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ColdFusion Article

Steve Belt

Steve Belt

BrowserMedia

Streamlining Application Development Using Struts in ColdFusion MX

Although earlier versions of ColdFusion supported Java objects and servlets to some degree, ColdFusion MX does so in a big way. This support opens up commercially available libraries to ColdFusion developers that were previously only available to J2EE shops. Moreover, you can now draw from an immense library of free code from within the Java open-source community. This availability greatly enhances the features of your own applications and speeds your ColdFusion-based solutions to market. Use these objects to provide back-end processing or user-interface functionality, or simplify coding CFM pages by supplementing ColdFusion functions and tags with Java TagLibraries.

Of particular note is how ColdFusion MX hosts and runs the Apache Jakarta Project's Struts Action servlet. By implementing Struts, ColdFusion MX offers a Model-2 Model-View-Controller (or MVC) environment for ColdFusion applications. This article is based on an implementation that uses ColdFusion MX Enterprise Edition on a Windows server. ColdFusion MX Enterprise Edition includes an embedded J2EE server based on Macromedia JRun. In addition to hosting ColdFusion pages, Enterprise Edition can host JSPs and servlets. This article is also applicable to users running ColdFusion on third-party application servers, although directory and filenames will vary somewhat.

First I give a brief description of my recent project, which shows how Struts and other Java objects provided a timesaving solution to a ColdFusion project. Next I explain MVC architectures so that you can define the role that Struts plays in your application's architecture. Then you learn how to transition your own development into a Struts framework. Finally I give you a sample application to help you get started using Struts in your own environment.

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About the author

Steve Belt is a senior software developer for BrowserMedia, LLC, where he develops innovative software solutions for associations and finds new ways to use the Internet to make their lives easier. Before joining BrowserMedia, Steve led the development of several web-enabled tools and services used in the bioinformatics industry. Steve also participates heavily in several Java open-source projects.