Wanted CF Dead or Alive (new book launching at CF Summit)

It’s almost impossible to type ColdFusion into a search bar and avoid a google suggestion, ”Is ColdFusion dead?”

Sometimes it seems that ColdFusion is being targeted by one of those old Wild West Wanted Posters that say “Wanted, Dead or Alive”:

I was so tired of seeing and hearing about CF dying that I wrote a book called “CF Alive: Making ColdFusion Modern, Vibrant and Secure” (see below).  And I am announcing the new CF Alive Inner Circle.

I’m here to show you that ColdFusion is a vibrant and modern language for complex, data-driven enterprise apps. If you use it right.

While some companies have abandoned ColdFusion as dying, more visionary dev teams have embraced it. Learn how they are making it the most modern, secure and state-of-the-art web development ecosystem. Bar none.

The new CF Alive book that explains how to:

• Modernize your legacy CF apps with 14 best practices for easy-to-maintain apps
• Discover 27 state-of-the-art tools from my hand-picked list that will make you more efficient at CF development
• Inspire other developers and young programmers with our proven 21 outreach methods
• Learn 8 keys to improve CF Marketing and be proud of using ColdFusion
• Contribute to making CF more alive

With this book any CFer can help make their CF modern, vibrant and secure.

The official release is at CF Summit in Las Vegas in October. But you can get early access to book chapters and contribute to making CF more alive this year by joining the CF Alive Inner Circle. There is no cost to membership.

CF is modern

Let’s be real. CF is an older programming language originally created in 1995. (Mind you, Bjarne Stroustrup created C++ in 1985). While CF has regular upgrades (currently every 2 years), there are some people who see it as old and legacy. Personally, I never had a doubt about the ColdFusion and its vitality. CF is a state-of-the-art language if you use it the right way.

“I've been in ColdFusion for over 20 years. I started in '97, and I've stuck with it throughout.” – Charlie Arehart, Veteran server troubleshooter CArehart.org in the CF Alive podcast episode “013 Are spiders eating your servers? The impact of their unexpected load and how to counter it with Charlie Arehart“

CF is vibrant

Some CFers have become a bit burnt out; maybe they are bored, and they have become a little cynical of CF and their jobs. They don’t want to learn new stuff, some are afraid to even try.

I was lucky to find the excitement and the thrill in using CF again. It feels nice to be young again and learn new coding methods and features for the first time. Let’s recapture the excitement of coding in CF and know that it is the “in thing” to do.

In the CF Alive Book, in Chapter 3, “Outreach” and Chapter 4, “Marketing” I look at how CF and the CF community can be more vibrant and alive. From education to developer outreach, education and conferences to PR and marketing, I share ideas with you that include both corporate actions and grassroots ideas that you can do yourself to strengthen your involvement in what you may discover is a surprisingly vibrant community.

“…the phrase was, “This is not your father's Oldsmobile.” Well, the ColdFusion I'm using isn't my father's ColdFusion. Although technically that would be me because I have a son who's a full-time professional ColdFusion developer also. But he's not using the ColdFusion I started with. This is a very mature feature.” – John Farrar, CEO, SOSensible Group in the CF Alive podcast episode : “018 VUE More With Less, with John Farrar“

CF is secure

Hacking is on the increase and at times CF has been accused of being insecure.

The facts:

ColdFusion is THE language to use for more security. (According to a CNET web language study).

I will help you look at the facts and discover that CF is actually the most secure web language. In Chapter 1, “Modernization”, I examine how you can make your CF apps even more secure with special technique and tools.

“…why would you not reach for something that’s tried and true and innovative and you can make a great product with?” – Nathaniel Francis, Works at Computer Know How in the CF Alive podcast episode “008 The Best REST You’ve ever Had: ColdBox REST with Nathaniel Francis”

My vision:

We are confidently coding easy to maintain apps in CF. Enlivened by using a tried and trusted language. Unleashing the full efficiency of using ColdFusion in our work. We inspire other developers and young programmers to explore the power of CF.

Meanwhile, let's deconstruct the whole CF is dying myth with the CF Alive book and Inner Circle.

[cfalive]