TeraTech

The ColdFusion Experts: Develop | Secure | Optimize

  • Services
  • About
  • CF Alive
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Contact

  • Services
  • About
  • CF Alive
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Contact

State of the CF Union 2019 Survey (Final Results)

May 9, 2019 By Michaela Light Leave a Comment

Cf Survey

The final results for the 2019 State of the CF Union survey are out. Thanks to all the CFers who filled it out this year. Discover what most developers use for tools, languages, database and development methods.

Contents

  • 1. What version of CFML Engine do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 2. What type of CFML Engine are you running? (Check all that apply)
  • 3. What CF Server OS are you using (Check all that apply)?
  • 4. What OS do you run on your laptop/PC? (Check all that apply)
  • 5. What browsers/client platforms do you support in your apps? (Check all that apply)
  • 6. Databases you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 7. What MVC Frameworks do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 8. What ColdFusion-based CMS do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 9. What JavaScript libraries do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 10. What CSS frameworks do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 11. What CFC dependency injection frameworks and tools do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 12. Which persistence frameworks do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 13. What testing and mocking frameworks do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 14. What type of CF Mobile development frameworks are you using? (Check all that apply)
  • 15. What CF features do you use for code reuse? (Check all that apply)
  • 16. What do you use for source code control? (Check all that apply)
  • 17. What tools/IDEs do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 18. What Browser Dev Tools do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 19. What do you use to build REST APIs (Check all that apply)
  • 20. What caching solutions are you using? (Check all that apply)
  • 21. How many years have you used CFML? (Check one)
  • 22. How many years have you used OO? (Check one)
  • 23. Other languages/environments you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 24. How many CF developers at your organization? (Check one)
  • 25. How many total employees at your organization? (Check one)
  • 26. How often do you attend ColdFusion User Group meetings? (Check one)
  • 27. Which CF conferences will/did you attend this year? (Check all that apply)
  • 28. What online CF communities do you participate in? (Check all that apply)
  • 29. I listen to the CF Alive podcast (Check one)
  • 30. What types of DEVELOPMENT setups do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 31. What types of PRODUCTION deployments do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 32. What hosting services do you use for your PRODUCTION deployments? (Check all that apply)
  • 33. What Docker Image(s) are you using, if applicable? (Check all that apply)
  • 34. What deployment/build tools do you use? (Check all that apply)
  • 35. What monitoring tools are you using? (Check all that apply)
  • 36. How do you lock down your servers for security? (Check all that apply)
  • 37. Have your CF servers suffered from a hacking exploit in the last 2 years due to a CF-based vector? (Remember, this is anonymous) (Check all that apply)
  • 38. What aspects of CF are keeping you and/or your company using it? (Check all that apply)
  • 39. What aspects of CF are preventing you or your company from embracing CF? (Check all that apply)
  • 40. What miscellaneous frameworks/tools are you using?
  • 41. What is your approximate salary range in USD? (Remember, this is anonymous) (Check one)
  • 42. What is your current arrangement for CF work? (Check all that apply)
  • 43. What percentage of your PROFESSIONAL development time is spent on CFML (as opposed to other languages)? (Check one)
  • 44. What percentage of your HOBBY development time is spent on CFML (as opposed to other languages)? (Check one)
  • 46. Any additional comments?
  • Total number of responses
  • Join the CF Alive revolution
Cf2

Adobe ColdFusion Summit East 2019

1. What version of CFML Engine do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

dev environments on Lucee 5

2. What type of CFML Engine are you running? (Check all that apply)

3. What CF Server OS are you using (Check all that apply)?

4. What OS do you run on your laptop/PC? (Check all that apply)

Others

No entries match your request.

5. What browsers/client platforms do you support in your apps? (Check all that apply)

Others

Brave
IE
None
Safari Mobile, Edge Mobile, Opera Mini
Vivaldi
Vivaldi

6. Databases you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

Aurora
Aurora
Azure SQL Database
Cosmos DB
FoxPro
Foxpro
influx
Microsoft R+SQL (combo of relational+nosql in one)
Snowflake
Solr
Teradata
Want to use MongoDB but not sure how yet....

7. What MVC Frameworks do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

Backbone
FarCry Core
Home Grown framework
Homegrown
Neptune
Taffy

8. What ColdFusion-based CMS do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

Activecity
Adobe Contribute
cascade
Convert On Demand (Sitemaker)
docuphase
Drupal
Dynasite
FarCry CMS
homegrown
I use Infusionsoft and integrate with their API
Wandsoft
We use a CMS, not CFML based.
wordpress

9. What JavaScript libraries do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

Bootstrap
Bootstrap
Bootstrap JS
Formstone
mooTools
Mootools
Nuxt
Prototypejs
vanilla js
We also write our own JavaScript
Yasmf

10. What CSS frameworks do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

bulma
Bulma
ExtJS
Homegrown
Homegrown CSS when the generic frameworks are too heavy (some clients request this)
Kube.css
material
material.io
Semantic React
Semantic UI
Semantic UI, Tailwind.css
semantic-ui
semanticUI
Spectre.css
Tachyons
Tailwind
Uikit
Unify
US Web Design System
Vuetify
We use our own framework for css
Webflow
YAML

11. What CFC dependency injection frameworks and tools do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

cfwheels
custom
Our (Diimes) Framework - built into it

12. Which persistence frameworks do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

FarCry Core
Quick
Quick

13. What testing and mocking frameworks do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

cflint
Cypress
Home Grown
Homegrown
Internal
jUnit
TestCafe

14. What type of CF Mobile development frameworks are you using? (Check all that apply)

Others

Bootstrap
ExtJS 6 Modern (Upgrade for Sencha Touch)
Framework 7
jQuery Mobile
jquery mobile
just mobile optimised pages, no frameworks
NativeScript
NativeScript
onsen.io
React Native
React Native
React native
React Native
RhoMobile
Sencha Modern
Swift
web extension

15. What CF features do you use for code reuse? (Check all that apply)

Others

java lib wrappers

16. What do you use for source code control? (Check all that apply)

Others

Assembla, CodeCommit
aws code commit
AWS CodeCommit
Azure DevOps (Git install)
Azure Repositories (VSTS) Git
CodeBaseHQ (Git)
Dropbox
Dropbox
git
Git (not Gitlab or GitHub)
Git hosted on Microsoft DevOps
Gitea
GitStack
hosted Git via unfuddle.com
Microsoft DevOps
SmartGit
Vault
VSTS
winmerge, dreamweaver

17. What tools/IDEs do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

1st Page 2000
ColdFusion Studio 5

18. What Browser Dev Tools do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

BrowserStack
Custom Chrome Plugin
Edge Dev Tools
Misc Dev plugins for desktop and mobile remote debug

19. What do you use to build REST APIs (Check all that apply)

Others

.NET
building graphql api also atm
CF API Manager SOAP to REST
FarCry Core
Insomnia
Lucee ReST Services
Mura CMS
Postman
Preside CMS
Preside REST
Preside REST API
Preside REST framework
Relaxation
Rest API Extension in Preside (https://www.forgebox.io/view/preside-ext-data-api)
Spring Boot, Node.JS Express
The built in Adobe REST system
URL rewritting andCFC's
Vue DevTools

20. What caching solutions are you using? (Check all that apply)

Others

?
bv ncvbmnnhbvgjn
cf_cache custom tag
cfquery cachedwithin
Cloudflare
custom solution with EHCache
dont know
Home grown
homegrown
I don't know either
IIS level resource caching only
Mura CMS build-in
n/a
N/a
N/a
None
none
None
none
none
none
none
None
None
None

21. How many years have you used CFML? (Check one)

22. How many years have you used OO? (Check one)

23. Other languages/environments you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

ANSI C
c
Delphi
F#
PowerBuilder
Rust
Swift
Swift

24. How many CF developers at your organization? (Check one)

Others

0 - CF is currently for hobby projects not my job

25. How many total employees at your organization? (Check one)

26. How often do you attend ColdFusion User Group meetings? (Check one)

27. Which CF conferences will/did you attend this year? (Check all that apply)

Others

Adobe ColdFusion Breakfast
Codemotion
Dev Intersection
I'm looking to see what's coming up.
irtusweek by vdieo
Most of these don't appear to exist any longer
Not entirely sure, though I'm hoping to be able to attend the CF Summit and possibly another event this year or next.
not sure
Not sure
PresideCon (day before CFCamp)
Vue JS, Lead dev

28. What online CF communities do you participate in? (Check all that apply)

Others

MURA CMS discussion group
no local CF UG anymore in Pgh
None
none
None
NONE
None
none, currently
Ortus Slack
Preside Community
Preside Slack
Preside Slack

29. I listen to the CF Alive podcast (Check one)

30. What types of DEVELOPMENT setups do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

In-house
our shared Dev server is really an integration test server
VIRTUAL

31. What types of PRODUCTION deployments do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

aws ec2
Azure
Azure - Powershell Script / Choco
Azure cloud
Azure dev ops
Cloud
CommandBox
file copying
Lambda, FuseLess
powershell scripts
WE INSTALL ONTO PROVIDED VIRTUAL MACHINE
Windows virtual machines on VMware ESXi

32. What hosting services do you use for your PRODUCTION deployments? (Check all that apply)

Others

1und1
Ayera.com
Ayera.com
Azure
CenturyLink
CenturyLink
CTI Global
Dumped HostMySite
Fast Hit
GleSys AB in Sweden
Go Daddy
Google Cloud Platform (without Kubernetes)
GoWest Hosting
Hetzner
Hetzner Cloud Servers
Hetzner Germany ISP
Host Media, Flint Hosts
HOSTING.com
Hostway
IBM / SoftLayer
KeyInfo
LiquidWeb
LiquidWeb linux server
Local server hosting provider
on premise

33. What Docker Image(s) are you using, if applicable? (Check all that apply)

Others

DO NOT USE DOCKER
Do not use docker images
don't use docker
haven't used yet -- license not clear
MSSQL - Linux
Mura CMS
n/a
N/a
None
none
None
none
None
none
NONE
None
None
None
none
none
None
none
None
None
None

34. What deployment/build tools do you use? (Check all that apply)

Others

AWS Code Pipline
Azure dev ops
Azure DevOps
Azure Pipelines (VSTS)
Beyondcompare
Bitbucket Pipelines
Buddy.works
capistrano
circleCI
CircleCI
code commit
ColdBox Elixir
Concourse
Custom system built on SVN Kit
DeployBot
DeployHQ
Git
Gitea
home-grown automated deployment scripts. We really need to look into the tools above.
Homesite+
In-house
Internal tools
Microsoft
Microsoft Azure DevOps Pipelines
N/A

35. What monitoring tools are you using? (Check all that apply)

Others

Alive monitoring scripts
Centreon
DataDog
Datadog
Grafana
Grafana
Home grown
home made
homebrew
host monitors
host monitors
Icinga
In-house tools
ipMonitor
Nagios
None
OVH monitor
own tools
Paessler PRTG
PRTG
Rundeck, Centreon
SumoLogic / Stackdriver / Custom UI
unknown, Another Group manages
uptimerobot
Zabbix

36. How do you lock down your servers for security? (Check all that apply)

Others

Security message that says "Hacking this server is a crime"
We have ops people that pass it off back to us developers

37. Have your CF servers suffered from a hacking exploit in the last 2 years due to a CF-based vector? (Remember, this is anonymous) (Check all that apply)

Others

Hostek's VPS was unable to install CF2016 hot fixes, which lead to a hacker intrusion. We are now on CF 2018
new to project
Still running CF9 in some places unfortunately

38. What aspects of CF are keeping you and/or your company using it? (Check all that apply)

Others

Because leadership is stuck in in the late 90's
Cost and time required to migrate to another language
Current CMS written in it
forced
Good documentation: yay cfdocs.org
It's what I know
Legacy
legacy code
Legacy code
Legacy Code to Support
Legacy codebase
legacy reasons
No time to move to something else. The community is sparse, support and docs are terrible
None, we are using CF.
so many years makes it easy.
There are more CF apps than CF developers, so we continue supporting CF because there is an opportunity
we're stuck with it for legacy apps

39. What aspects of CF are preventing you or your company from embracing CF? (Check all that apply)

Others

Adobe Australia contacting us wanting us to pay them a share of revenue from CF sites we produce
Adobe licensing is too expensive
Cost/Complicated pricing structure
Difficult to find CF developers with a good work ethic
I DO NOT KNOW
I wanted to leave this unchecked since we ARE using CF, but the quiz wouldn't let me skip a question so you get a bogus answer in the results instead. πŸ™‚
licensing costs
N/A
n/a
N/A
N/A
na
na
no big govt contracts with new CF work, all manintance
No option for other? Really lack of considered support by third-parties
No quality debugger that works inside VSCode.
None
None
none
none
None
None
None
None
None

40. What miscellaneous frameworks/tools are you using?

41. What is your approximate salary range in USD? (Remember, this is anonymous) (Check one)

Others

1 million dollars, seriously should be able to decline to answer
don't need to share
N/A
Not say
Sorry, not answering
sorry, not providing
won't say

42. What is your current arrangement for CF work? (Check all that apply)

43. What percentage of your PROFESSIONAL development time is spent on CFML (as opposed to other languages)? (Check one)

44. What percentage of your HOBBY development time is spent on CFML (as opposed to other languages)? (Check one)

46. Any additional comments?

I feel CF is a dying thing, but I still enjoy it. Full time job has moved on long ago, React, nodeJS, angular, java, etc. I still can get CF side projects and still fast to develop for small to medium size projects. Not sure I would want to be in CF for full time job, just too big of a ecommerce app (migrating from monolithic to services now). Hope CF can stick around a while though πŸ™‚

Keep holding Adobe CF Summit, its very useful. Maybe rotate between Vegas and Florida (Orlando or Tampa may help attract more attendees). I am tired of people saying CF is dying. There is nothing to back up that statement and I believe its said by consultants think that everyone needs the latest and greatest fad language.

I have an online business teaching people to trade options. I custom coded the member's site with CF and I primarily code my own site. I don't do client work. https://aeromir.com/

I don't have a salary but my income is around $115k/year...hopefully growing this year πŸ™‚

- should add what 3rd party components are you using
- do you use cf repos (forgebox, etc)
- should add 'why' to question 44 (as we use 25% of time cf, but that's because it's quick and we use rest apis, so most time is in the ui layer.
- are you a financial supporter/member of lucee association / paid up cf licence (or planning to)
- what top 3 features do you wish coldfusion had

How many more nails does the CF coffin need to finally seal it and bury it?

I don't understand how people think ColdFusion is "Old" when there are new versions and hotfixes released so frequently.

It's the same age as PHP and Java (if you think about when it first appeared), Older than Node, Younger than C and all those "real" languages...

No-one ever brings their age up... what is it with people and CF's age?!

This was LONG

I've been working with CF for 20 years. I've not been highly involved in the community, but I'm working to find time to be more involved.

As a developer I love CF. Our code base and all of our sites are currently built in CF. Unfortunately, my employer refuses to hear that CF is not dying, is a good fit is a top 1% solution. They are looking to switch languages for future projects. My development work in CF has slowed due to my company take a 3rd party approach. They'd rather buy a solution than develop in house.

I wish Adobe would buy Licee and adopt it’s growth plan. It’s light weight. Updates focus on developer needs and not wiz bang features to entice managers into paying for a product. I also wish Adobe would do an official and robust VS Code plugin. VS Code is the future and you need to be there. Current options are adequate but not robust. Also wish you would work with Apple and establish a true viable way for us to develop on iPads. So many devs want that and it’s still very difficult if not impossible. If you work with them to provide a solid solution then you could draw in new devs. Advertise it as the easiest simplest yet most experiences middleware for front end apps. That way you get front end guys and back end devs.

Love CF. Adobe need Better communication with CF users. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say communication with Adobe is now zero.

I really like using ColdFusion a lot, but it doesn't seem to make me very marketable as a developer. It is extremely rare to find any job listings that mention ColdFusion, let alone call for it. I'm strongly considering branching out into other areas of specialization to find better-paying work.
My office is pretty strongly tied to CF, but the organization as whole regards it as something of an insecure joke. It isn't, of course, but it is extremely difficult to change people's preconceptions on what ColdFusion can do. It's very difficult to get buy-in for CF conferences and the like as a result.

The only reason we stay with CFML is the free, open-source Lucee engine. Were ACF even $25.00 we would not pay that price as - in principle - we do not believe in paying for a coding language.

ColdFusion rocks!

You know CF is not mainstream because you never see code samples for it on lists like this one: https://www.pbxdom.com/api-documentation

Thanks for putting together this survey every year. It's great to see there is an effort outside of Adobe to keep CF alive and well.

I have great respect for CF and am happily evangelising πŸ™‚

Thanks for all your support Michaela!

Michaela, thanks for doing this!

good

I recently shared with Rakshith, Kishore and Elishia that they really need improve CF Builder. The IDE has very poor hi-dpi support, making it look far less like a modern language/platform than .NET, whose tools are first class. Until recently, the marketing on the splash screen promoted CF Builder 2, which was puzzling and at the same time infuriating to me. I have been programming in ColdFusion since version 3.1 and it has been very hard for me to see the tools in decline, from Allaire ColdFusion Studio, to the Macromedia DevNet Tools and Dreamweaver, to Adobe CF Builder. I love ColdFusion and I would hate to see it die. I wish there was a modern IDE offered by Adobe (or someone) that provided all of the features of CF Builder paired with the front-end functionality of Dreamweaver bundled into a modern IDE that is not reliant on Eclipse. Alas, I expect that will never happen, but one can hope.

One issue I have seen is that a bad implementation of a framework (machii) has led to a negative opinion of CF as a whole.

Frustrating that Adobe are still doing nothing to attract new people to take up CFML programming. They're happy selling to the same customers but this means there are no teenagers coding it in their bedrooms, students coding in their classrooms or halls of residence, or freelancers learning it.

I love the idea of making Coldfusion more modern and populate so anything I can do from this side of the pond, be sure to let me know. I live and work in Ireland.

Awesome survey, glad to be able to participate.

While the Docker container may be useful, it is harder to implement since it isn't an official Docker (docker hub) container image (one has to sign up for third party container registrant). Also, the licensing for both the container and cloud deployment in general is still unclear, and lack of support for Microsoft Azure environment troublesome. Being a corporation, we already have Microsoft Enterprise agreements, which provide Azure credits, but Adobe doesn't have an out-of-the-box deployment solution (and pricing for Azure). It only has for AWS. Ideally, it would be nice to run in Azure Web Applications for Containers (Linux Container Apps) or as Azure Web Apps. The goal for Cloud computing is to get rid of server management. Right now, it would still involve managing virtual machines with a license that is unclear on how to purchase. Also, ColdFusion doesn't offer any benefits over say Node.JS now in the Cloud environment. ColdFusion doesn't support NoSQL clients and has a monolithic architecture. It needs to move to microservices based architecture and licensing running in containers. That is where Node.JS and Spring Boot excel.

Keep it up the good work

Total number of responses

Join the CF Alive revolution

Discover how we can all make CF more alive, modern and secure this year. Join other ColdFusion developers and managers in the CF Alive Inner Circle today.

  • Get early access to the CF Alive book and videos
  • Be part of a new movement for improving CF's perception in the world.
  • Contribute to the CF Alive revolution
  • Connect with other CF developers and managers
  • There is no cost to membership.
261913 Cfalivephoenix 2 091718
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Related Posts

  • State of the CF Union 2022 Survey Released
  • State of the CF Union 2023 Survey Released
  • State of the CF Union 2019 (in depth annual ColdFusion survey)
  • State of the CF Union 2021 Survey Released
  • State of the CF Union 2020 survey released

Filed Under: Survey, AWS, CFML, Docker, Fusebox, JVM, Learn ColdFusion, Legacy Code, Lucee

← Previous Post Into the Box 2019 Full Review (+ Complete List of Slides and Presentations)
Next Post → Fixinator- A New, Powerful Security for Your CFML Code

Popular podcast episodes

  • Revealing ColdFusion 2021 – Rakshith Naresh
  • CF and Angular – Nolan Erck
  • Migrating legacy CFML – Nolan Erck
  • Adobe API manager – Brian Sappey
  • Improve your CFML code – Kai Koenig

CF Alive Best Practices Checklist

Modern ColdFusion development best practices that reduce stress, inefficiency, project lifecycle costs while simultaneously increasing project velocity and innovation.

Get your checklist

Top articles

  • CF Hosting (independent guide)
  • What is Adobe ColdFusion
  • Is Lucee CFML now better than ACF?
  • Is CF dead?
  • Learn CF (comprehensive list of resources)

Recent Posts

  • 060 Migrating legacy CFML to MVC (Model View Controller) with Nolan Erck
  • 129 MASA ColdFusion CMS (new open source Content Manager) with Guust Nieuwenhuis
  • 122 CFWheels ColdFusion Framework (new structure and features), with Peter Amiri
  • 113 ACF and Lucee Roundtable, with Charlie Arehart, Gert Franz, Mark Drew and Ben Nadel
  • 019 A Whirlwind Tour of Preside Application Framework in the Wild, with Alex Skinner

Categories

  • Adobe ColdFusion 11 and older
  • Adobe ColdFusion 2018
  • Adobe ColdFusion 2020 Beta
  • Adobe ColdFusion 2021
  • Adobe ColdFusion 2023
  • Adobe ColdFusion Developer week
  • Adobe ColdFusion Project Stratus
  • Adobe ColdFusion Summit
  • AWS
  • CF Alive
  • CF Alive Podcast
  • CF Camp
  • CF Tags
  • CF Vs. Other Languages
  • CFEclipse
  • CFML
  • CFML Open- Source
  • CFUnited
  • ColdBox
  • ColdFusion and other news
  • ColdFusion Community
  • ColdFusion Conference
  • ColdFusion Consulting
  • ColdFusion Developer
  • ColdFusion Development
  • ColdFusion Hosting
  • ColdFusion Maintenance
  • ColdFusion Performance Tuning
  • ColdFusion Projects
  • ColdFusion Roadmap
  • ColdFusion Security
  • ColdFusion Training
  • CommandBox
  • Docker
  • Fixinator
  • Frameworks
  • Fusebox
  • FusionReactor
  • IntoTheBox Conference
  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • JVM
  • Learn CFML
  • Learn ColdFusion
  • Legacy Code
  • Load Testing
  • Lucee
  • Mindmapping
  • MockBox
  • Modernize ColdFusion
  • Ortus Developer Week
  • Ortus Roadshow
  • Server Crash
  • Server Software
  • Server Tuning
  • SQL
  • Survey
  • Survey results
  • TestBox
  • Transcript
  • Uncategorized
  • Webinar
  • Women in Tech
  • Home
  • Services
    • ColdFusion Consulting
    • ColdFusion Development
    • ColdFusion Maintenance
    • ColdFusion Security
  • About Us
  • CF Alive
    • CF Alive Book
    • CF Alive Inner Circle
    • CF Alive full resources cheatsheet
  • Blog
  • Podcast
    • Podcast Guest schedule
  • Contact
  • Sitemap

The ColdFusion Experts:
Develop, Secure, Optimize

TeraTech Inc
451 Hungerford Drive Suite 119
Rockville, MD 20850

Tel : +1 (301) 424 3903
Fax: +1 (301) 762 8185

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on YouTube

 

(Gandalf, the CF wizard,

can often be found in Hobbiton)

Copyright © 1998–2023 TeraTech Inc. All rights Reserved.