CFInternals

Dreamweaver CS3 Rewrites Code!

Yes, you read it correctly, Dreamweaver CS3 is rewriting my code. I'll go to save a file and upload it to my web site, only to get strange ColdFusion errors about unbalanced tags. I finally determined that if I close and reopen the file, I'll see the changes.

Fix the file, save, and re-upload, and the errors reappear. Needless to say, this is extremely frustrating, as you can never tell when deploying a set of changes to a site will work or not.

I've included a YouTube video after the break that shows the entire process.

Load-Balancing, High-Availability, and Sessions

Mike Brunt just posted the latest in a series of articles about high-availability web site architecture, with the conclusion that "the most effective Load Balancing in a Cluster is Round-Robin with Sticky-Sessions, if it is necessary to preserve state in a single user session."

The later portion of which would seem to be an interesting qualification.

After all, why would someone use memory-based sessions in an application meant to reside in a high-availability environment?

Answering Objections to Rich Internet Applications (Flash)

Anthony Franco has a nice article pointing out common objections to building Flash applications and the rebuttals one might use in answering them.

Some of which—unfortunately—I found to be unconvincing. For example, the ultimate answers to several of the issues (SEOs and accessibility) is simply to build two sites. Or "dual web experiences", as he calls them.

Somehow I don't see "use Flash and do twice the work" as a major selling point.

A Spaces Workflow in Leopard

The iSights blog has a nice article on using OS X Leopard's Spaces feature in an development environment. While the article focuses on Spaces, the same concepts could be used in any environment that supports multiple virtual desktops.

Fundamentally, the main tactic comes down to collocating spaces so that related applications are in related spaces. In his example, he puts Dreamweaver up in one space, with the assorted Safari and Firefox browser windows needed for testing directly beneath in the space below. This allows single control-key transitions between the development environment and the browser test environment.

It also allows one to maximize the layout of each, without having to worry about tiling or overlaying windows so that you can easily switch between them. To quote, this "lets me get the maximum use out of screen hogging applications like Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and Aperture."

Worth a read.

How to install ColdFusion 8 on Leopard (OSX)

The guys over at daemonite have written detailed instructions for those of you who absolutely have to have ColdFusion 8 running directly under OS X Leopard.

Unlike the instructions posted earlier by Mark Drew (which apparently have worked for some and not for others), this installation is not for the faint of heart.

The standard ColdFusion installer for OSX has no web connector for Apache 2.2, so you're going to have to compile your own using the XCode tools found on the OS X DVD.

ColdFusion / Leopard Compatibility Issues

Reports are coming in that ColdFusion 8 can't communicate with the latest version of Apache on Leopard. No fix or word from Adobe as to if or when a hotfix might be available.

Worse, it appears that ADC (Apple Developer Connection) developers who have been getting Leopard seeds prior to its release have known about the problem since August.

Contact Forms and Web Site Usability

MaoStudios just posted a good entry on contact forms and web site usability, in which they advocate using web-based contact forms as opposed to email links. While I agree with the approach, and with their comments, there's one more thing I think you should consider before implementing such a thing on your own site.

Multiple Layout Specifications in CS3

SitePoint just released an article discussing the multiple layout specifications that the W3C is recommending that web browser vendors implement.

My position? The W3C is nuts.

A new direction for ColdFusion?

Ryan Stewart comes back from MAX with an article discussing ColdFusion's future. In particular, he talks about how ColdFusion now falls under the Platform Business Unit, which puts it in the same organizational unit at Adobe as Flex, Flash Player and AIR.

One of the key results, he explains, is that now ColdFusion should have an "even closer integration with Adobe’s products." But is that really such a good thing? Ryan obviously seems to believe so, but I'm not so sure. Here's why.

Mobile Web Design

Cameron Moll has a great little ebook available on Mobile Web Design, a web standards approach for delivering content beyond the desktop.

This announcement comes right on the heels of Apple introducing the new iPod Touch, a video iPod styled on the iPhone touch-screen interface. Notable is the fact that it, like the iPhone, also has built-in WiFi and includes their mobile Safari browser.

In addition, Apple dropped the price of the 8GB iPhone to $399, so combined with the Touch and new phones coming from Nokia and LG the number of sophisticated mobile devices out there is only bound to increase. Is your site ready for them?

A free sample chapter is available, and to sweeten the deal Cameron is also giving away a free iPhone to a lucky buyer, but only if you order by September 14th. Mobile Web Design is a 104-page ebook and sells for $19. Recommended.

Model-Glue, Events... and Global Variables???

So there I was, sitting back and reading Doug Boude's recent post on The Model-Glue Event Lifecycle in Layman's Terms. Good article, I thought. Nice descriptions. Then one paragraph jumped out at me and I had a sudden realization: OMG, we've regressed back in time.

The good, the bad, and the different - iPhone edition

Aaron over on WebStandards.org is advocating that web sites NOT design specifically for the iPhone, but for all mobile devices. While cogent, I think his arguments are missing a critical element.

iPhone Development Resources

Apple has added some good iPhone development resources to their site, including a great guide to Optimizing Web Applications and Content for iPhone.

Session Facades

Brian Kotek recently wrote on the fusebox5 list a short discussion on using session facades. In short you're making a component to encapsulate gets and sets to the session structure. Why do this? Well, it turns out that there are two good really reasons: his and mine.

"Limited" Features in ColdFusion 8

The ColdFusion product manager, Jason Delmore, dropped by and left a comment on "Adobe Wants You To Buy ColdFusion 8 Enterprise". In it, he points me to the more informative ColdFusion Product Matrix (PDF), and explains that many of the "limited" features are restricted not in terms of functionality, but in the number of simultaneous requests that can be made to them. Namely: one.

Unfortunately, that doesn't help his case. Here's why.