Beginning Coldfusion

Coldfusion is a server side, similar to that of PHP or ASP/.NET. Coldfusion is unique in the sense that Coldfusion MX 7 code is compiled into Java bytecode. Currently owned by Adobe, you typically will only find coldfusion running on windows servers.

The syntax of programming in Coldfusion Markup Language (CFML) is similar to HTML or XML. You will need to name your files with a .cfm extension, and the webserver will interpret the page and perform any coldfusion necessary before outputting the HTML or other text naturally sent to the browser.

Lets echo out some output. We use the cfoutput tag.



Coldfusion is weakly typed, meaning that you do not have to specify the data type per variable. CF determines the data type of a variable at the time the variable is used. A common way to set variables is using the cfset tag.



In ColdFusion, variable names consist of letters, digits, underscores and dollar signs. Variable names are case insensitive. Variable names cannot begin with a digit.

There are different kinds of variable scope.

Variable Scope

Scope	Prefix	Description
Local	VARIABLES	Defined and accessible on the current page only.
CGI	CGI	Accessible on any page. Contains server environment variables.
URL	URL	Accessible on the current page. Contains values passed in on the query string.
Form	FORM	Accessible on the current page. Contains values passed in through a form.
Cookie	COOKIE	Accessible on any page. Contains variables held in cookies on the client machine.
Client	CLIENT	Accessible on any page. Contains variables created using the Client prefix.
Arguments	ARGUMENTS	Defined and accessible within a user-defined function or a ColdFusion Component method.
Session	SESSION	Prefix Required. Accessible on any page to a single user for the duration of a client session.
Application	APPLICATION	Prefix Required. Accessible on any page to all users until the application is restarted.
Server	SERVER	Prefix Required. Accessible on any page that is delivered from specific server.

ColdFusion will search through the scopes in the following order:

1. Arguments
2. Local (Variables)
3. CGI
4. URL
5. Form
6. Cookie
7. Client

We used the cfoutput tag earlier to output text. We encapsulate variable names in pound signs (#) to output a variable using the cfoutput tag.

Give a listen to my music...

My Best Recordings

How my services and skills can help you:

• Global (via Email/Skype/AIM(ichat)/Yahoo)
  • Web Development Consulting
  • Custom Web App Development (PHP/MySQL/jQuery/CSS) Cross-Browser & OS
  • Cellphone App Development (Android/MobileWeb)
  • Music Lessons & Education for Beginner Guitar, Piano, Bass, which transfers over to many other instruments I am comfortable playing but not yet at teaching.
  • Music - Soundtrack Composition & Voice Work
• Local
  • Most all the above, but also:
    • Music Performance (Harp, Voice, Guitar, Piano, Bass, Latin Percussion)
    • Recording Live Music Audio
    • Video Streaming live music and other live events anywhere that can provide wifi
    • Training Video Streaming to your venue's trusted soundperson