ColdFusion Core Concepts

ColdFusion Core Concepts

Introduction

ColdFusion is one of the easiest and most flexible languages used to create dynamic or database-driven web pages. It was created by a company called Allaire, which was merged with Macromedia, and now merged with Adobe. Currently it runs primarily on the Windows 2003 or Windows XP Professional operating systems although there are versions available for Linux and Solaris.

By the end of this course, you will be able to create a secure web site with the ability to insert, update and search a database. You will also be able to use Dreamweaver to set up a site and use ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML).

Introduction to ColdFusion

We start by discussing the differences and advantages of static and dynamic web pages. We will also define key features of ColdFusion and how it generates dynamic pages. Then we will introduce you to Dreamweaver, a WYSISWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor used to create ColdFusion (CF) pages. After Completing this section, you should be able to:

• Explain the advantages of dynamic web pages
• Define key features and components of ColdFusion
• Describe basic and enterprise development configurations
• Test the development environment
• Create a site in Dreamweaver
• Set a local variable
• Display variables on a page
• Comment Code

Course Outline

Lesson 1: Retrieving and Displaying Database Content

One of the most commonly used and most powerful features of ColdFusion is the ability to connect and manipulate data from a wide variety of databases. We will use Microsoft Access Database to retrieve and display data in a web page. In addition, we will examine various CF built-in functions. After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Create a data source
• Query database tables
• Test a query and view debugging information
• Display query data on a page

Adding Forms using ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML)

Forms are a common mechanism for gathering information on the web. Forms can be used for many things, including product orders, user registration and search criteria for searches. In this section, we will teach you how to create forms. In addition, we will teach you how to process forms by use of conditional logic. After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Create an HTML form
• View form data in debug data
• Post form values to the form page
• Perform conditional logic
• Detect the presence of Form variables
• Use a ColdFusion form

Lesson 2: Creating Search Interfaces

Using SQL we will teach you how to generate dynamic queries that can be used for building search interfaces. After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Use form data in a dynamic query
• Preserve user input upon form submission
• Use multiple search criteria in a dynamic query
• Use text and list searches

Lesson 3: Creating a Drill-Down Interface

A drill-down interface is commonly used on web pages because it organizes the site in a logical manner. The interface is referred to as drill-down interface due to the user drilling down the data, layer for layer until the desired data has been found. In this section, we will discuss URL parameters and use it to create a drill-down interface. After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Use URL parameters to pass data from one page to another
• Use URL parameters to create a dynamic data drill-down page

Lesson 4: Inserting New Data

Most web sites collect user data, such as user registration and user preferences. In this section, we teach you how to collect this data from forms and ensure its validity. We then insert this data into a database. After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Create an insert form
• Implement user input validation
• Create insert logic
• Redirect processing to another page

Lesson 5: Updating Data

Information stored in databases must frequently be updated. For instance, a user registration information might have to change when a user moves to a new location. In this section, we show you how to retrieve and display pre-filled forms that can be used to update the database. After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Build an update form
• Pre-fill form controls
• Update a database using the <cfquery> tag and the SQL UPDATE statement

Lesson 6: Templates

Reusing code can save time, make global changes easier and make your site more secure. In this section, we teach you how to reuse code through custom tags, user-defined functions and ColdFusion components. After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Call CFML custom tags from your application
• Call User-Defined Functions
• Call ColdFusion Components from your application

Lesson 7: Securing an Application

This section will cover how to prevent unauthorized access by securing part or all of your website through login pages and authentication. After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Secure access to your web pages
• Use the application framework
• Use Application.cfm variables