ColdFusion Weekly

ColdFusion Weekly Podcast Archives

ColdFusion Weekly Version 1.6 beta - May 1, 2006

Version 1.6 beta - May 1, 2006

If we could only version ourselves...

Introduction and Comments

CFReport - at 8:28

Errata from last week

  • You CAN buy HomeSite 5.5 separately for $99 (upgrade from HomeSite 4.5 or 5.0 for $29) - thanks Ryan Everhart
  • Left out Microsoft Word as an IDE
  • No one called about CFStudio, so we'll assume it's officially DEAD!

More news - at 11:25

Topic of the week: Version Control - 15:25

CFQuery - at 50:45

  • How to switch your development process to use version control from Andrew Duckett

CF_HotSeat

  • No CF_HotSeat due to scheduling problems with Michael Dinowitz

CF_Quiz - at 50:50

  • ColdFusion is supposedly case-insensitive. Why should be careful when naming your files especially the extends attribute of the cfcomponent tag or the type attribute in the cfargument tag?

Wrap Up - at 1:00:30

CFExit - at 1:01:00

"Hold On" by Silent Film Stars

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ColdFusion Weekly Version 1.4 beta - April 17, 2006

We spend the podcast talking about migrating legacy applications.

Introduction and Comments

CFReport - at 8:30

Webapper

Migrating Legacy Applications - at 9:35

  • Seven Stages of Legacy Application Grief - at 10:30
    1. Shock
    2. Denial
    3. Bargaining
    4. Fear
    5. Anger
    6. Despair
    7. Acceptance
  • Business Needs Vs. Geek Desires - at 18:00
  • Why migrate?
    • If the application is showing its' age: Difficult / expensive to maintain or doesn't play well with newer technologies
    • Lack of documentation / people who wrote it no longer available
    • "Have To" for regulatory or other legal reasons (HIPAA, FERPA, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc.)
    • The application no longer meets the business needs and can't be changed in its current state so it does
    • Migration is a business decision, not a technology one!
    • Business needs MUST drive the decision to rework a legacy application
    • Don't forget the opportunity cost! If you're migrating a legacy application, you're not doing something else.
  • The Case Study - at 23:10
    • It's two, two, two applications in one. (Known as a twofer when you're talking about double disc CD sets)
    • Over 1500 CFML files all in a single directory (not directory structure, but all in a single directory)
    • Shared a single database
    • Needed to switch to SQLServer 2005 which required changes to 5000 instances of *=
  • Where to begin? - at 28:20
    • We began at the beginning: the login process
    • The legacy application re-ran queries on every page to grab user and company information
    • We moved to a session user and company bean to store this information
    • We're moving things on chunk at a time to Mach-II
  • Strategies for Migration - 30:30
    • How do you eat an elephant? ...one bite at a time
    • Evaluate the whole picture as grim as it may be
    • Make sensible decisions about where to start and a long-term migration strategy
    • Ultimate goal should be well-organized, completely transparent code
    • TEST, TEST, TEST: break your own code
  • The Decision to Migrate - at 36:25
    • Remember: this is a business decision
    • Do through risk analysis (ROI, quality Vs. quantity benefit)
    • Think about opportunity cost: What's the best way for you to be spending your time?
    • Create a test case: your risk analysis for code
    • Be realistic (meaning pessimistic) as opposed to optimistic about the time involved
  • Benefits to the Migration Process - at 40:30
    • In most cases, your application will run better, faster and be less resistant to change
    • Sets stage for future additions to the application that will be far less painful
    • Don't shy away from challenges!

CFQuery - at 44:30

CF_Quiz - at 47:00

  • D'oh, we forgot to announce the winner of the version 1.3 beta CF_Quiz. Instead of robbing the lucky person of their glory, we'll have a double header next week.

Wrap Up - at 48:05

  • No CF_Hotseat this week...
  • ColdFusion Weekly Milestone: It's our fifth show!
  • Call in your questions for the next CF_Hotseat with Mark Drew - lead developer of CFEclipse

CFExit - at 50:05

"Traffic Cop" by J.R. Byrd

(download)

ColdFusion Weekly Version 1.3 beta - April 10, 2006

Open Source Mania!

Thanks To...

CFReport - at 6:20

CFQuery - at 52:03

  • Come on folks, you have GOT to have some questions! Call in!

CF_Hotseat with Brian Rinaldi of remotesynthesis.com: 54:07

Open Source Suprise - 1:16:48

CF_Quiz - at 1:14:22

  • See last week's!

CFExist Music - at 1:17:32

"Give Meat a Chance" by J.R. Byrd

(download)

ColdFusion Weekly Version 1.2 beta - April 3, 2006

Matt wants to embed GPS in the podcast while Peter's tired brain whimps out with a simple solution due the week of charts. This week on the Weekly:

Sorry for the less than stellar audio this week. We have a patch for the bug next week.
(download)