Charlie Arehart has written more than 90 articles over the years in a variety of publications. For years, he had been a regular columnist in the two main CF-oriented print journals (now defunct): the ColdFusion Developers Journal (CFDJ) and the FusionAuthority Quarterly Update (FAQU). He has also over the years contributed to the Adobe Dev Center, and Java Developer's Journal, among others, and after a hiatus (of writing, though not blogging or speaking), he started writing for the Adobe CF Portal, when it was launched in 2017.

Following are the articles he's written, with the most recent first. The variety of topics should appeal to CFML developers of all levels, and even the articles now several years old can still be valuable.

2017

  1. Here's how you provide CFFUNCTION tag attributes when converting it to a script function (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Nov 30, 2017).
  2. Resources for learning more about CF2016 (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Nov 24, 2017).
  3. Did you know there's a free "Express" edition of ColdFusion Builder? (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Nov 18, 2017) .
  4. Did you know that ColdFusion Builder 2016 is included with your purchase CF 2016? (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Nov 17, 2017) .
  5. Hey, why am I finding CF installed node.js? (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Nov 6, 2017) .
  6. Did you know there's far more to the CF docs than just the CFML Reference? (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Nov 4, 2017) .
  7. Finding more about applying ColdFusion updates (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Oct 30, 2017) .
  8. Did you know the ColdFusion Archives (CAR) feature is now in Standard as well as Enterprise? (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Oct 26, 2017) .
  9. CF install/deployment choices: what's right for me? (Adobe ColdFusion Community Portal, Oct 24, 2017) .

2010

  1. "Using the ColdFusion Debugger" my 25-page chapter of the CF 9 Web App Construction Kit. Used to be offered online, as one of a few chapters, at at page 71, a link which no longer works).
  2. ColdFusion Builder Hidden Gems (FAQU, Volume iv Issue 1, Spring 2010) .

2009

  1. CF911: ColdFusion Tools for When the Stuff Hits the Fan (FAQU, Volume iii Issue ii) .
  2. Enabling multiple user access to the ColdFusion Administrator and RDS (Adobe ColdFusion Developer Center, March 2009) .

2008

  1. Tipical Charlie: Excel File Processing in CFML: Reading and Writing Dozens of Ways (FAQU, Volume iii Issue i, December 2008) .
  2. FusionReactor: ColdFusion Server HealthCare (and What's New in Version 3) (PDF extract from FAQU, Volume ii Issue iv, Summer 2008).
  3. Tipical Charlie: Using ColdFusion Studio/HomeSite+? Be More Productive (PDF extract from FAQU, Volume ii Issue iv, Summer 2008).
  4. The ColdFusion 8 Debugger Explained: Interactive Step Debugging for CF 8 (PDF extract from FAQU, Volume ii Issue iii, Spring 2008).
  5. Tipical Charlie: Hidden Gems in ColdFusion 8 (PDF extract from FAQU, Volume ii Issue iii, Spring 2008).
  6. Learn to Write Script-Based Syntax in ColdFusion 8: It's Easier Than It Sounds (HTML extract of Charlie's chapter on CFScript in the ColdFusion 8 Web Application Construction Kit, Spring 2008).
  7. "Using the CF8 Debugger" (25-page chapter available at in this pdf at page 471 of the 500 page PDF of online chapters from the ColdFusion 8 Web Application Construction Kit Volume 2: Application Development) .
  8. ColdFusion 8 server monitoring -- Part 4: Multiserver Monitor, Admin API Monitoring, and More (Adobe ColdFusion Developer Center, Jan 2008).

2007

  1. ColdFusion 8 server monitoring -- Part 3: Automated Monitoring and Request Management with Alerts, Snapshots (Adobe ColdFusion Developer Center, Dec 2007).
  2. ColdFusion 8 server monitoring -- Part 2: Using the Server Monitor in production (Adobe ColdFusion Developer Center, Oct 2007).
  3. Tipical Charlie: CFFORM: Are You Sure You Want to Ignore It? (PDF extract from FAQU, Volume ii Issue ii, Fall 2007).
  4. ColdFusion 8 server monitoring -- Part 1: Using the Server Monitor in development (Adobe ColdFusion Developer Center, Aug 2007).
  5. Tipical Charlie: How to Increase Your 'Net' Worth (PDF extract from FAQU, Volume ii, Issue i, Summer 2007).

2006

  1. Tipical Charlie: How do I Call Thee (CFC)? Let Me Count the Ways! (PDF extract from FAQU Volume i Issue ii, Winter 2006).
  2. FusionDebug Explained: Interactive Step Debugging for CFML (PDF extract from FAQU, Volume i Issue ii, Winter 2006).
  3. Monitoring Your CF Environment with the Free Log Parser Toolkit (CFDJ, Oct 2006).
  4. FusionDebug Tips and Tricks (CFDJ, Sep 2006).
  5. Errors in Your Code: Handling, debugging, and testing for them (CFDJ, Aug 2006).
  6. Tipical Charlie: Text File Processing: 4 Ways to Process Text Files in CFML (PDF extract from FAQU Volume i Issue i, Summer 2006).

2005

  1. Profiling CFML at the Tag Level, Finally!, for BlueDragon (CFDJ, Aug 2005).
  2. Getting Started Integrating CFML with Java & .NET (CFDJ, May 2005).

2004

  1. CFML on J2EE: Easy as 1-2-3, for BlueDragon (CFDJ, Jun 2004).
    If you need to deploy your CFML on a J2EE server, here's the absolute easiest way. It's literally a copy/paste operation.
  2. Making the Case for CFML on J2EE (CFDJ, Apr 2004).
    Do you really know what it means to run CFML applications on a J2EE server? How does it work, and why would you bother? There are many benefits you may never have considered. In this article, the first of a series, I'll answer these questions.
  3. CFUN-04: Who, What, When, Why? (CFDJ, Apr 2004).
    There are many excellent conferences and user groups for CFML developers, and one that consistently gets great reviews is Michael Smith's CFUN event, which will be held in the Washington, DC, area June 26-27. This preview gives you the 4-1-1 on the event.

2003

  1. CFDEBUGGER for BlueDragon (CFDJ, Nov 2003).
    Take advantage of this unique tool for tracing lines of execution in CFML, available only in BlueDragon
  2. Growing a Business with BlueDragon Server (CFDJ, Oct 2003).
    Though this is listed as being written by Vince Bonfanti, I ghost-wrote it.
  3. Setting Up Your Development Server with ColdFusion 5, MX, and BlueDragon (CFDJ, Sep 2003).
    Browse code in your webroot and serve it via all three CFML servers by changing the virtual directory in your URL. Co-written with Jeff Houser
  4. Browsing Within CF Studio/HomeSite+ (CFDJ, Aug 2003).
    A whirlwind guide to this powerful feature
  5. The Secret Powers of Includes (CFDJ, Jul 2003).
    CFINCLUDE is more than just a way to "pull in code"
  6. Getting into HomeSite+ (CFDJ, June 2003).
    CF Studio Fans Listen Up!
  7. Making the Case for CFML (CFDJ, Jun 2003).
  8. CFMX Updaters 1-2-3 (CFDJ, May 2003).
    Understanding the whys and hows of updating the original CFMX release with its updaters!
  9. It's Not ColdFusion - It's J2EE! for BlueDragon (CFDJ, Apr 2003).
  10. Exploring Amazon Web Services with CFML (CFDJ, April 2003).
    Introduces the notion of using web services in CFML to get information from a remote resource, in this case Amazon.
  11. Protecting Server Privacy During CF Errors (CommunityMX, Apr 2003).
  12. Flash for CFers: Getting Over the Hump (CFDJ, Mar 2003).
    If you've been scared off by using Flash--and the Flash IDE--as a CFML developer, this may help ease the process of trying it out.
  13. Fun with Filters (CFDJ, Feb 2003).
    CFMX developers can add interesting functionality using Java Servlet filters
  14. CFDJ: The 5th Year (CFDJ, Jan 2003).
    A look back over the past 5 years of the CFDJ.

2002

  1. Precompiling CFML Templates in CFMX--Part 2 (CFDJ, Nov 2002).
  2. Precompiling CFML Templates in CFMX (CFDJ, Oct 2002).
    Please Note: There is a mistake in the precompile.bat file code that was printed in the article article above. Please see the comments/notes section at the bottom of the page that will be shown for more information.
  3. ColdFusion Security, Part Two: Setting up sandbox/resource security (Adobe Security Developer Center, Sept 2002, no longer offered at Adobe.com but offered via archive.org).
  4. ColdFusion Security, Part One: Understanding Sandbox/Resource Security (Adobe Security Developer Center, Sept 2002, no longer offered at Adobe.com but offered via archive.org).
  5. Hidden Gems in CFMX (CFDJ, Sept 2002).
  6. New Possibilities for Session and Client Variable Handling in CFMX (CFDJ, August 2002).
    Discusses new mechanisms that solve common problems with session and client variable handling.
  7. New Possibility in CFMX: Server-side Redirects (CFDJ, June 2002).
    Discusses a new feature that many developers still don't know about.
  8. Choosing a J2EE Application Server for Your Commercial Software Application ( Adobe JRun Developer Center, May 2002, PDF, 787KB).
  9. Using JSP Custom Tags in CFMX: What, Why, and How (CFDJ, May 2002).
  10. Toward Better CF Server Administration--Part 2: Security (CFDJ, April 2002).
  11. Unlocking Restricted Use of CFFILE, CFCONTENT, and More (CFDJ, Feb 2002).
  12. Toward Better CF Server Administration--Part 1: Performance (CFDJ, Jan 2002).
  13. Getting Focus(ed) -- And a Quick JavaScript Overview (Java Developers Journal, Jan 2002).
    A reprise of my June 2000 CFDJ article, offered in the JDJ. How to cause your forms to be set to enable users to begin typing without having to mouse or tab to your input field
  14. Adding New Help Topics to Studio (CFDJ, Jan 2002).

2001

  1. Validating Input with Regular Expressions: Little Known Features of CF 5 (CFDJ, Dec 2001).
  2. E-testing: Debugging Your Projects (When Running the Code Isn't Sufficient) (CFDJ, Oct 2001).
    A smorgasbord of techniques and tools for testing your code in a number of ways.
  3. The Many Sides of J2EE Development (Java Developers Journal, Nov 2001).
  4. Making the Move to J2EE (Java Developers Journal, Sep 2001).
  5. Why It's Wrong to Use Application.dsn in Your Templates (CFDJ, Jul 2001; with an editorial reply in a later issue from the CF engineering team, offering thanks for "setting the record straight" in my discussion of use of CFLOCK).
    A polemic (from the CF5 timeframe) against a bit of a "sacred cow" to some CFML developers, and why it needs to be burned at the stake. :-) (No longer as relevantin the CF6+ era)
  6. Towards Better Error Handling--Part 4: CFTRY/CFCATCH (CFDJ, Jun 2001).
  7. Finding Your Way with a Mapping (Adobe ColdFusion Developer Center, May 2001) [as acessible via Archive.org].
  8. Which Wireless Way? (Wireless Bus & Tech, May 2001).
  9. Who's Using ColdFusion (CFDJ, May 2001).
  10. Testing Existence in Arrays (CFDJ, Apr 2001).
    Solving a problem that's not obvious in CFML
  11. Database Choices for CF Programmers (CFDJ, Mar 2001).
  12. Towards Better Error Handling--Part 3: Application Level Error Handling (CFDJ, Feb 2001).
  13. Using Paired Custom Tags (CFDJ, Jan 2001).
    While introduced in CF4, many CFML developers still don't fully grasp the power of paired custom tags

2000

  1. Towards Better Error Handling--Part 2: Site Wide Error Handling (CFDJ, Dec 2000).
  2. Towards Better Error Handling--Part 1: Administrator Changes (CFDJ, Oct 2000).
  3. Review of CFun2k User Group Meeting (CFDJ, Oct 2000).
  4. Developing Wireless Apps with ColdFusion--Part 2 (Facing the Challenges) (CFDJ, Sep 2000).
  5. Developing Wireless Apps with ColdFusion--Part 1 (CFDJ, Aug 2000).
  6. Reconfiguring Remote Databases via SQL (CFDJ, Jul 2000).
  7. Getting Focus(ed) -- And a Quick JavaScript Overview (CFDJ, Jun 2000).
    How to cause your forms to be set to enable users to begin typing without having to mouse or tab to your input field
  8. Calling All Custom Tags -- Part 2 (CFDJ, May 2000).
  9. Calling All Custom Tags -- How and why to call them different ways (CFDJ, Apr 2000).
  10. Helping Yourself -- Resources for learning and getting questions answered (CFDJ, Mar 2000).
  11. Hidden Gems in 4.0.1 -- What you might have missed (CFDJ, Feb 2000).

1999

  1. Stored Procedures in Access? Yes indeed! (CFDJ, Oct 1999).
  2. ColdFusion 4.0- More on Developer Enhancements (CFDJ, Apr 1999).
He also contributed a series of CF Advisor tips from 1999-2000, which are available via the web archive page (enjoy the cheesy mustache!)




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