Best Practices for ColdFusion programming

ColdFusion is one of the most adopted commercial platforms for web application development, especially when developers want to conduct everything rapidly as well as efficiently. But while developing applications on this platform it would help if some specific practices are followed so that the best results can be achieved with the minimum efforts.

Naming conventions- While naming, care has to be taken. Naming of local variables, arguments, methods as well as components must be done with caution; use good names as choosing non qualified or random names may turn out to be disastrous. Say no to cryptic naming strategies or abbreviations. In fact, abbreviations should be avoided altogether. If acronyms cannot be avoided then they should be capitalized. In case of package names, they must be in lowercase letters and totally unique. For interface/class/component names, they should be nouns since most likely objects or things are being represented by them. The writing should be in camel case and each word’s first letter must be capitalized. If possible, the letter I should begin the interfaces.

Compare two strings by using compareNoCase- True string comparison is denoted through the usage of compareNoCase. However, unless it is guaranteed that the data does not contain leading 0, it should not be used, when compared to IS NOT, using this feature is better as well as faster.

Separating business from play- This might be a very important thing once you start working with designers. It must be remembered that your application has to be passed off to some other developer and a designer and it is important that while working they do not over write the codes of each other. If that is achieved then it is a job well done. Creation of functions on display pages or running of inline queries should be avoided.

More and more comments- Under commented works may be not a very promising aspect. It is not that each line should be commented but including some comments make it very easy to read according to the functions and variable names.

Frameworks- When we include frameworks, it essentially means that the code must be organized into methods which will make it easy for you as well your colleague to work on the project; it will help you find exactly what is being searched for. It is a good idea to at least learn a simple framework which has great documentation.

Defaults should be set only once- This statement is almost like a rule for application.cfm. There are many developers who set variables throughout the application like datasources or titles in it. But often they commit a mistake of not checking whether the variables are defined or not. This results in the running of same code all over again every time. A check must be used in this respect to find out about the setting of the variables. If everything is good then they should not be bothered. This will result in slightly faster movement of the application.

Compulsory use of OnRequestEnd.cfm and Application.cfm- This is a great practise even if the case does not demand the usage of these files. This is because during each request, they will be hunted for by ColdFusion. You will be speeding up the page-processing time if you include some empty files with those names in the site folder.

Validating client data in server-side - Despite data validation with JavaScript, validation of data should also be done server-side. In fact, when possible, checking of variables must be done for type and this should again be verified.

These are only some of the practices that must be followed for a better result in ColdFusion programming. But the main things to remember is that when programming, try to access up to date open source libraries as well as existing applications so that there is less need for developing each and everything from scratch. Also try to release your open source applications frequently so that you can benefit others like others have benefitted you. To get maximum benefits of ColdFusion, you may consider hiring services of a ColdFusion web application development company.

We provide ColdFusion development services. If you would like to talk to one of our expert ColdFusion developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

ColdFusion and various code coverage tools for testing applications

Code Coverage also known as Test Coverage helps in exactly measuring the number of executed arcs, blocks or lines of the code when you are running automated tests. A special tool is used for collection which instruments the binaries so that tracing calls can be added and you can run an entire set of automated tests against the product instrumented. Generally good tools show you the percentage of executed code as well as allow the drilling of data so that you can find out the exact executed code lines during a specific test. In fact, you can also locate application functionality by virtue of the tools. Some of the various tools that you can use are discussed here.

ColdFusion or Rancho- ColdFusion is a name that most developers are familiar with. However, previously ColdFusion lacked in the department of code reporting tools. To make the framework even more formidable, an experimental tool known as Rancho was introduced. It is quite a great start. But there are certain limitations; it is expected that with time the tool will become a full-fledged one.

JFeature- This open source tool helps you focus in the requirements during the development of the code through leveraging from normal development practices. This Eclipse IDE’s plug-in allows importing of requirements so that they can be matched to JUnit test cases.

Quilt- A tool for Java software development, Quilt measures coverage as well. It is optimally used with the unit test package of JUnit, the toolkit of Maven project management as well as the build facility of Ant Java.

InsECT- Short for Instrumentation execution Coverage Tool, InsECT is a Java developed system which allows obtaining of coverage information in case of Java programs. It accounts for the language features as well as object-oriented behaviour and tries to provide detailed information regarding coverage of Java programs. In fact, since it is open-source, the design is extensible to be used for various kinds of dynamic analysis.

JCover- The code reporting analyzer is meant to be used for Java programs through provision of a mechanism that generates statistical coverage information when testing is being carried on an application. It helps in the calculation of the percentage of the executed as well as non-executed code, the unused sources, etc.

Emma- This open-source tool helps in measurement as well as reporting of Java code coverage. Classes are often instrumented for coverage either on the fly or offline. It supports reporting types like basic, method, class and line block.

Cobertura- This free Java tool helps in the calculation of the percentage of accessed codes. It also helps in identifying the parts of Java program which lack test reporting. It may be executed from command line or from ant. Java bytecode is also instrumented after its compilation. Reports can be generated in XML or HTML.

CodeCover- This code reporting tool is open source as well as extensible and supports branch, statement, strict condition along with loop coverage. It gives a very accurate coverage measurement by performing source instrumentation. Its full integration with JUnit allows test cases to be recognized automatically.

BullseyeCoverage- The C++ as well as C code reporting analyzer tool gives the amount of tested source code. Areas which cry for attention are pinpointed so that they can be reviewed. It supports coverage types such as condition or decision as well as function. It supports a huge assortment of platforms that includes Linux and Windows.

The tools covered here just illustrate the tip of the iceberg; there are several more tools available to meet your needs. However while using these, one thing that you must remember is that these act as metric of the amount of testing done; it is in no way a good metric to tell you about the performance of your product testing. If you want to ensure that the quality of your project is maintained other metrics should be used together with it. To get maximum benefits of ColdFusion, you may consider hiring services of a ColdFusion application development company.

We provide ColdFusion development services. If you would like to hire ColdFusion programmers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

ColdFusion engagement with SOAP web services

For ColdFusion, integration acts as an important focal point as well as key strength. Most messaging frameworks along with protocols for effective communication with various platforms are supported by ColdFusion; the same is applicable for web services. The architectural style categorizes web service into two main divisions- those based on SOAP or Simple Object Access Protocol and REST or Representational State Transfer compliant ones. SOAP, the lightweight protocol is used for messaging systems or to invoke remote procedure cells so that information can be exchanged in distributed environment. Creation as well as consumption of SOAP-based ones are very easy for ColdFusion.

Web services are technologies related to software which facilitate machine-to-machine communication through a network. All machines supposedly understand as well as process the Web Services Discovery Language or WSDL format which sets up engagement rules for the interaction. The rules are in turn enforced through sending of messages which are carried by SOAP envelopes. The popular protocols like SMTP, HTTP, etc are used for carrying as well as delivery of the envelopes. The interaction language between machines is XML or eXtensible Markup Language. XML forms the basis of SOAP which consists of three parts-

• Convention for representation of remote procedure responses as well as calls.
• Encoding rule sets to interpret data types that are application-defined.
• Framework to describe the essence of the message and the way to process it.

The onerous task of data translation as well as data types conversion between service providers along with consumers is handled by SOAP.

Apache Axis is used by ColdFusion as the underlying engine for the implementation of web services that are SOAP-based. It is in fact a reliable and proven implementation of SOAP. The very first step in the building of ColdFusion-based ones is by writing a CFC or ColdFusion component which takes object-like approach for related functions grouping as well as business logic encapsulation. A leading role is also played for the accessing and defining of a single one. CFC may be created or prebuilt CFC may be reused with operations that may be exposed as functions to make the CFC remote call-accessible through specification of access=”remote”. Then web service makes the CFC location its endpoint with the remote functions becoming operations which may be invoked on it.

After the creation of web service, it can be invoked from ColdFusion through a variety of ways. It may be called with <cfinvoke>, <cfobject> and CreateObject. Then Stubs are refreshed or proxy is created.

When the services are developed, one very important thing to consider is security since many business functions get exposed with them, thus expanding the interaction boundaries which increases your security responsibilities that include access control, authentication, privacy as well as data integrity. The web service can be published over HTTPs as that will ensure point-to-point security since communication is secured by SSL at transport level. ColdFusion can also be used for control access.

While using web services we often feel confused which form to use- REST or SOAP-based ones. When opting for SOAP-based ones you must remember that they are object-oriented which helps in easy solutions. The declarative nature ensures that standard WSDL format is used for description. The tooling support is great as well. Using SOAP-based web service will ensure that access through middleware or intermediate server is beneficial.

Creating web service in ColdFusion can be quite an easy job especially if you have the basic knowledge to write components and functions. Consumer coding is very easy as well; just WSDL reference, arguments necessary for service and return variable must be provided. Great SOAP functionality is provided as well and encapsulating them into the components will yield you good results. You can hire developers from top custom ColdFusion development company in India who can help you build applications within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide ColdFusion development services. If you would like to get your application developed by our certified ColdFusion programmer, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

The Advantages of Developing Websites With ColdFusion

The ColdFusion software has been released by Adobe Systems and this programming language helps developers build, deploy as well as maintain powerful web applications efficiently. More interactive and dynamic applications can be created with its help which aids enterprises and businesses especially since websites built on this platform offer a number of advantages, attracting new customers, increasing sales and basically growing the customer base. Here are some of the benefits given to help gather the advantages associated with adopting this platform.

Does not need test server- One really helpful feature that this platform has is the entire application which helps you write the language. After you are done with it, Apache or IIS can be used; but this application effectively acts as its very own test server when the script writing is being done which saves you from a lot of headaches. However, there is a disadvantage associated as well. Since its running is done on Java framework on the web, ColdFusion sometimes may be slow and unreliable. However, due to the Java support it is enabled to run on many operating systems which may not otherwise have been possible. In fact writing in ColdFusion offers you the same benefits as those for using Java but the writing is on the whole quite less difficult. You will get many choices due to this language using Open Database Connectivity or ODBC standard instead of associating itself to just a single database. So when you sacrifice the speed of your website, you get quicker development time, compatibility as well as more choices.

Learning becomes easy- This language is extremely easy to learn since it is quite similar to normal HTML. In essence it is like HTML's extension tag set and you would not have to struggle with trying to make it do things, then later converting the output as HTML. Since the designing was done for web from scratch it does not behave like a normal language which tries to be compatible with the web. After the tag concept becomes familiar to you, it will become natural and will feel HTML-like when compared to other languages. In fact, belying its simplicity ColdFusion may be said to be in competition with languages such as ASP.NET and JSP.

Java- A huge benefit of ColdFusion is that its running is not done on Java. Java classes can be called by the use of the createObject function. Any method needed can be used and the results can be got in ColdFusion variables. Knowing Java code or having an existing one will be extremely useful to you as you will be able to access all J2EE libraries along with ColdFusion's as well. In fact, due to this feature Macromedia has been marketing this language as J2EE's scripting layer.

CFScript- If you try to write down dynamic web pages and all you have is tags then after a short while you will start feeling restrictive and especially so if there is something complicated to be done. This will only result in a mass of tags that are hard to read and much like attempting to do page layout with the help of tables. This problem has been solved with the introduction of CFScript which is a language that resembles Javascript and can be put between “”tags. For the experienced programmer this might prove to be simpler to work with when compared to the actual code.

Integrating with Macromedia products- When designing pages in Dreamweaver, the scripting can be done in ColdFusion as that will give advantages of dual integration. Other good integration happens with Flash as well.

These advantages are just the tip of the iceberg. Using the language offers a multitude of benefits including more security for the applications and improved performance. Thus using this can be great choice for most site owners. But it is also very important to keep in mind that this application cannot be supported by all hosts. Even those who do, should note whether the specific version required by the website can be supported or not. Also they should make it certain whether the hosting provider is reliable or not. You can hire developers from top ColdFusion web development company in India who can help you build mobile apps within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide ColdFusion development services. If you would like to get your application developed by our certified Coldfusion programmers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.