools above used to create blogs, here are some that can help with creating blog entries:
- Blog-City, fee-based hosted solution
- BlogFusion, free and fee-based hosted solutions, from Jake McKee
- CFBlog, free hosted solution for the CF community, powered by BlogFusion
- InstantSpot, free hosted solution, from Aaron Lynch and Dave Shuck
- KoldKast, free for download, and also available as a fee-based hosted solution, from Rick Smith
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
- Amazoner, a tool to help a blogger easily recommend books that they like, using their Amazon associate ID
- LiveWriter, a desktop application from Microsoft that makes it easy to publish rich content to your blog
- Post2Blog, an alternative to LiveWriter
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Bug/Defect Tracking Tools [link]
I've split this list of bug tracking and defect tracking tools into those written in CFML, and the rest, both open source and commercial.Following are the subcategories offered:Bug/Defect Tracking Tools Written in CFML [link]
Bug/Defect Tracking Tools Written in other languages [link]
- BugLog, open source, from Oscar Arevalo
- BugConnect, open source, from Corey Butler. A Bugzilla connector for ColdFusion.
- cfdefect open source, from Qasim Rasheed (also at http://code.google.com/p/cfdefect/)
- Lighthouse Pro, open source, from Ray Camden
- Skweegee, open source, from Russ Johnson
- See also Project Management Tools (written in CFML)
- See also Brian Rinaldi's Open Source CF list of bug tracking tools
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
(some downloadable, others as services; some open source, others commercial)
- Assembla, commercial with a free starting level (see blog entry by CFer Brian Kotek
- Bugzilla, open source
- Izzues, free hosted service (responds also to url of former bugwiki.com)
- Eventum, open source, from MySQL
- fixx, free and commercial editions, multiplatform
- Fogbugz, commercial
- Gemini (for .NET, commercial, with free 5-user license)
- Jira, commercial
- Mantis, open source
- OnTime, commercial, with free single-user license
- Rational BuildForge, commercial
- Redmine, open source (project management app with issue tracking)
- Scarab, open source
- TestTrack Pro, commercial
- Trac, open source
- Also, note that Mylyn, free, for Eclipse, offers integration to popular defect tracking tools
- See also lists such as at the Wikipedia xomparison of issue tracking systems
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Caching Tools for CFML [link]
- CacheBox, open source, from Isaac Dealey
- Cache management, open source from Cristian Costantini. CFML implementation of ehcache, for ColdFusion and Railo
- CF_Accelerate, free, from Brandon Purcell's (Inspired by older CF_SuperCache, though the latter offers disk-based caching while the former does not). There's also a variant based on that, by Tom Dyson, to support file-based caching
- CF_CacheOMatic, free, from Eric Jansson (as discussed in and downloadable from a devX article)
- CF_TurboCache, free, from HotFusion
- cfmemcached, open source, from Jon Hirschi
- JohnnyCache, open source, from Andy Powell
- Memcached, open source, from Mark Lynch
- ScopeCache, open source, from Ray Camden
- SoftCache, open source, from Ashwin Matthews
- Also, while not writtin *IN* CFML, the following can be used WITH your CFML, because CF runs on top of Java, and therefore you can leverage Java filters and custom tags in your CFML apps:
For more on using Java filters with CFML, see my Feb 2003 CFDJ article, "Fun with Filters". And for more on using JSP custom tags with CF, besides the CF docs (Developers Guide), see my May 2002 CFDJ article, "Using JSP Custom Tags in CFMX: What, Why, and How".
- Cache Filter, free
- Cache taglib, free
- See also Distributed Caching Tools
- See also CacheRight, commercial for IIS, which while not CF-specific does work with CF. Works similarly to the Apache module mod_expires. See their FAQ for discussion of use with CF.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Captcha Tools/Alternatives for CFML [link]
- Captcha Component, commercial, from Alagad
- CFAkismet, free, from Brandon Harper
- CFFormProtect, free, from Jake Munson
- Lyla, free, from Peter Farrell
- Using CF8's CFIMAGE tag to create captchas, free, from Ray Camden
- reCAPTCHA, with a CFML-based implementation, free, from Robin Hilliard. (reCAPTCHA is interesting in that every time someone enters a captcha response they are actually helping to digitise a book.)
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFMAIL Replacements/Enhancements [link]
These are tools that either can replace CF's built-in mechanism for generating and sending email, or that supplement and enhance it (such as tools to help manager undelivered email).
- ActivMail, once commercial, now to be open source, from Zrinity (formerly from CFDev)
- CFX_Imap4, commercial, from Paul Vernon (also available at CFTagStore)
- InFusion Mail Server (IMS) and FusionMail, commercial (with free Developer edition), from CoolFusion
- intelli Mailbot
- Spoolmail, open source, from Ray Camden
- Undelivrnator , open source, from Andy Matthews
- See also the Adobe Developer's exchange on tags/functions/apps related to CFMAIL, though it may contain very old variants that no longer work or are supported
- See also Brian Rinaldi's Open Source CF list of Email tools
- Note, as well, that the CFMAIL tag itself has evolved significantly over the years, so some of the various alternatives may not always be needed. 6.1 added replyto/failto/username/password/wraptext attributes, support for multiple mail servers in the server attribute, and several configuration options to the ColdFusion Administrator Mail Settings page. 6.1 also added support for HTML email via CFMAILPARAM and multipart email with CFMAILPART. You can even optionally not use the spooling process via an optional SpoolEnable as of 6. Finally CF 8 added priority, useSSL, and useTLS attributes.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Debugging Tools [link]
- CF Debug Copy for Firefox and CF Debug Copy for IE, open source from Nathan Mische, allow you to easily copy and paste the SQL query output generated by the classic ColdFusion debug template, parsing the query parameters
- CF No Debug, open source from Nathan Mische, Firefox Extension and Servlet Filter to Disable ColdFusion Debugging
- CFWatcher, open source from Ed Tabara, a CF monitoring tool built on the CF debugger
- ColdFire, open source from Ray Camden et al, a Firefox/Firebug extension to aid in viewing CFML debugging outputl
- ColdFusion 8 interactive step debugger, free from Adobe (part of the ColdFusion 8 Extensions for Eclipse)
- FusionDebug, commercial, an interactive step debugger for ColdFusion, from Intergral
- StarFish, open source from Ray Camden, a profiling tool built on the CF debugger, from Ray Camden
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Documentation/Help Tools and Resources
See this section as listed above under CFML Resources.CFML Engine Alternatives [link]
- BlueDragon, from New Atlanta
- Coral
- IgniteFusion (site not responding in check on 10/11/2008)
- Railo
- Smith Project
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Code Formatting Tools [link]
- Code Chameleon, with ColdFusion support
- CF Studio/HomeSite (see Tools>CodeSweeper)
- HTML formatter, with CF support
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Frameworks/Methodologies [link]
There are far more CFML frameworks (or methodologies) than many may realize. I've tried to group these according to the sub-category most would regard a framework to be, but I could get it wrong. Just let me know.
I provide whatever brief description may be found on the respective web site (so if you don't like the description, talk to the site owner and let me know if it changes...and framework owners, you'd do well to have a nice succinct description to help visitors get a quick understanding of the frameworks purpose, goals, intended use, etc.)
Similarly, if there's a name associated with the project on the site, or if a name is commonly known as being responsible for the framework, I list that. As always, I'm open to updates.
Note as well that some of these may be defunct. As long as there was a working site (or some relatively recent site talking about it, even if a third party), I list it. At the end I list some frameworks whose sites seem defunct. Again, updates are welcomed.
Following are the subcategories offered:
- CFML Application Frameworks/Methodologies
- CFML Injection Frameworks/Methodologies
- CFML ORM Frameworks/Methodologies
CFML Application Frameworks/Methodologies [link]
- Blackbox "ColdFusion Development Methodology", from Dan Chick
- CFObjects, "object-oriented ColdFusion development framework", from Steve Brownlee and Orbwave
- COOP, "a framework that separates mark-up from processing logic", from John Farrar
- cfrails, (couldn't find any brief description), from Sammy Larbi
- CFWheels, "ColdFusion on Wheels provides fast application development, a great organization system for your code, and is just plain fun to use", from the CFWheels Team
- COAL (Coldfusion Open Application Library), from Ryan Guill
- ColdBox "event-driven CFC based ColdFusion Framework", from Luis Majano
- Edmund, "event-driven model framework and workflow components", from Sean Corfield
- FarCry, "a cutting edge ColdFusion MX application framework for web based content management", from Geoff Bowers and Daemon Consulting
- Fusebox, "the most popular framework for building ColdFusion and PHP web applications", from Team Fusebox
- HomePortals, "especially tailored for building portals and other highly modular sites", from Oscar Arevalo
- iiFramework, "manages many aspects of e-business development so that the programmer doesn't have to", from Infranet
- Mach-ii, "a powerful, object-oriented, open source MVC framework for ColdFusion that focuses on easing software development and maintenance", from Team Mach-II
- Metro, a framework for working with Transfer and ColdSpring, from Paul Marcotte
- Model-Glue, "a family of frameworks [that] support Web application developers by making the construction of Object-Oriented Web and Rich Internet Applications a straightforward process", from the Model-Glue Team
- onAir, "a 'Smart Connection Framework': Connect backend business logic written in CFCs with different clients (e.g. AJAX, Laszlo) via XML, XML-RPC, JSON, etc.", from Jan Jannek
- OnTap, "shares some similarities with Ruby on Rails", from Isaac Dealey
- Plum, "stands for Practical Lightweight Universal Methodology, and it incorporates a rich code generator, a development methodology, a comprehensive application framework that does just about everything you'll ever need to do with a ColdFusion application, a unit test generator, and stored procedure generator, a component generator, and much more.", from Productivity Enhancement
- PureMVC_CF, a CF port of PureMVC, "a lightweight framework for creating applications based upon the classic Model, View and Controller concept", from Cliff Hall (other ports include Flex [AS2, 3], PHP, Java, and .NET [c#])
- SOS, "stands for Servant Oriented Software...uses the technology in a way that matches your developing style and needs", from John Farrar
- Switchboard, "MVC framework with built in authentication, redirecting, and URL routing. It's non-OO approach makes it super fast during execution. No XML or Objects are ever used in the framework. No configuration is required to set which files are included, the framework discovers that for you. The URL routing is beneficial for search engine optimization (SEO). And all this can be yours in less than 250 lines of code", from Daniel Slaughter
- Switchbox, "a programming technique and coding style used to develop flexible and scalable applications", from Joseph Flanigan
- Tardis, "Model-View-Controller Framework for ColdFusion", from Shawn Gorrell
- Tartan, "a command-driven service framework for ColdFusion", from Paul Kenney
- TheHUB, "homegrown application development framework", from Neil Ross
- Some that seem defunct include cfoo.org, cfoop.com, fusionscript.com, MXF, MVCF, objectbreeze.com, underscoreframework.com
- Some folks also see CMSs as frameworks, so see my list of them.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML Injection Frameworks/Methodologies [link]
- ColdSpring "dependency injection/AOP framework", from Chris Scott
- Lightwire, "a very lightweight Direct Injection/IoC engine", from Peter Bell
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
CFML ORM Frameworks/Methodologies [link]
- DataFaucet, "collection of CFCs used to create dynamic object relational modeling (ORM)", from Isaac Dealey
- Reactor, "an Object-Relational Modeling tool which generates database abstractions on the fly, as needed. Reactor is sometimes called an "Inline Dynamic Database Abstraction" API", from Alagad
- Transfer, "ColdFusion Object Relational Mapping Library...to automate the repetitive tasks of creating the SQL and custom CFCs that are often required when developing a ColdFusion application", from Mark Mandel
- See also DataMgr, "Data Access Layer component set", from Steve Bryant (not technically an ORM tool, but closer to this than the other categories)
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
See also:
- Brian Rinaldi's Open Source CF list of frameworks
- CFFrameworks.com list of frameworks.
- CFPetmarket.com, a repository of implementations of the CF Petmarket app in various frameworks
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Code Generators [link]
There are multiple categories of code generators offered here.Following are the subcategories offered:CFML Code Generators [link]
Flex Code Generators [link]
- Adalon, free, from Synthis
- CFCBlaster, free, from Mike Rankin
- CodeCharge, a commercial tool
- ColdFusion 8 Extensions for Eclipse, free from Adobe. (Includes wizards for generating CFCs and other code). Available before CF8 as the FlexBuilder extensions for CF 7.02 (more here.)
- Complete CRUD Code Generator, open source from Jason Presley
- CRACK-Coldfusion Rapid Application Construction Kit , open source from Josh Knutson
- DBX, from Kevin Miller. Generates CFQUERY and CFSTOREDPROC code from SQL Server databases
- Dreamweaver, commercial, also contain code generating wizards that support CFML directly or indirectly.
- ICEGen, open source from Tony Petruzzi
- Illudium PU-36, open source from Brian Rinaldi (also at http://code.google.com/p/cfcgenerator/)
- next-generator, open source from Dominic Watson, Code generator that works with Railo, based on Illudium PU-36
- Plum, free, from Productivity Enhancements (supercedes DatabaseBlocks and other related tools)
- Rooibos, free from Peter Farrell
- Squidhead, open source from Terrance Ryan
- TransferConfig, open source from Roland Lopez
- See also Brian Rinaldi's Open Source CF list of code generator tools
- See also Skeleton Site Creator /a>, which "generates a base working application for you to build on"
- Another application generation tool, though it's not CF-specific, is IronSpeed
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
- Zoomflex, commercial, from Straker Interactive (the formerly available URL, http://www.zoomflex.com/, seems defunct)
- Cairngen, open source, Cairngorm Code Generator
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Comparison Tools [link]
There are multiple categories of comparison tools offered here.Following are the subcategories offered:Text/File/Dir Comparison/Merge Tools [link]
Following are tools that can compare text, file, and directory comparisons and merging.Database Comparison Tools [link]
- AptEdit, free, for Windows
- Araxis Merge, commercial, for Windows and Mac
- BeyondCompare (trial is not in terms of days since install but days of use)
- CompareIt, commercial, for Windows
- Diffmerge (free)
- ExamDiff (free)
- TreeComp, (free, for Windows)
- UltraCompare, commercial, for Windows
- WinDiff, free, for Windows
- WinMerge (free)
- Note as well that Eclipse has built-in Diff features, including showing diff's with previous versions (as do all version control packages)
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Following are tools that can compare database data and schema.
- AdeptSQL Diff, commercial, on Windows, for SQL Server
- SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare, commercial tools for SQL Server
- SQL Manager DB Comparer and Data Comparer lines of products, with different editions for each of many databases. Commercial, for Windows
- SQL Data Examiner, and SQL Examiner, commercial, for Windows
- SQLMatcher Professional, a commercial tool for SQL Server
- SQL Server Comparison Tool, commercial tool with free eval
- Note that while Quest used to have something called Comparison Suite for SQL Server, that product is no more and instead they point you to their Toad line of products.
- See also Database Migration Tools
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Content Management Systems (written in CFML) [link]
The following are CMSes written in CFML. Of course, you can find a CMS written in many other languages that you may choose to use on your site. I don't want to try to keep here a list of all such CMSes.
- Affino Professional CMS, commercial, from Emojo
- AssetNow NX, commercial, from Orbital
- Boomsocket (currently in alpha, as of April 08)
- Bytespring CMS, open source, from Jason Sheedy
- CAM-II CMS, open source, from Steve Good. Built with ColdFusion, AJAX (JQuery) and uses the Mach-II framework.
- CF Nuke CMS, open source (the download seems no longer to be available, and though there are plans announced to reform the project as BluApple, that too has no download.
- ColdBricks, open source, from Oscar Arevalo
- CommonSpot, commercial, from Paperthin
- CONTENS, and CONTENS relate (Social Network Solution), commercial, by CONTENS
- Simple Content Editor
- ContentMonger Pro, free, by Matt Robertson, available in the Adobe Dev Exchange
- Contribute, commercial, from Adobe
- EmPower and CMS products, commercial, from Ektron
- FarCry CMS open source, from Daemon
- Hot Banana ColdFusion CMS, commercial, from Hot Banana Software
- IFactum e-Business Suite, commercial, with editions for ColdFusion and BlueDragon
- Katapult, open source, from John Mason
- Mura (formerly named Sava), open source, from Blue River Interactive Group
- NQcontent WCM, commercial, from NetQuest
- Preside CMS, commercial, from Pixl8
- Sava (now renamed Mura), open source, from Blue River Interactive Group
- Savvy Content Manager, commercial, from Savvy Software
- ShadoCMS, commercial, from Straker Interactive
- SiteExecutive, commercial, from Systems Alliance
- Speck CMS, open source, from Robin Hilliard and Mark Woods
- TeamworkCMS, open source and commercial, from Digital Crew
- Thrive CMS, from Cabbage Tree Creative
- WebOS 'Carbon 14', open source, from James Harvey
- Yet Another ColdFusion CMS , open source, from Terrence Ryan
- See also Brian Rinaldi's Open Source CF list of content management systems
- The following seem defunct:
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Database Engines [link]
I split the list into two categories: free/open source and commercial DBMSs. (I used to split it instead into "name brand" and "alternative", but I think free/commercial makes more sense.) As I note below, some commercial DBMSs do offer free editions.Free/Open Source DBMSs [link]
Commercial DBMSs [link]
- DB2 Express, multi-platform
- Derby, multi-platform (which used to be known as IBM Cloudscape, also multi-platform and free). Note as well this resource I've created on getting started with Derby as a CFer.
- Frontbase, for Mac OS X
- h2, Java-based (multi-platform)
- hsqldb, java-based (multi-platform). (Note this blog entry on enabling it for use with CF.)
- Interbase, multi-platform, from Borland (also available in Commercial edition below)
- MaxDB, multi-platform (formerly SAP DB: see a blog entry I wrote on it when it was known by that name)
- McKoi, Java-based (multi-platform)
- MySQL, multi-platform (also has commercial editions)
- Oracle Express Edition, multi-platform
- PostGreSQL, multi-platform
- Sedna, multi-platform XML database engine
- SQLite, multi-platform
- SQL Server Express, for Windows
- 4D, multi-platform (with commercial integrated desktop enviornment and commercial edition of DB)
- Note as well in the Commercial DBMSs category below that MiniSQL and OpenBase have restricted free editions also (as well, of course, do DB2, Oracle, and SQL Server)
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
- DB2, multi-platform, from IBM
- Informix, multi-platform, from IBM
- Interbase, multi-platform, from Borland (see also free edition in the free DBMSs category above)
- MiniSQL, Unix-based with available ports for Windows, OS X, from Hughes Technologies (with free licenses for schools, charities, etc.)
- OpenBase, for Mac OSX, also available in a free "Solo" personal edition
- Oracle, multi-platform, from Oracle
- Pointbase, java-based (multi-platform), from IBM
- SQL Server, for Windows, from Microsoft
- Sybase, multi-platform, from Sybase SQL Server
- Note as well in the free DBMSs category above that MySQL and 4D have commercial editions also
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Database Tools [link]
There are multiple categories of database tools offered here.Following are the subcategories offered:Database Coding Tools [link]Database Comparison Tools
- See ORMs like DataFaucet, DataMgr, Transfer, and others in the frameworks section.
- Be sure to see also the Database Query/Explore Tools category below.
- See also CFML code generation tools.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Database Migration Tools [link]
- See the section on this within Comparison tools.
The following tools assiset with database migration/conversion, change migration, synchronization, conversion of stored procedures, and more.Database Monitoring Tools
- Ants, software and services for migration to Oracle
- DBConvert is a line of commercial conversion tools
- Embarcadero DT/Studio, commercial, multiplatform and multidatabase
- ESF Database Convert, commercial, for Windows, with support for most databases
- MySQL Migration Toolkit, free, included in the MySQL GUI Tools Bundle (with the Migration Toolkit being Windows only, as of this writing, July 2008)
- See the Oracle Migration Technology Center for tools and services to assist with conversion from major databases to Oracle
- Redgate SQL Compare is a commercial tool that can be used for database migration, as discussed in this whitepaper
- SQL Manager Data Pump, Data Export, and Data Import lines of products, with different editions for each of many databases. Commercial, for Windows
- SQL Script Builder, commercial, for Windows, with support for most databases
- SwisSQL Data Migration Tool, commercial, helps the migration and transfer of database schemas and data across leading databases such as Oracle, IBM DB2, MS-SQL Server, Sybase, SAP DB, MySQL, PostgreSQL and MS Access.
- SwisSQL DBChangeManager, free and commercial, for comparison and synchronization of Microsoft SQL Server database schema
- SwisSQL Console, Query Translation / Conversion Tool, commercial, converts SQL queries from one database dialect to another (supports migration across Oracle, SQL Server, IBM DB2, MySQL, Sybase, PostgreSQL, Informix and Netezza databases)
- SwisSQL Stored Procedure Migration Tools, commercial, see links on this page to several conversion options among the major databases, including a free online migration tool from Oracle to SQL Server.
- See also Database Comparison tools.
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Database Query/Explore Tools [link]
- See the section on this within Monitoring tools.
This category includes both tools to help you build SQL statements as well as to explore your databases and their tables, columns, indexes, data, etc. Some are CF-specific tools, some are generic.Database Testing Tools
- Advanced Query Builder, from EMS/SQLManager.net, free and commercial, with support for many databases. See also their SQL Management Studio, and SQL Manager, SQL Query lines of products.
- Aqua Data Studio (aka AquaData Studio), commercial, with free license for Open Source developers
- Avalon SQL Editor, free, for Windows and supporting Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, HSQLDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, DB2, Firebird, and Derby (also available at http://code.google.com/p/avalonsql/, and formerly available at http://www.avalonsql.com/)
- cf_xquery, a free set of custom tags from William Greenly providing a means to run XQuery compliant statements against a datasource or url. Also includes the open source Sedna XML database engine.
- ColdFusion Database Explorer, a free CFML-based query tool from Ray Camden
- DataRoamer, commercial with free trial. An interesting tool to help explore databases via their relationships, both in terms of viewing their design and their data
- DBArtisan, PowerSQL, and RapidSQL, commercial tools supporting many databases.
- DB Solo, commercial, multiplatform, multidatabase
- DBVisualizer, commercial, multiplatform, multidatabase; also available via Minq.se
- Eclipse SQL Explorer, an open source Eclipse plugin (aka EclipseSQL, SQLExplorer)
- EMS SQL Manager Freeware line, free, multidatabase, and EM SQL Management Studio, commercial, multidatabase
- Genesis, a free SQL query evaluation tool from Todd Sharp
- HeidiSQL, free, for MySQL
- iSpySQL, free for SQL Server
- myLittleAdmin, a commercial tool for SQL Server
- MySQL Administrator and MySQL Query Browser, free, part of the GUI Tools Bundle
- Navicat, free, multiplatform, for MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL)
- Oracle SQL Developer, free, multiplatform
- Query Tool (using ODBC), free, for Windows
- QuantumDB, free Eclipse plugin for any JDBC databases
- RazorSQL, commercial, multiplatform, multi database
- SQL Excel, free Excel add-in, multidatabase
- SQL Express, free, for Windows, multidatabase
- SQL Grinder, commercial, for Mac OSX
- SQLite Spy, free, for SQLite
- SQL Server Management Studio Expressfree, for SQL Server Express (Windows only)
- SQLTools, free, for Oracle
- SQLYog, commercial, for MySQL
- Squirrel, free, multiplatform, multidatabase
- Toad, free, for MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, DB2
- TORA, open source, for Oracle
- WinSQL, free and commercial, with partner product JaySQL for JDBC (also free)
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
- See the section on this within Testing tools.
E-commerce Enabling Solutions (written in CFML) [link]
There are certainly carts and other e-commerce enabling solutions written in other languages, and some could possibly even be called or leveraged from CFML, but for now, this list focuses only on those that are CFML-based.
- Able Commerce, commercial, for CF and .NET
- Broadchoice platform, commercial hosted service. As described by Sean Corfield, "You can build and manage a website on the Broadchoice platform that includes applications such as blogs and forums and integration with YouTube, SlideShare, SalesForce.com etc. Looking to the future, we'll be offering a developer SDK and the ability to integrate third-party external applications - such as CF developers might build and host on their own sites. We're looking to change the way organizations manage their digital marketing."
- Cartweaver, commercial shopping cart
- CF-ezCart, commercial shopping cart
- cfCommerce , open source shopping cart, by Nick Tong
- CF Shopkart, free, downloadable or hosted
- CF WebStore, commercial e-commerce solution
- SiteDirector, commercial shopping cart
- See also Brian Rinaldi's Open Source CF list of e-commerce tools
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Editors/IDEs [link]
This list offers both editors that focus on CFML and some others that don't but are popular among some CFers. For times when you just want to view files, rather than edit them, see the available file viewers listed under Generic File View/Log Analysis Tools.Following are the subcategories offered: See also WYSIWYG/Rich Text Editors.CFML Editors [link]
Following are editors which either specialize in CFML editing inherently (Dreamweaver, HomeSite, or the coming Bolt) or that can be modified to support them (Eclipse, JEdit, and others).Other Editors [link]
- Bolt, codename for new CFML editor from Adobe, as yet unreleased but discussed in Adobe Labs. Beta applications now accepted.
- D20, open source, from John Farrar. An IDE for developing COOP-based CFML apps (not quite general purpose, but CFML-oriented nonetheless)
- Dreamweaver, commercial
- Eclipse, free (see discussion of CFEclipse and other plugins below in the subcategory Eclipse plugins)
- E Text Editor, (Textmate for Windows), there is a Textmate bundle for ColdFusion
- HomeSite, commercial, from Adobe
- HomeSite+, which comes on the Dreamweaver CD, and adds some features over HomeSite (it's essentially the same as the old ColdFusion Studio)
- IntelliJ, commercial (free for open source projects and educational use), which has an available CFML plugin
- JEdit (open source, which does have CF support)
- PrimalScript, commercial, from Sapien, which offers support for CFML
- SourceEdit, free, for Windows
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Unlike those listed in the previous section, these don't list specific support for ColdFusion, but may still be useful for some.Eclipse Plugins [link]
- AptEdit, for Windows, available in Lite (free), standard and pro (commercial) editions
- Cream, free, multiplatform
- Crimson
They're kind enough to offer a link to other popular shareware editors.- E, "the power of TextMate on Windows", commercial, for Windows
- EditPad, for Windows, available in Lite (free) and pro (commercial) editions
- EditPlus, shareware and commercial, for Windows
- Espresso, commercial, for OS X, with an available Sugar plug-in, free from Scott Mebberson, providing complete syntax highlighting and code hinting for ColdFusion.
- GNU EMACS, free, multiplatform
- GridinSoft Notepad , multiplatform, available in Lite (free) and commercial editions
- JBuilder, from Borland
- JDeveloper, from Oracle (free, useful for reverse engineering DBs to generate ERDs, DDL scripts, and more, with support for more than just Oracle BDs)
- Jext (open source)
- Multiedit, commercial, for Windows
- Notepad ++
- NotePad 2
- NoteTab, free and commercial, for Windows
- PSPad, free, for Windows
- TextMate, for OS X
- TextPad (shareware)
- TextWrangler, free, for OS X
- TSW WebCoder, commercial, for Windows, includes intellisense, a MySQL client, FTP support, and more (a more generic version of their PHPcoder tool)
- UltraEdit, commercial, for Windows
- Vim ("Vi Improved", free)
- Visual Web Developer Express Edition, free, for Windows
- XML Copy Editor, open source, for Windows and Linux
- Be sure to see other text editors that are listed instead CFML Editors, including some not traditionally thought of as CFML editors. They're listed there if they DO support CFML.
Eclipse Plug-ins for CF or with support for it [link]Other Eclipse Plug-ins of interest to CFers [link]
- CFEclipse
- Adobe ColdFusion 8 Extensions for Eclipse, which add interactive step debugging, RDS Data and File Views, code generation wizards, log viewing, and more:
The extensions were also available in a somewhat reduced feature set for 7.02, where they were known as the ColdFusion extensions for Flex Builder, and were provided in the trial or commercial edition of Flex Builder 2. Someone using CF 7 should still be able to use the CF8 extensions for all but the features that rely on CF8.- Adobe CF8 Help files for Eclipse
- FusionDebug, a commercial plugin providing CFML step debugging for CF 6, 7, and 8
- MXUnit eclipse plug in for the MXUnit unit testing framework for CF
- Aptana, for its support of HTML, JavaScript, AIR, and more.
- Eclipse SQL Explorer: query and browse any JDBC compliant database
- JSEclipse, Javascript coding in Eclipse, from Adobe Labs (aquired from Interakt)
- Mylyn, offers integration to popular defect tracking tools
- MyEclipse, a commercial addon which adds Javascript editing and debugging, CSS editing, database explorer, ajax tools, image editing, and much more
- QuantumDB, Eclipse plugin
- Subclipse, offering support for Subversion
- XMLBuddy, an XML editing plug-in, available in free and commercial editions
- If you're looking for WYSIWYG text editors, they have their own section here
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Distributed Caching Tools [link]
- EhCache
- JCS
- OSCache
- memcached
- See also Caching Tools for CFML
- I welcome additions/corrections/feedback.
Excel File Processing Tools [link]
Following are approaches for reading or creating Excel files from CFML. Note that they're in alphabetical order (like the rest of the tools in this list), not in any preferred or recommended order of consideration. Some are much easier than others, while others offer greater power and capability. Some are for creating XLS files from CFML, some are for reading them into CFML, and others are for populating a spreadsheet with data from a CFML request. Consider them all to find the best to suit your needs.
BTW, one may argue that I could have a generic section on processing all sorts of file types (or even just all kinds of MS Office) file types, but there are so many requests for Excel file processing specifically, and so many approaches/tools to suit those needs, that I just figured I'd start out with this and consider other filetypes later (and may rename this section then). It's also certainly true that most of the techniques/tools shown here can be used with any spreadsheet tool that reads xls files or processes CSV/HTML table files in a similar way (like OpenOffice).Following are the subcategories offered:
- COM
- CSV
- HTML Table
- Java (including JExcel, JXLS, and POI)
- .NET
- Office Automation
- ODBC/JDBC
- Report Builder
- WebQueries
- XML
- COM [link]- Since CF on Windows can integrate with COM, there are solutions available using that interface. There are a number of tools that uses the approach in the CFCOMET tools list, including CF_Excel2CSV, CF_ReadXLS, HTML2Excel, and SQL_export.cfm. (Note that you'll often find references to a site called CFCOMET, but sadly the CFCOMET site is no more. It was resurrected at http://www.cfregex.com/cfcomet/ back in 2002, though not completely .) As you contemplate working with COM, if performance is an issue, consider these Adobe technotes: 1, 2, and 3<