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.
While testing an application, testing professionals have to test the amount of code that is actually tested by the test suite. So code coverage is used as an effective instrument to determine the completeness of the testing done. Also, code coverage can be used as a diagnostic tool to check the code executed for a specific functionality or transaction. Code coverage makes it easier for testers check the objects, modules and functions running while a transaction is being executed. The testers also have option to choose from a variety of code coverage tools while testing an application.Some of the Widely Used Code Coverage Tools Rancho for ColdFusion Applications: Rancho is designed as an experimental tool to check code coverage while testing any ColdFusion application. The testers have option to use Rancho either as an application or a ColdFusion Builder extension. As the tool is written in CFML, it provides only line coverage of CFML application. The testers need to use Rancho to instrument the CFML application before running the test suite. After running the test suite, they can use Rancho to generate a code coverage report. JetBrains dotCover: Along with being a code coverage tool, dotCover can also be used as a .NET unit test runner. The tool comes being integrated with Visual Studio. It highlights the covered and uncovered code in Visual Studio. The tool generates the code coverage report as HTML, XML or JSON. The testers can further use dotCover along with multiple unit testing frameworks including xUnit, NUnit, MSTest and Mspec. OpenCover: As an open source code coverage tool, OpenCover is designed for both .NET frameworks and Silverlight. OpenCover is also effective in handling both 32 and 64 bit processes without any hassle. The test professionals can install OpenCover in the Package Manager Console by running a simple command. However, they have to use ReportGenerator 1.9 to view the code coverage report in a more precise format. PHPCoverage: As an open source tool, PHPCoverage is used widely by PHP developers to measure and report the code coverage provided by the test suite. While running the code, PHPCoverage can effectively instrument and record the line coverage information for PHP scripts. It uses Xdebug Extension collect code coverage data. PHPCoverage is also designed with features to generate extensive reports through standard HTML report implementation. However, the tool is compatible with PHP 5.0 and newer versions. NoUnit: The open source code coverage tool enables testers to determine the quality of their JUnit tests. After the testing, it generates reports directly from the code, and presents the information graphically. Along with highlighting the number of project's methods tested by the test suite, the report also conveys the extent of code coverage. InsECT: Instrumentation Execution Coverage Tool (InsECT) is a tool written in Java to get code coverage information for Java programs. It aims to provide detailed code coverage information about Java programs. InsECT also fully considers the language features and object-oriented behavior of Java while testing the code coverage. Also, the open source test coverage tool for Java can be used in an extensible way to carry out a variety of dynamic analyses. GroboCodeCoverage: It is a code coverage tool that implements pure Java 100%. GroboCodeCoverage tracks the code coverage by using adding logging statements to Java classes after their compilation. However, it relies on Jakarta's BCEL platform to track code coverage by adding logging statements to Java classes after their compilation. Despite being effective in reflecting the code covered during testing, no code coverage tool can guarantee enhanced testing quality. Also, the testers need to understand the major differences between code coverage and white box testing. It is also important for testers to choose the code coverage tool based on the programming language and development framework. To get maximum benefits of ColdFusion, you may consider hiring services of a custom ColdFusion development company. We provide ColdFusion application development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified ColdFusion programmers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.
The ongoing recessional phase of the economy is making it difficult for startup companies to develop robust web applications. On one hand, they have to impress clients by optimizing the aesthetic appeal and performance of their websites. On the other hand, they have to develop the website with limited timescale and resources. So the startup companies often look for a rapid web application development platform that will enable them to build robust internet applications. The latest version of ColdFusion comes with a set of features that complement the web application development projects of both existing and startup businesses. A startup can further avail several advantages by using ColdFusion to build websites, web applications and web services.
Why Startup Companies Must Use ColdFusion 10?
1. Enhanced Scalability: Each website, nowadays, needs to be effective in receiving and processing a large number of user requests at a time. So developers have to test the application thoroughly to ensure that it is scalable. As a scalable platform, ColdFusion enables the application to handle heavy load. As the framework has supported several high-traffic websites, a startup can easily avail the advantage. At the same time, built in ehCache integration makes it easier for programmers to make the websites more scalable using clustered caches.
2. Easy to Learn: Unlike the large software firms, the startups cannot afford to hire experienced website developers. So these enterprises mostly develop the web application through inexperienced programmers. It is always easier to opt for a technology that can be learned by the programmers easily and quickly. Similar to HTML, ColdFusion also uses a set of tags. The tags often seem like extension of normal HTML tags. Unlike other scripting languages, ColdFusion can be learned and used by the developers within a short span of time.
3. No Need to Use a Test Server: Often enterprises have to invest in test servers to evaluate the performance and scalability of the application. But ColdFusion comes with a complete application that enables the startup companies to avoid test servers. The application can be used with the IIS and Apache to run the test scripts smoothly. Further, the framework supports Java fully. So the application will work smoothly on operating systems that support Java. As it supports Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) standard, an enterprise also has options to choose from several databases.
4. Integration with Other Technologies: Often software developers are required to integrate a new interface into the existing software of the client. Also, most web applications use third-party software to improve user experience. A startup company can use ColdFusion to integrate the internet application with a variety of technologies in a fast and cost-efficient way. As the framework is designed based on JVM, it allows programmers to use existing Java frameworks and libraries. Also, the developers can integrate the ColdFusion application with several technologies including XML, SOAP, Java objects, REST, AMF, .NET assemblies, Message Queues and SMS gateways.
5. Support for HTML5: Most people, nowadays, access websites on their mobile devices. So clients want their websites to be compatible with both all types of conventional and mobile devices. ColdFusion 10 is designed with full support for HTML5. The HTML5 support enables programmers to make the web application compatible with different operating systems without writing lengthy code. The feature further makes it easier to optimize user experience by designing the website with video player, interactive charting, web sockets and geo-tagging. Also, the website can be made secure by using advanced encryption and authentication methods.
6. Suitable for Cloud Environment: Most enterprises nowadays invest in building Cloud infrastructure. However, the nature and extent of the investment vary from one company to another. If the startup company has already built a Cloud infrastructure, it can use ColdFusion 10 on Amazon Web Services. In addition to being simple and cost-effective, the feature also makes the framework suitable for the enterprises deploying distributed teams. As most startups outsource projects to keep overheads under control, the web services will help them in building robust websites without incurring any additional expenses.
Each enterprise also has option to choose from different editions of ColdFusion 10. Along with the standard and enterprise editions, a company can also use the developer edition of the ColdFusion application development framework. So it becomes easier for startups to avail the advantages of ColdFusion according to their specific requirements and budget.
We provide ColdFusion development services. We are glad to share that all our ColdFusion developers have cleared industry certifications. If you would like to hire ColdFusion developers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.
