- CFML is a server-side language, the most common of which is the free PHP. Server-side languages, unlike "client-side" languages like JavaScript, are processed entirely on a web server and never seen by the client (the user reading a web page or using a web application). By nature, server-side languages cannot work unless they are run on an active server, which is what ColdFusion provides.
- ColdFusion Markup Language contains the functionality of many server-side languages--the ability to interact with databases and the use of variables and conditional code--but is optimized to create web applications in particular. Like HTML and XML, it is "tag-based," organizing code inside a series of identifiers known as tags. Because of the similarities in appearance to HTML, ColdFusion is a good entry point for web developers from a static HTML background who want to break into building applications and dynamic pages.
- Since CFM files consist only of simple text, CFM files can be opened with any text editor. However, you must have knowledge of CFML to understand the code, and the file cannot be used unless you have an application server that reads CFM files--usually ColdFusion itself, but also competing products like Railo, BlueDragon, Corel Web Developer and IgniteFusion, among others. CFML can also be integrated with the Java programming language and Microsoft's NET software framework.
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ColdFusion was originally developed by J.J. and Jeremy Allaire for the Allaire Corporation and was released in July 1995. The corporation was acquired by Macromedia in January 2001. Macromedia then came out with Macromedia ColdFusion 5.0 in June of that year.
In 2005, Adobe acquired Macromedia, but the product lay dormant for 2 years as Adobe developed ColdFusion 8. Eventually released in May 2007, it was a backward-compatible revamp that brought the product up-to-date and integrated it with other Adobe technologies, such as Flex and the PDF. - The ColdFusion 8 application server comes in a Standard Edition that is available on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. The Enterprise Edition includes everything in the Standard Edition plus special features, such as a multi-server monitor and multi-server security designed to assist in large projects requiring more than 1 server. The Enterprise Edition is available free to students and teachers but, with a free license, can only be used for learning purposes. The Developer Edition is a free version of ColdFusion with all the features of the Enterprise Edition but used for local development (functional on only the developer's computer); the developed applications need to then be placed on Standard or Enterprise servers.
