Ben, > That said, what I take out of this is that, to develop > applications for the > ColdFusion MX platform, we developers need a very thorough > understanding of > the JVM. This includes how to debug JVM related issues and > where to go to > locate information about JVM error messages.
Not necessarily. As a developer you can continue to build robust ColdFusion applications without having to worry about the J2EE underpinnings. CFML is still CFML, but the language has grown and there's more if you want it, including Java integration via tag libraries, JSP, and servlets. Although even Blackstone's wicked cool new features are implemented by the developer using CFML tag based development. > This is not entirely unexpected. Since the release of > ColdFusion MX, I've > spent a good deal of time sifting through Axis fault errors. Yes, I suppose debugging during development will expose you to new areas. Apache Axis errors are returned in raw format, and might be somewhat obtuse. That is an area that could use improvement where a friendly error message might be more helpful. Although even in older versions some CFML like COM integration would return equally obtuse errors (AutomationException 0xF2E57770AD). Stack traces often follow friendly ColdFusion error messages, so while the stack could be helpful if you want it, you still have a readable error message.(1) > With ColdFusion MX, I routinely have to make changes to the > JRun XML config > files. For example, I have to duplicate ColdFusion mappings > in JRun so that > cfimport and Axis pick them. Not sure what you mean here. CF Mappings are still handled through the CFAdmin. Perhaps you mean "JRun virtual mappings" ? Where possible and appropriate ColdFusion tries to make settings available through the CFAdmin, although there are times when you may want to dabble in the config files, but this is usually done only when using "advanced" configurations like JRun clustering (soon be improved in Blackstone). > Speaking on behalf of myself, I'm willing to learn. > Consequently, besides > the links that were posted so far in this thread, can you > recommend any good > reading on this topic? If you'd like to become more familiar with the J2EE underpinnings, the Devnet articles (http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/mx/coldfusion/) are probably the best first choice. For learning Java development try "Java for ColdFusion Developers", ISBN 0130461806. Also, Hal Helms has an awesome course on Object Oriented Development with ColdFusion, and of course CFDJ routinely offers easy to read articles that cover all the bases (including OOCF from Hal). All this said, I would expect most CF shops to invest some time in understanding J2EE to save money on consulting so they can take advantage of J2EE diagnostics available in CF. Frankly, I think those diagnostics mentioned in my previous posts are far more helpful than what was available in earlier versions of CF. -Steve (1) ColdFusion aims to have clear and friendly error messages that are helpful, although historically some of them have deviated from this goal: - "waitpid() returned something nasty" when forking processes with CFEXECUTE on Unix in CF4.5 - "CFTempOnlyForSetVariableNeverUseThisNameInYourCFMLCode122333444455555654321 " in CF5 with <CFPARAM default="" name="url."> - "Error Occurred While Processing Request ____temptaciousjedimastersupremewhopper1=[drivername]" in CFMX 6.0 when sorting driver list (thanks Ray!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Special thanks to the CF Community Suite Gold Sponsor - CFHosting.net http://www.cfhosting.net Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:185357 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
