Be blunt... blunt is good. Usually, anyway. The 6.0 book contains a lot of outdated info, leading to confusion and bad practice!
It contains lots of info on lots of different things... charting, XML handling and even cfquery and cfparam... all things that a new developer might want to check out... that are aged beyond usefulness. So the 6.0 book, written to a server spec that's not even available and not running many produciton apps that I know of (if any at all), is outdated and even going to teach wrong information. When someone's asking if the v. 7 book is a good idea, why not just say YES and avoid over-complicating the issue? Especially when the BOOKS are so closely linked to the feature set of a particular version of the SERVER. What's the point of spending hours learning it wrong when the right information is available? I'll give you this much: if you've learned from a 6.0 book and can bridge the gap from there to 6.1 or 7 on your own with the LiveDocs or some other source handy, you'll benefit mightily. And, admittedly, having the 6.0 book is better than no book at all. But, as I the impression from the original post, when getting the version of the book that applies to the platform you'll most likely be working on is an option, why not just get it? So my answer is YES, there's a ton of benefit to getting the WACK 7 if you're going to be using any of them. Laterz, J PS - I agree that eventually you outgrow the whole WACK idea. I just like to have a copy because not having the current WACK on my shelf feels wrong. It's a tradition! ;) On 7/8/05, Stephen Moretti <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Jared Rypka-Hauer - CMG, LLC wrote: > > >Stephen, > > > >Those few tweaks include some substantial differences, and only a few of > >them are visual. > > > >Some of the significant changes are things like the improved AXIS engine > for > >webservices, the SOAP header methods, improved type-detection functions > >(like the isValid() function), *tons* more support for XML, the result="" > >attribute for several tags like cfquery and cffile, and many other > things... > > > >So, if you're starting fresh with a new server or you're just starting to > >learn CFML, I *strongly* recommend CFMX 7. > > > > > If you're starting a brand new server you can't do anything else these > days. ;) > > OK - I was trying to be as polite as possible, but if I'm not blunt I > can see I'm going to be misunderstood. > > In terms of BOOKS, which was what Devin is asking about (not servers), > if you do not have any knowledge of CF at all, then the CFMX6 book, > which he already has, is a good place to start. You need to understand > the basics before you start getting into more advanced stuff. Yes, the > isValid() function, extended data typing and the additional attributes > are useful to know, but will not stop you from writing CF applications > if you do not know about them. Good practice and efficient applications > are not version dependant. > > Personally (sorry Ben) I've never been terribly keen on the WACK books, > but then I've been developing web applications since 1990 and CF > applications since 1997, so I prefer a more reference oriented book. > > If you're using DWMX, make sure you update the tag extensions to get the > CFMX7 functions, tags and attributes appearing in the editor. When you > see an attribute you don't know from learning with the CFMX6 WACK book - > look up the attribute in the macromedia livedocs. > > I suppose it all depends on the kind of learner you are - I'm very much > a hands-on learner with a book for reference, so what I've suggested > works well for me. If you learn better from reading and studying and > want to be extra specially up to date, then buy the CFMX7 WACK book, but > learning from the CFMX6 book will be just as valid if you're only just > starting out. > > Stephen > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Protect your mail server with built in anti-virus protection. It's not only good for you, it's good for everybody. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=39 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:15:1281 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/15 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:15 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.15 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
