Anyone who's needed JavaScript validation for his or her forms knows how easy
it is to use ColdFusion's CFFORM tag. It's a quick and easy way to ensure
that the form is filled out properly. However, CFFORM can be as limited as it
is useful (see Figure 1).
Several types of validation that aren't available are: Making a single-select
box required Making checkboxes and radio buttons required Limiting the number
of checkboxes or multiselect options selected Restricting dates entered to a
certain range. Many developers scrap CFFORM altogether and just use the HTML
FORM tag in conjunction with their own JavaScript validation. Rarely do you
hear about multiple customized validation scripts being used with the CFFORM
tag.
It's possible to use both - good news for anyone who alr... (more)
Question: Who needs version control? Answer: Every developer. Most people
think of versioning control software as something that should be left to big
companies and large teams. However, version control is a good idea for
everyone.
Even if you are working on an application by yourself, it is too easy to lose
important changes forever, because you accidentally saved over a document.
Not ... (more)
There comes a time in the life of almost every developer when he or she needs
to host a Web site. Unfortunately, not all of us can have a T1 running to our
basement with a dual-processor Pentium 4 running our site. No, we developers
- and businesses - must look elsewhere for help. Unless you have a lot of
money, that typically means you'll be part of a shared hosting environment.
In a tra... (more)
Way back when ColdFusion 4.5 was released, the concept of structures
(associative arrays to some of you) was introduced. Never one to be receptive
to change - not to mention having no background in other programming
languages - I shunned structures for the most part and kept on my merry way
working with arrays and lists. Over the years, however, I have come to
appreciate the simplicity a... (more)
Every day it seems as if another content management system (CMS) is popping
up on the horizon, many of them built using ColdFusion.
Typically, these CMSs contain the same type of functionality. They:
Allow users who don't know HTML to add and edit content easily Display
content using a template system and integrated style sheets Create user
accounts and assign security permissions allowing ... (more)