- New to ColdFusion? Basic FAQs
- Pricing, editions, and upgrading
- Installation, deployment, and platforms
- Integration with other products and technologies
- Free ColdFusion Enterprise for education
New to ColdFusion? Basic FAQs
- What is Adobe ColdFusion 8?
- Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software offers a fast and easy way to create Internet applications. It solves the day-to-day challenges faced by developers, integrates within complex enterprise environments, and delivers rich and engaging application experiences for users.
- What is ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML)?
- ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) is the tag-based language that a developer uses to build ColdFusion applications. CFML is easy to learn, yet powerful enough to handle the most demanding web application logic. CFML uses a syntax that closely resembles HTML and XML, so it is ideally suited to programming applications that use these markup languages. For new developers, tag-based CFML syntax makes complex programming easy. Advanced developers can easily extend and customize CFML through custom tags, reusable object-based components, and user-defined functions, as well as integrate with Java™, .NET, SOAP web services, and more. ColdFusion 8 improves CFML with powerful new and extended tags.
- Who should use ColdFusion?
- ColdFusion is designed for developers who build dynamic websites and Internet applications. Its intuitive scripting language, CFML, makes ColdFusion a great choice for new developers coming from static HTML page design and development. At the same time, advanced features such as ColdFusion components (CFCs), integrated debugging, XML processing, Java and .NET integration, web services, and the extensible event gateway architecture make ColdFusion ideal for developers creating complex web applications and rich Internet applications.
- Do I need any tools to develop ColdFusion applications?
- ColdFusion pages are simple text files, just like HTML pages, so you can develop them with any text editor. Adobe Dreamweaver® CS3 software is built for both designers and developers and includes many features to help accelerate ColdFusion development. Many developers are also using ColdFusion together with the Adobe Flex™ development framework to create powerful rich Internet applications. Adobe Flex Builder™ software is an Eclipse™ based IDE for developing RIAs that combine the richness of desktop applications with the cross-platform reach of the Adobe Engagement Platform. Flex Builder enables developers to quickly build rich client-side logic that integrates with ColdFusion 8 and can be used to write CFML, too. New in ColdFusion 8 is a code debugging extension for Flex Builder (or other Eclipse IDEs) to make CFML development even easier.
- How can I learn to use ColdFusion?
- There are many online and in-person training opportunities for ColdFusion. A great place to start is our ColdFusion 8 Getting Started Experience. Discover the power ColdFusion has to offer by browsing code snippets, examining sample applications, and seeing new features in action. Adobe also offers a number of training and certification programs.
- Is there printed documentation included with ColdFusion 8?
- Each shrinkwrapped copy of ColdFusion 8 includes guides to installing and using ColdFusion 8. The complete set of ColdFusion documentation includes these booklets plus the CFML Reference and the ColdFusion 8 Developer's Guide. Electronic versions of all documents are available to install with the product and can be found online at Adobe LiveDocs. If you would like a printed set of the complete documentation, you may purchase it from the Adobe Store.
- Where can I find ColdFusion hosting?
- Adobe publishes a partial list of partners committed to delivering hosting solutions for ColdFusion. View the ColdFusion hosting partners page.
Pricing, editions, and upgrading
- Is ColdFusion 8 backward-compatible with previous releases of ColdFusion?
- ColdFusion MX (6.0, 6.1, and 7) applications should seamlessly migrate to ColdFusion 8. Most ColdFusion 5 applications can also be migrated easily to ColdFusion 8. For details on migrating from ColdFusion 5 or earlier to ColdFusion 8, visit the ColdFusion MX migration resources section of the ColdFusion Developer Center.
- How do I purchase ColdFusion 8?
- ColdFusion 8 is available for purchase online from the Adobe Store and through our network of partners and resellers. View ColdFusion 8 purchasing information.
- What are the editions of ColdFusion 8, and how are they priced?
- ColdFusion 8 is sold in two editions: Standard Edition at US$1,299 per two CPUs and Enterprise Edition at US$7,499 per two CPUs. ColdFusion may also be used for development at no cost with the free Developer Edition, a full-featured server for development use only.
- What are the differences between editions of ColdFusion 8?
- ColdFusion 8 Enterprise Edition is a high-performance solution for delivering multiple websites and applications on one or more servers, or on existing J2EE application server installations. ColdFusion 8 Standard is the solution for delivering a powerful website or application on a single server. To learn more about the product editions, visit the product editions page.
- How is ColdFusion 8 licensed?
- ColdFusion 8 is licensed based on the number of physical processors (CPUs) on the server on which it is running. ColdFusion is licensed in two-CPU increments. Each license of ColdFusion, whether Standard or Enterprise Edition, allows the software to be installed on a server with one or two CPUs. Additional CPUs on the server require additional licenses. Note that the total number of computers on which ColdFusion 8 is installed and used may not exceed the total number of licenses purchased. That means you cannot purchase one two-CPU license and use it on two separate single-CPU servers. Each server, in that case, needs its own license. View information regarding the licensing of ColdFusion 8.
- Are there any special license requirements for multicore processors?
- No. ColdFusion 8 is licensed based on physical CPUs only. Multicore chips are treated as a singe processor for calculating per-CPU licensing fees for ColdFusion 8.
- I already own ColdFusion MX 6 or 7. What are my upgrade options?
- Special upgrade pricing is available to owners of valid ColdFusion MX 6 and 7 licenses. See the upgrade details page for more information.
- Am I eligible for upgrade pricing if I'm running something earlier than ColdFusion MX 6?
- Customers running ColdFusion 5 or earlier are not eligible for upgrade pricing.
- I recently purchased ColdFusion MX 7. Do I need to pay to upgrade to ColdFusion 8?
- You may be eligible for a free upgrade to ColdFusion 8. To find out more, call Customer Service at 800-833-6687 or submit your request via the web form.
- I hold a software subscription/maintenance for ColdFusion. How can I receive my upgrade to ColdFusion 8?
- Holders of current ColdFusion maintenance/subscriptions should have received an e-mail or letter with appropriate instructions. If you did not receive an e-mail or letter, contact Customer Service and include your ColdFusion serial number in your request.
- Can I still purchase ColdFusion 7 or earlier versions?
- ColdFusion MX 7 is still available for purchase. ColdFusion MX 6.x and earlier versions are no longer available.
- In what languages is ColdFusion available?
- ColdFusion 8 is available in English and Japanese versions. Of course, ColdFusion applications can run in any locale, and with any character set encoding. The English and Japanese versions make the ColdFusion Administrator, product documentation, runtime exception messages, and so on available in those languages.
- What is the future ColdFusion product release roadmap?
- Adobe is committed to ColdFusion. While no specific plans have been made public yet, a future ColdFusion release is in the early planning stages. We encourage you to use our feature request form to request new features or suggest modifications to existing features.
Installation, deployment, and platforms
- How does ColdFusion 8 run on J2EE application servers?
- The ColdFusion 8 runtime environment is a Java application that takes advantage of the many powerful services in the J2EE platform to connect to databases, manage security, and process application requests. When ColdFusion 8 Enterprise Edition is installed in the J2EE configuration on top of a Java application server, it uses that server's J2EE infrastructure to execute ColdFusion applications as pure Java bytecode. Developers can then continue to develop and deploy ColdFusion pages while easily managing ColdFusion server settings using the ColdFusion Administrator.
- Which J2EE servers are supported?
- ColdFusion 8 supports IBM WebSphere, BEA WebLogic, Oracle Application Server, Macromedia® JRun™ from Adobe, and JBoss. Visit the system requirements page and download the systems support matrix for details.
- Which databases are supported?
- ColdFusion 8 supports most major databases, including Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2, Sybase, and IBM Informix. For a complete list of supported databases, see the system requirements page and download the systems support matrix.
- Which web servers are supported?
- ColdFusion 8 supports most major web servers, including IIS, Apache, and Sun Web Server. For a complete list of supported web servers, see the system requirements page and download the systems support matrix.
- Which operating systems are supported?
- ColdFusion8 supports most major operating systems, including Microsoft® Windows®, Sun™ Solaris™, Linux®, IMB® AIX®, and Mac OS. For a complete list of supported operating systems and versions, see the system requirements page and download the systems support matrix.
- Does ColdFusion have 64-bit support?
- As of ColdFusion 8 Update 1, ColdFusion Enterprise and Developer editions can run as 64-bit applications on the 64-bit versions of the following operating systems:
- Windows XP, 2003, Vista and 2008
- Macintosh Intel OS X 10.5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.4 and above
- SUSE Linux 10.1 and above
- Solaris 9 or 10 (Also supported in the initial ColdFusion 8 release)
* Note that Mac PPC 64-bit OS is not supported.
For detailed information about supported platforms, see the ColdFusion System Requirements. Note that ColdFusion 32-bit cannot be upgraded to ColdFusion 64-bit using the Update. ColdFusion should be uninstalled and installed again using the 64-bit full installer available on the ColdFusion 8 Trials page. - Does ColdFusion Standard have 64-bit support?
- As of ColdFusion 8 Update 1, the Standard Edition can run as a 32-bit application on all supported 64-bit platforms in addition to 32-bit platforms. For detailed information about supported platforms, see the ColdFusion System Requirements.
- What are the benefits of running ColdFusion as a 64-bit application?
- 64-bit computer architectures can provide higher performance than 32-bit architectures by handling more information in the same clock cycle. In addition to performance, the size of the memory space an application can use is significantly larger. 32-bit computing architectures can address approximately 4 GigaBytes of memory, 64-bit computing architectures can address 16 ExaBytes of memory. For practical purposes today, this is an ‘unlimited’ amount of memory which allows memory intensive operations such as reading in large files or returning large datasets, to operate more efficiently. Applications which require more memory and execute more computations will perform better on 64-bit systems than on 32-bit systems.
- Where can I find out more about the 64-bit support in ColdFusion 8 Update 1?
- For more information about the ColdFusion 8 Update 1 and 64-bit support, please refer to the ColdFusion 8 Update 1 FAQ.
Integration with other products and technologies
- Do I need to know Java to use ColdFusion?
- No. ColdFusion 8 uses CFML to build applications. ColdFusion makes it possible to take advantage of the power of Java application servers without having to learn complex technologies, such as the Java language, JavaServer Pages (JSP), Java Servlets, or Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB). Of course, if you are already using Java, ColdFusion can make use of virtually any existing Java libraries or classes since it is compiled straight to Java Virtual Machine bytecode, just like Java source code.
- Does ColdFusion work with .NET?
- Yes. New in ColdFusion 8, you can use ColdFusion to call local or remote Microsoft .NET assembly classes as CFML objects. This means that ColdFusion applications can use .NET assemblies to directly access and control Microsoft products (such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint), use existing .NET components, or use .NET assemblies that you create to leverage features that are difficult to use or not available in ColdFusion or Java.
- Does ColdFusion work with Adobe Flex?
- Yes. Adobe has created a deep level of integration and productivity tools for Flex and ColdFusion 8. The new ColdFusion Extensions for Eclipse install on Flex Builder 2 and include a collection of powerful wizards that automatically generate ColdFusion and Flex code and applications, a Remote Development Services (RDS) module, a Services Browser for web services and CFC introspection, and a code debugger.
- How does ColdFusion work with Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES?
- Adobe LiveCycle® Data Services ES is a separate Adobe product that can be installed as part of the ColdFusion 8 installation process. By default, ColdFusion 8 installs the Express edition, which is a free commercial-use version of the product that is limited to one-CPU implementations with no clustering. If you have purchased a commercial version of LiveCycle Data Services, that serial number may be used instead.
- What tool should developers use to write applications for ColdFusion MX?
- ColdFusion pages are simple text files, so they can be developed with any text editor. Dreamweaver CS3 is built for both designers and developers and includes many features to help accelerate ColdFusion development. Many developers are also using ColdFusion together with Adobe Flex Builder to create powerful RIAs that combine the richness of desktop applications with the cross-platform reach of the Adobe Engagement Platform. Flex Builder enables developers to quickly build rich client-side logic that integrates with ColdFusion 8 and can be used to write CFML, too. ColdFusion 8 includes a code debugging extension for Flex Builder (or other Eclipse IDEs) to make CFML development even easier.
Free ColdFusion Enterprise for education
- Can education customers including students, faculty and staff get ColdFusion for free?
- Adobe ColdFusion 8 is available for free to all eligible education customers for learning purposes only and not for production purposes. Students, faculty and staff can get serial numbers to activate downloadable trial versions by registering on the registration site During registration, you will be prompted to upload a copy of your student, faculty ID or employee ID, or you can upload a letter on institutional letterhead proving your current affiliation with an educational institution. Once validated, you will be e-mailed a free educational serial number for ColdFusion 8. It may take up to two weeks after the request for you to receive the serial number.
- How do students, faculty and staff prove eligibility?
- One of the following documents must be uploaded during registration to prove eligibility:
- A valid student ID showing current enrollment
- A valid faculty ID showing current employment
- A valid employee ID showing current employment
- A letter on an educational institution letterhead stating that the
- individual is either a current student or a faculty member of the institution
- A scanned copy of any of these documents should be uploaded on the ColdFusion
- Registration site. The scanned copy should be formatted as a GIF or PDF file.
- How can I get multiple ColdFusion 8 licenses for use in a student lab?
- If you are a faculty or staff member and you want to get ColdFusion 8 for multiple machines in your lab, you can request up to 30 education serial numbers for learning purposes in a single request on the registration site. If you need more than 30 education serial numbers, you should submit multiple requests.
- Can education customers still purchase a boxed copy of ColdFusion 8 for education?
- Yes, ColdFusion 8 for education is still available for purchase as a boxed copy. The paid version of ColdFusion 8 for education does not have the restriction that it be used only for learning purposes.
- Is maintenance included with the free ColdFusion 8 licenses?
- No, Platinum Maintenance and Support or upgrade plan is only available for purchase for customers who have purchased a paid license of ColdFusion 8.
- Is support included with my free ColdFusion 8 licenses?
- Complimentary installation support is available. Developer or Technical Support plans for issues beyond installation support are available for purchase. Additional information is available at www.adobe.com/support/programs or www.adobe.com/uk/support/programs/.
