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ColdFusion 4.0 Features & Benefits

Our Servers Currently Have Cold Fusion Version 4.5 & 5.0 Installed

The following list details the major features in Allaire ColdFusion 4.0.

Features in maroon are new in this release.

Features in olive have been enhanced in this release.

Rapid Development

ColdFusion 4.0 enhances the speed of development and ease-of-use that have been the hallmark of the ColdFusion application server from its beginning.

Integrated Development Environment

ColdFusion 4.0 optimizes developer productivity with a complete RAD environment that includes, visual programming, database and debugging tools.

• Advanced HTML Editor – Create pages with the award winning HomeSite HTML, CFML and XML editing facilities including advanced color coding and automatic tag completion.
• Visual Database Tools – Create complex SQL statements to select, insert, update or delete data from any ODBC database with the drag-and-drop ease of a visual query builder; browse local and remote data sources and view data and schema.
• Two-way Visual Programming – Prototype and modify pages with WYSIWYG HTML design tools that cleanly preserve code.
• Interactive Debugger – Find and fix problems with dynamic pages using a powerful interactive visual debugger and dynamic page previewing.
• Dynamic Page Quality Assurance – Validate links, HTML and CFML in dynamic pages to guarantee high quality applications.
• Tag Property Inspection – Work with HTML, CFML and XML tags with a configurable tag property inspector.
• Point-and-Click Expression Builder – Create complex CFML expressions that combine functions, values and operators with a visual tool.
• Web Application Wizards – Get started quickly with Web application wizards for creating basic applications and handling common development problems like building HTML tables.
• Code Re-use – Save snippets of code or CFXs for quick re-use across pages or applications.

Team Development Services

ColdFusion 4.0 enables team development in large projects with developers and servers distributed across multiple locations.

• Server-side Source Control – Organize large scale team development with server-side source control that makes versioning and deployment easy.
• Shared Project Management – Keep track of the files in a project no matter where they are stored by setting up independent projects and sharing them with other developers.
• One-step Deployment – Deploy complex applications quickly and easily from projects to multiple servers via FTP or HTTP.
• Remote Team Development – Access servers and projects remotely via HTTP with secure connections; control access to files and data sources with configurable user accounts for each developer (see Complete Security).

Tag-based Server Scripting

ColdFusion 4.0 provides a powerful, comprehensive server-side scripting environment (CFML) with a tag-based syntax that cleanly integrates with HTML and XML.

• Process Encapsulation – Access any of the servers integrated with ColdFusion including database, email, directory, Web and file servers with straight forward CFML tags.
• Extended Scripting – CFML will be extended to support traditional scripting syntax for complex data processing on the server using branching and looping.
• Structured Exception Handling – Trap and handle error messages in CFML pages that are caused by failed queries or other possible errors.
• Variable Manipulation – Create and manipulate variables within dynamic pages. Pass variables between pages and create browser cookies. Manage server, application, session and client level data transparently.
• Rich Function Library – Access more than 178 functions for evaluating text strings, dates, times, lists, queries and mathematical expressions. Use locale functions to build application for worldwide access.
• Regular Expressions – Use regular expressions for pattern matching, searching, and replacing in complex text strings.
• Arrays – Create and manipulate n-dimensional arrays for coding sophisticated application logic and improving performance.
• Dynamic Page Flow Control – Control the content of dynamic pages with conditional statements (if…elseif…else branching) that can use full Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT, etc.) as well as CASE statements. Control application logic and execution with looping.
• Code Re-use – Include pages within other pages to reuse complex code, formats or functions throughout an application and create reusable components with ColdFusion Extensions (CFX).

Scalable Deployment

ColdFusion has already reached a point where it is being used to deliver very large volume sites and applications servicing tens of thousands of users. The 4.0 release will provide powerful new features that significantly enhance scalability.

High Performance Application Delivery

ColdFusion 4.0 delivers high-performance Web applications that will scale to meet the needs of the most demanding sites.

• Multi-threaded Service – Rely on the multi-threaded service architecture to provide an application platform that can scale linearly with multiple processors on either Intel Win32 or SPARC Solaris.
• Web Server API Support – Deliver applications with major HTTP servers using high performance server APIs.
• Database Connection Pooling – Enhance the performance of database transactions with database connection pooling.
• Page Compilation and Caching – Set ColdFusion to automatically compile and cache pages with a just-in-time optimizing compiler so they can by processed more quickly by the application server.
• Static-page Caching – Cache the output of dynamic pages automatically for major performance increases on content publishing sites.
• Persistent Queries – Cache results of commonly used queries to increase performance by reducing the number of database interactions.
• Automatic Server Recovery – Monitor and automatically restart server process in case of failures or critical errors.
• Advanced Thread Pooling – Enhance application performance with configurable, sophisticated thread pooling.
• Static Page Publishing – Publish HTML pages to generate static reports from dynamic pages that require intensive server or database processing.

Server Cluster Deployment

ColdFusion 4.0 Application Server can be deployed on multi-server clusters with native load balancing and fail over to deliver highly-available large volume sites.

• Dynamic Load Balancing – Balance application load over multiple servers in a clustered environment to deliver very large volume sites; optimize load balancing algorithm for application servers in the cluster with remote cluster administration. (Enterprise Edition only.)
• Automatic Server Fail Over – Guarantee high availability with automatic fail over for application servers in a cluster and rely on the software based system for no single point of failure. (Enterprise Edition only.)
• Open State Repository – Store client state information in shared repository in an RDBMS or in cookies to offer reliable, scalable client-state in a server cluster.

Flexible Server Administration

ColdFusion 4.0 includes a remote Administrator and cluster management console that give server managers the tools they need to manage deployment.

• Web-based Administration – Administer all the settings and of each ColdFusion Application Server with a browser-based administrator.
• Administrative User Accounts – Give multiple users separate administrator accounts to limited access to server settings.
• Cluster Explorer – Use the ColdFusion ClusterCATS Explorer to manage all of the servers in a smart cluster, take servers offline for maintenance, and receive automatic email notifications of server related events. (Explorer runs on Windows NT only.)
• Integration with NT Performance Monitor – Track all of the key server metrics through the Windows NT Performance Monitor or the ColdFusion statistics utility on UNIX.

Open Integration

ColdFusion offers unparalleled integration with server systems including database, mail, Web servers and directories. With the 4.0 release, the integration has been extended to support the Extensible Markup Language (XML) and additional enterprise technologies.

Advanced Database Connectivity

ColdFusion 4.0 offers the most advanced database connectivity available for creating complex database applications.

• ODBC Connections – Access any ODBC compliant relational database including Microsoft Access, SQL Server, etc. with a single tag. Use any SQL to select, insert, update or delete data. (Solaris edition includes InterSolv 3.01 ODBC database drivers.)
• Native Database Drivers – Connect to Oracle, Sybase or Microsoft SQL Server with native database drivers for enhanced performance and control. (Enterprise Edition only.)
• OLE-DB – Use Microsoft OLE-DB providers to connect to databases or other datasources including Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange.
• Dynamic SQL Statements – Build conditional, dynamic SQL quickly and easily based on variables and application logic.
• Stored Procedures - Call stored procedures and handle result sets, return values or other complex stored procedure data processing.
• Database Transaction Processing – Use DBMS transaction processing to control queries and roll-back multiple database interactions on errors.
• Data Entry Validation – Check HTML form field entries to require input and automatically validate entries on both the server and the client using a variety of data formats.
• Flexible Reporting – Output database queries with a single tag. Use nested grouping to create sophisticated reports. Easily generate HTML tables with database output.
• Crystal Reports – Incorporate any database report created with Crystal Reports.

Internet Technology Integration

ColdFusion 4.0 is tightly integrated with the full range of Internet protocols and technologies making it straightforward to use these technologies in applications.

• Full Text Search Engine – Transparently index and search unstructured textual data stored in relational databases as well as standard text and desktop document files with the embedded Verity SEARCH '97 full-text indexing and searching engine. Create document summaries and use an optimized text query language to build intelligent search interfaces and applications. (Extensible to support languages in addition to English.)
• XML Data Support – ColdFusion Application Server will support automatic parsing of XML data into CFML variables and the translation of CFQUERY record sets into XML.
• Email Servers – Dynamically build and send email messages through any SMTP server. Use static information, form inputs or query results to control the addresses and content of email messages. Send out hundreds of customized email messages at a time. Send HTML email for groupware and workflow applications. Retrieve email messages from any POP server and incorporate them into ColdFusion applications. Create email based application interfaces, automate email gathering and distribution.
• Web Servers – Interface with Web servers and Web application servers using server-side HTTP. Create distributed queries and build custom "agent" style applications. Use HTTP GET and POST (with MIME attached files), password authentication and SSL encryption.
• Directory Servers – Access directory servers that support the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) including Netscape's Directory Server, Microsoft's Exchange Server, Windows NT directory, Novell NDS directories, Banyan Vines, and dozens of public Internet-based directories. Use directory server functions such as search, add, update and delete. Authenticate access to share user and group information across applications and networks.
• File Servers – Upload files to the Web server through HTML forms. Copy, rename, move, read, write, append, and delete files on the server using a simple server-side CFML tag.
• FTP Servers – Interact with FTP servers from within applications to manage files on the Internet.

Enterprise Extensibility

ColdFusion 4.0 is extensible with a wide range of technologies, including enterprise object standards, to support new functionality or connect to legacy systems.

• CORBA Components – Extend applications with components created with the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). Connect to any external object, call all of its methods, and get and set properties all within the familiar syntax of a CFML page. (Requires third party ORB. Enterprise edition only.)
• COM/DCOM & MTS – Use components created with the Component Object Model (COM) or the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) in applications. Connect to any external object, call all of its methods, and get and set properties all within the familiar syntax of a CFML page. Control component execution with Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS). (Windows NT Only)
• ColdFusion Extensions (CFX) – Create your own components and CFML tags to extend ColdFusion 4.0 with CFML, C/C++, COM, CORBA, JavaScript and VBScript.
• Visual Tool Components (VTX) – Extend ColdFusion Studio with XML or JavaScript and COM to support new markup languages, CFXs, and new other functionality.

Complete Security

ColdFusion currently provides a secure environment for development and deployment. The 4.0 release extends the security features to enable a much greater range of flexibility and control over security both for development and deployment.

Secure Development

ColdFusion 4.0 team development services provide the infrastructure for secure remote development across the intranets and extranets.

• Integrated Authentication System – Use existing user authentication systems including LDAP directories or Windows NT Domains to authenticate developers.
• Controlled Developer Access – Control access to files, data sources and administration for each developer in the team enabling team development on shared servers with sensitive data or applications.
• SSL Encryption – Encrypt remote development including file and data access with Secure Sockets Layer.

Secure Deployment

ColdFusion 4.0 provides a complete set services for building and deploying highly secure applications on intranets, extranets or the Internet.

• Integrated Authentication System – Leverage enterprise authentication systems include Windows NT Domains and LDAP directories to authenticate application users.
• Access Control – Create complex rules to programmatically control access to functionality within applications.
• Server Sandbox Deployment – Confine applications to secure server sandboxes that can flexibly restrict the access applications have to directories, components, databases or other resources on the server. (Enterprise edition only.)
• Web Server Security Integration – Use existing Web server security to control access to applications and encrypt transactions with SSL.
• Page Encryption – Encrypt the pages in an application so it can be distributed without revealing source code.