New ColdFusion MX Line Links to J2EE App Servers

Macromedia Inc. this week will roll out products designed to let developers create applications with its ColdFusion MX tools and run them in enterprise environments on the leading Java 2 Enterprise Edition application server platforms.

The ColdFusion MX for J2EE Application Servers line, available now, includes versions for IBMs WebSphere, Sun Microsystems Inc.s Sun ONE (Open Net Environment) Application Server and Web Server, and Macromedias own JRun Java application server. A version for BEA Systems Inc.s WebLogic application server is due later this year.

Macromedias ColdFusion MX is a server scripting development environment for creating Internet applications. Joining ColdFusion with J2EE application servers extends the reach of ColdFusion applications and ColdFusion developers, the company and users said.

"The marriage of ColdFusion into the enterprise J2EE market could potentially allow us to penetrate a new market," said Jason Clark, chief technology officer at Ottawa-based FuseTalk Inc., which develops products to help enterprises create online collaboration forums and is an early user of the new technology. "The success of this penetration depends entirely on how well the partnerships between Macromedia, Sun and IBM evolve. From a technology perspective, this new relationship is very exciting."

The products feature a new ColdFusion Components capability that allows ColdFusion MX developers to easily encapsulate and reuse code to create applications that can be automatically accessed as Web services or as remote services for Macromedia Flash clients using Macromedia Flash Remoting, the company said.

Dave Watts, CTO at application developer Fig Leaf Software Inc., in Washington, said the integration of ColdFusion MX and enterprise-level J2EE application servers will enable Fig Leaf to replace the JavaServer Pages presentation layer of the J2EE servers with ColdFusion.

Macromedia and IBM, of Armonk, N.Y., jointly developed the WebSphere version and will also work together through joint sales, marketing and technical support activities, the companies said.

Macromedia, of San Francisco, is also enabling Macromedia Dreamweaver MX to integrate with IBMs WebSphere Studio development environment via Eclipse, the IBM-sponsored open-source development platform.

Mark Aiman, director of Web architecture at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Ind., said ColdFusion MX for IBM WebSphere will be used as the basis for Purdues unified IT architecture.

Aiman said the university will run WebSphere and have ColdFusion MX installed so it can develop in ColdFusion as well as Java. Enterprise application linkages will be handled with Enterprise JavaBeans and can then be called within the ColdFusion code, he said.

The ColdFusion MX for J2EE Application Servers products are priced at $3,399 per processor.