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
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. π |
| 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 π |
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 π |
- should add what 3rd party components are you using |
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 itβs growth plan. Itβs 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 itβs 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. |
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 π |
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
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