ColdFusion still makes the hard things easy. That hasn't changed, nor
will it at any point in the future. Yes, many enterprise level apps are
written in some sort of framework, or the employer is looking for someone
versed in MVC architecture. This is a sign of the times; ColdFusion
introduced CFC's circa 2000, and it's taken nearly a decade for adoption off
OO principles to truly flourish in our development. That said, there are no
lack of positions available out there. It all comes down to where you look,
how you market yourself, and your flexibility in terms of relocation. I get
4 calls a week, at least, for positions all around the country. The highest
concentration come from the mid-atlantic region (N VA, MD, DC), with New
York and California coming next. This could be because of the huge adoption
of CF in the government sector (mid-atlantic), and in entertainment (NY and
CA) for backing Flash and Flex apps. Many CF developers that I know did not
come by their positions through an add on the web, but through networking
our small, dynamic, dedicated development community.
As a developer, you must be willing to expand your toolset constantly.
Knowing CF, with little or no knowledge of writing well formed HTML and CSS,
is not enough. Learning more than basic JavaScript is important, and too
easy with frameworks like JQuery out there. Having a thorough knowledge of
server-side process helps a lot if you also understand the server itself
(JVM, scope utilization, memory management, basic networking protocols), but
you should still have a solid understanding of interface basics. It
doesn't hurt to add some form of advanced client-side framework to your
toolset (Flash, Flex, ExtJs, etc). Basic understanding of core SEO concepts,
SQL (in some form other than MS Access), data security, are necessities.
The web changes everyday. To survive, you should be learning something
new, everyday. CF has grown with each new version, giving us new tools to
learn and use in creating anything from the simplest site to the most
complex applications, and provide additional enterprise level value to the
server. If you think you've learned it all already, and are trying to get by
on what you learned a few years back, you should find a new profession.
Development is a profession: doctors learn new techniques and procedures,
lawyers study cases, arguments and new laws, why would anyone think a
profession in Development would be any different? In the past decade we've
seen the web go from simple form submit/data display sites to full blown
applications that run entire corporations.
Does it make more sense to move into something more "popular"? That's up
to you. I say you can still do it bigger/badder/faster/better in ColdFusion,
and that obsolescence is dependent upon your own ability to grow (I've never
been unemployed as a developer, and I've managed 900+% in pay raises in the
past decade). Does that mean you shouldn't learn something else as well
(.NET,PHP,Java,Groovy, etc)? No, the broader the toolset the more valuable
you are.
Is there anything wrong with procedural approach? Absolutely not, and
there's plenty of work for it.
Is there a legitimate need to learn OOP? Yes, if for no other reason
than to gain knowledge of other ways of getting things done (my early work
in learning Mach II and Model Glue were critical, later, in understanding
the event driven nature of ajax applications built in JQuery and ExtJs). Not
ever tool is right for every job, but knowing can make those jobs easier.
"To get something you've never had, you must be willing to do what
you've never done."
Steve 'Cutter' BladesAdobe Certified ExpertAdvanced Macromedia ColdFusion
MX 7 Developer____________http://blog.cutterscrossing.com"The best way to
predict the future is to help create it"
On 1/12/2011 7:49 AM, Irvin Gomez wrote: Coming from a design, not
programming, background, I embraced Coldfusion for all the well-known reasons:
easy to use, easy to learn, easy, easy...you get the idea.With the advent of
more advanced features, everywhere I go I see a big push for moving Coldfusion
and Coldfusion development into very complicated frameworks and OOP. The usual
reason given is that not doing so runs the risk of rendering the Coldfusion
developer obsolete in the job marketplace. So, my first question: if the reason
for going in the direction suggested is fear of becoming 'unemployable',
wouldn't it make far more sense to move into something more "popular" like
PHP, .Net, etc. right away? Because the same argument can be used to scare even
the most advanced Coldfusion developers: no matter how good you are, you're
still part of a very small minority and doing coldfusion instead of PHP will
make you obsolete sooner or later. Second and final question: what's really
wrong with a procedural approach when dealing with medium or small web sites
(which I imagine is the majority of work entrusted to your average Coldfusion
developer)? Is there a legitimate need to learn what *APPEARS* to be
over-complicated and clumsy frameworks and OOP strategies? And, please, know
i'm not trying to create a flame war. I'm not pretending to be an expert (I'm
not) in Coldfusion matters. I'm just trying get the real-world perspective of
fellow developers far more experienced and knowledgeable than me.
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