Why ColdFusion?

There are three main reasons developers need to consider ColdFusion 10 for their next project. First, with ColdFusion 10 developers can embrace futuristic technologies and deliver high-performing applications and first-in-class user experiences using unique HTML5 integration. Second, they can deploy enterprise-ready applications by using the smart, built-in solutions to develop Web applications more efficiently in enterprise environments. Third, developers can build applications quickly using language enhancements and enhanced scripting support that increases productivity by condensing complex logic into fewer lines of code.

With ColdFusion 10, developers can make servers more secure against cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site requests forgery (CSRF), using built-in functions to sanitize user input. Using the enhanced log-in mechanisms, they can strengthen the authentication of applications. With the new secure profile they can enable default secure settings across the server. FIPS 140–certified strong encryption is provided by the RSA BSAFE Crypto-J libraries.

With the unique built-in support for HTML5, developers can now create a multitude of applications ranging from an Enterprise Dashboard, Online Collaboration, Social Networking, Web-based games, Online Podcasts and E-commerce. Built-in Support for the HTML5 WebSockets lets developers publish data to multiple clients or execute a point-to-point data push with real-time server response. They can leverage the support provided by the built-in functionality to instantly access HTML5 WebSockets, even without prior knowledge of the protocol. They can also access a large repository of interactive, client-side HTML5 charts and easily implement them using the built-in CFCHART tag. Create an enriched user experience by customizing charts, including charts based on Adobe Flash technology.

A built-in Apache Tomcat application server replaces Adobe JRun and lets developers leverage the active and vast support from the developer community, as well as regular security updates and latest Web standards. Developers can cache portions of pages with infrequently updated data and improve custom handling by creating multiple cache regions on the fly.

Developers can easily publish their ColdFusion component as a Representational State Transfer (REST) Web service with built-in support for all HTTP methods, along with JSON and XML serialization and de-serialization. They can build an easy interface for mobile applications using the out-of-the-box REST support. Websockets provide powerful and efficient bidirectional communication.

ColdFusion 10 allows developers to manage tasks in a more granular, scalable and organized manner by running tasks in a cluster setup. By using application-specific tasks, event handling, grouping and chaining, developers can have more flexibility and control.

ColdFusion 10 includes support for WSDL 2.0 specification, SOAP 1.2, and document literal wrapped style and revamped Web services support through AXIS2 engine.

Developers can use ColdFusion 10 enhanced scripting support to rapidly build full-fledged applications, while language enhancements help improve code quality and readability. Closures provide better control and flexibility.

ColdFusion 10 lets developers achieve scalability by creating and managing multiple server instances in a clustered or virtualized environment. They can easily deploy ColdFusion as an EAR or WAR from within existing Java EE application servers.

ColdFusion 10 comes in three editions to meet the needs of various developers. ColdFusion 10 Enterprise Edition is a high-performance solution for delivering multiple Websites and applications on one or more servers, or on existing J2EE application server installations. ColdFusion 10 Standard is an easy-to-manage configuration for single applications, and is ideal for small and midsized businesses. ColdFusion 10 Developer Edition, a full-featured server for development use only, is available as a no-charge download.