Here is the ColdFusion and Fusebox news:
* CFUNITED early bird price ends 3/31/07
* CFUNITED pre-conference classes announced http://cfunited.com/go/classes
* New podcast released - Glenda Vigoreaux - ColdFusion Printing and
Reporting
* CFUNITED early bird price ends 3/31/07
* Interview with Hal Helms on "OO Programming with CFCs"
"Application development involves rapidly evolving technologies. Anyone
in the industry who does not actively pursue expanding their knowledge
will quickly become obsolete. CFUNITED looks to provide the best value
for my education dollar."
-Clay Mabbitt (CFUNITED attendee)
* CFUNITED early bird price ends 3/31/07
There are only 10 days left to get the early-bird price on CFUNITED.
See http://cfunited.com/go/prices for details.
* CFUNITED pre-conference classes posted
We have two days of intensive hands on classes from experts. Bring your
own laptop to follow along
with the teachers.
Monday 6/25/07
Code Speaker Topic
CU221 Rob Gonda Flex Intensive for ColdFusion Developers
CU222 Kurtis Leatham Creating Your First Cold Fusion Application
CU223 Oguz Demirkapi Multi Language Applications in CF in Theory and
Practice
CU224 Nate Nelson Advanced Database
Tuesday 6/26
CU225 Peter Bell Practical Code Generation: By Example
CU226 Simon Horwith Architecting and Optimizing CF Applications for
Performance and Scalability
CU227 John Paul Ashenfelter Best Practice Bootcamp for Developers
CU228 Charlie Arehart New in CFMX 6 and 7: What Did You Miss?
Limited seating. For more details and to register see
http://cfunited.com/go/classes
* New podcast released - Glenda Vigoreaux - ColdFusion Printing and
Reporting
Printing and reporting are two of the most important new features in
ColdFusion MX 7. This
introductory session will get you started on the new family of tags, and
the powerful new Report
Builder.
http://cfunited.com/blog/index.cfm/2007/3/18/Glenda-Vigoreaux---ColdFusion-Printing-and-Reporting
* Interview Hal Helms on "OO Programming with CFCs"
by Clark Valberg. First published in Fusion Authority at
http://www.fusionauthority.com/Community/4670-Hal-Helms-on-OO-Programming-with-CFCs.htm
Hal Helms is regarded by many as the patriarch of the ColdFusion MVC
movement. His upcoming CFUNITED
2007 talk, "OO Programming with CFCs", promises to be an exploration of
OO techniques and thinking
from one of the foremost experts on the subject. Today I sat down with
Hal to find out a bit more.
Clark Valberg: Hey Hal, thanks for joining me today.
Hal Helms: My pleasure, Clark.
CV: So I want to chat with you a bit about your upcoming talk at
CFUNITED 2007, "OO Programming
with CFCs".
HH: Ahh, yes.. one of my favorite topics on which to pontificate. What
would you like to know?
CV: Well, by the sound of it, it appears to be a beginner's topic. Is
that right?
HH: No, I wouldn't say so, Clark. You can use CFCs to wrap some
functionality, but that's a long
way from doing good OO programming.
CV: So would you say there are "degrees" of OO?
HH: Yes. And from my experience, the more you learn, the richer your
designs become and the more
robust your code. But there's a long stretch between learning the basics
of classes and methods and
real OO mastery.
CV: So, should all ColdFusion applications be written in an "OO style"?
That seems to be the word
on the street.
HH: I wouldn't say that either. For simpler applications, which we all
build a fair number of,
procedural programming works just fine. OO can really be a hindrance in
those cases.
CV: Hindrance? How so?
HH: There's a level of complexity for doing OO apps and if all your
client needs is simple "grab
stuff from a database and display/massage it", writing a bunch of
classes provides little benefit,
but significant cost.
CV: Ok, that makes sense. So let's say our company starts developing
all new applications in a
"strict OO" style. What happens with our procedural developers? Do they
become our new parking
attendants?
HH: Hopefully not! If your company starts doing OO development, there's
still plenty of space for
those procedural developers to help out as they acquire OO skills.
CV: So how long do you think it should take for proficient procedural
developers to get the hang of OO?
HH: When I was doing Smalltalk, we used to say it took a good six
months, sometimes a year, for a
procedural programmer to change the mindset and learn the skills. One of
the biggest hindrances is
the illusion of knowledge. I must be an OO programmer because I'm
writing classes and instantiating
objects.
CV: What about Design Patterns, Hal? Where do they fit in?
HH: Design patterns show us new ways of thinking about old problems.
They can be very useful, not
when they're slavishly copied, but rather as inspiration.
CV: I read a book about some "gang of dudes" and in it were tons of
design patterns. Should I start
cramming those into my apps like crazy, or what?
HH: The more the merrier. Well, OK, not really. Design patterns can
help us see new ways of looking
at old problems. That can be (a)humbling and (b)inspirational. What you
want to do is understand the
mindset of the design pattern designers because you're learning the
amalgamated wisdom of a lot of
expert OO designers.
CV: So something to be internalized, but not just copied?
HH: Yes, very much so.
CV: So, Hal, what do I have to know before coming to your session?
HH: It helps if you have already worked a little with CFCs and know the
basics.
CV: How about the bottom line here? Will attending your session and
learning OO really advance my
career as a ColdFusion developer?
HH: What I would hope for is that it will help you think about writing
apps in a different manner.
And yes, that means it can good for your career. But it's because really
grappling with OO will make
you a better thinker, a better problem solver. And that makes you a
better programmer.
CV: So if I want to bone up a bit before your session, can you
recommend any good books?
HH: Head First OO Analysis and Design would be a great choice.
CV: Right, those Head First books are great.. What if I need something
a bit more "hands-on", say
for myself, or my team? Your condo is in Sarasota, right â when is a
good time to drop in unannounced?
HH: I'm always open. Hey, wait a minute! Actually, I teach classes on
this subject. My website,
HalHelms.com, has a newsletter sign-up where folks can keep abreast of
classes and schedules.
CV: Sounds great... Well, Hal, I'm looking forward to your talk at
CFUNITED 2007. Thanks again for
chatting with me today. See you there!
HH: Thanks, Clark.
Those who wish to enjoy Hal's presentation at CFUNITED 2007 can register at
https://secure.teratech.com/cfunited07/register.cfm. The conference
takes place on June 25th- June
30th, 2007, with options for a four-day, three-day and one-day (Saturday
only) conference package.
Clark Valberg is President of Epicenter Technology Consulting in Albany,
NY. Epicenter provides
software design and consulting services to organizations of all shapes
and sizes. Clark's
under-visited and under-authored blog can be found at this cleverly
worded URL:
http://www.clarkvalberg.com/
--
Michael Smith, TeraTech Inc - Tools for Programmers(tm)
TeraTech voted Best Consulting Service by CFDJ readers!
CF/ASP Web, VB, Math, Access programming tools and consulting
405 E Gude Dr Ste 207, Rockville MD 20850 USA
Please check out http://www.teratech.com/ - email
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED],
or call us for more information; in the USA at 1-800-447-9120,
+1-301-424-3903 International, Fax 301-762-8185 Thanks!
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