ColdFusion is a rapid web application development platform from Adobe Systems. It supports a server-side scripting language that allows developers to build dynamic websites and web applications.
ColdFusion is popular for its simplicity and productivity in developing web applications. It offers a tag-based syntax, similar to HTML, which makes it easy for web developers to integrate server-side logic into their web pages. It also supports scripting languages like CFScript, which resembles JavaScript.
One of the key features of ColdFusion is its ability to connect to various databases and integrate with different technologies. It supports database integration with popular systems like Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and more. It also provides built-in functionality for working with email, file manipulation, PDF generation, and other common web application tasks.
ColdFusion applications are typically deployed on a ColdFusion server, which processes the ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) code and delivers dynamic content to web browsers. The server handles requests from clients, executes the CFML code, interacts with databases, and generates HTML or other output formats.
The ColdFusion server itself is implemented in Java, and it runs on a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). This underlying Java architecture allows ColdFusion to leverage the capabilities and performance of the Java platform.
The integration with Java also enables ColdFusion developers to utilize Java libraries and frameworks in their applications. They can leverage existing Java code, access Java classes and methods, and take advantage of the vast Java ecosystem.
Additionally, ColdFusion provides direct integration with Java through features like Java object creation, invoking Java methods, and interacting with Java libraries. This allows developers to extend the functionality of their ColdFusion applications by leveraging the power and flexibility of Java.
Note that while ColdFusion is built on Java, it is a separate technology with its own scripting language (CFML) and development environment. While it can work in conjunction with Java, it is not a requirement to use Java in ColdFusion development. Developers can build ColdFusion applications purely using CFML.
Since ColdFusion runs on a Java virtual machine, it is essential to monitor the JVM and its internals in-depth. Performance of the JVM garbage collector, usage of the JVM’s heap memory, threads running in the JVM are some of the key metrics to collect. ColdFusion logs are also a great source of metrics. Access logging must be turned on for this. To get greater insights into applications hosted on ColdFusion, distributed transaction tracing can be implemented using tools like eG Enterprise.
