Cold Fusion Books

Adobe ColdFusion 8 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 1: Getting Started (Web Application Construction Kit)

Ben Forta, Raymond Camden, Charlie Arehart

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> Languages & Tools -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A welcomed Update.... 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I have been coding CFML since Coldfusion 5, and I have long used the Cold Fusion MX book as a reference in my daily work, so I was happy to get the new books to help with using some of the newer features.

So this is a large jump from my book for version 6, there is a lot more in the book, but also a lot less. I went ahead and got all three books in the series, and one of the things that I found was missing was the CFML tag reference at the end of the book. I know that sometimes I do work while on the road, and so do not have internet access, but they seem to only want to have that information on-line.

In my review of Volume 3, I did complain about half the book being on-line only and not actually in the print book. When you buy a book, it is nice to actually get the book.

I am far from a new user of Coldfusion so I can not speak of how well it teaches the language, but as a long time user, I do find this series as a nice reference. One things that does seem to be missing is talking about which of the features are new to 8, which were added in 7, and so on. I know that in my development, I need to constantly support customers who are on old version of Coldfusion, so that would be a great thing to have with the Tag reference.

Hope this helps people out there...

Editorial Review:

The ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit is the best-selling ColdFusion series of all time—the books that most ColdFusion developers used to learn the product. This Getting Started volume starts with Web and Internet fundamentals and database concepts and design, and then progresses to topics including creating data-driven pages, building complete applications, implementing security mechanisms, integrating with e-mail, building reusable functions and components, generating data-driven reports and graphs, building Ajax-powered user interfaces, and much more. Complete coverage of ColdFusion 8 continues in “Volume 2, Application Development” (ISBN 0-321-51546-3) and “Volume 3, Advanced Application Development” (ISBN 0-321-51547-1).

Adobe ColdFusion 8 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 2: Application Development

Ben Forta, Raymond Camden, Charlie Arehart, John C. Bland, Leon Chalnick, Ken Fricklas, Paul Hastings, Mike Nimer, Sarge Sargent, Robi Sen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Disappointed Forta Fan 2 out of 5 stars.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I have almost every book that Ben Forta has written on ColdFusion and have been a big fan of his teaching and writing style but this book is a big disappointment to me.

Firstly, I did not purchase volume 1 since I already have a basic working knowledge CF thanks to his previous books and at the current prices didn't think I needed a reprise. Vol 2 appeared to cover the new CF8 features but it appparently is not a stand-alone version since there were no instructions as to where to obtain and install the sample code and tutorials used in the book. I finally found the link on the back cover, visited the Forta/book site and accessed the forum. I found the supporting files to Vol 2, downloaded and installed them, then discovered that I apparently needed databases and files included in previous books. Not only that, but to "reduce the price" of the book, half the chapters are online.

Chapt 29 spent a great deal of Page space (which seems to be at a premium) expounding on the need to create a good user experience (navigation techniques, fast downloads, etc) - this book was supposed to be on CF8, not best practices in website design. I would have preferred he used the valuable page space for CF8 features and techniques.

I still haven't located what appear to be missing files in a missing directory called "imageserver", (which displays a "page not found" message when trying to view the example code files in Chapter 33) even after spending some frustrating time surfing the online forum.

I expected a book devoted to the new and upgraded CF8 features and not revisiting previous code examples (like Next N) unless the new features impact the former way of doing things, which are covered in a previous Forta books like: Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit and Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion MX Application Development (3rd Edition).

I paid almost $50 for one volume of a 3 volume book which is mostly a rewrite of the previous content and half of that is only available on line. I would rather have paid a bit more for new valuable content on the changes in CF8.

When I purchase a book, I expect a book that I can read sitting in a chair - not sitting at a computer reading a pdf file or printing it out on a ream of paper!

Forta's other books are great but this book is not worth the price.

Editorial Review:

ColdFusion 8 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 2: Application Development begins by introducing important code organization and management techniques, and then progresses to topics that include integrating with all sorts of other technologies (including PDF, Adobe Flex, Ajax, advanced SQL and databases), debugging, and optimizing performance. From design and planning, to application deployment and troubleshooting, this instructional reference is all you need to successfully work, create, and progress with ColdFusion 8, the the most important ColdFusion since the product was created back in 1995

Adobe ColdFusion 8 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 3: Advanced Application Development (Web Application Construction Kit)

Ben Forta, Charlie Arehart, Jeffrey Bouley, Jeff Tapper, Matt Tatam, Raymond Camden, Robi Sen, Sarge Sargent

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Good series, this volume is not as great as other in the series... 3 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I got this book, along with Volume 1 and 2, and I will say that I was more than a little disappointed. The biggest issue that I have is that half the book is not included in the book. Basically, in the front of this volume, it says that chapters 41-54 are only on-line. For me, I like having the books for reference when I am not at my computer, so having those sections on-line only are more than a little annoying!

I also noticed more typo's in this volume than the other two. The actual content in the book is fairly helpful and have helped me out.

-Matt

Editorial Review:

The ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit is the best-selling ColdFusion series of all time—used by more ColdFusion developers to learn the product than any other books. Volume 3, Advanced Application Development introduces advanced ColdFusion features and technologies, including ensuring high availability, security and access control implementations, Java and .NET integration, using feeds and web services, connecting to IM networks, and server OS integration.
Complete coverage of ColdFusion 8 starts in Volume 1, Getting Started (ISBN 0-321-51548-X) and Volume 2 Application Development (ISBN 0-321-51546-3).

Learning PHP 5

David Sklar

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $8.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

PHP has gained a following among non-technical web designers who need to add interactive aspects to their sites. Offering a gentle learning curve, PHP is an accessible yet powerful language for creating dynamic web pages. As its popularity has grown, PHP's basic feature set has become increasingly more sophisticated. Now PHP 5 boasts advanced features--such as new object-oriented capabilities and support for XML and Web Services--that will please even the most experienced web professionals while still remaining user-friendly enough for those with a lower tolerance for technical jargon.

If you've wanted to try your hand at PHP but haven't known where to start, then Learning PHP 5 is the book you need. With attention to both PHP 4 and the new PHP version 5, it provides everything from a explanation of how PHP works with your web server and web browser to the ins and outs of working with databases and HTML forms. Written by the co-author of the popular PHP Cookbook, this book is for intelligent (but not necessarily highly-technical) readers. Learning PHP 5 guides you through every aspect of the language you'll need to master for professional web programming results. This book provides a hands-on learning experience complete with exercises to make sure the lessons stick.

Learning PHP 5 covers the following topics, and more:
How PHP works with your web browser and web server
PHP language basics, including data, variables, logic and looping
Working with arrays and functions
Making web forms
Working with databases like MySQL
Remembering users with sessions
Parsing and generating XML
Debugging

Written by David Sklar, coauthor of the PHP Cookbook and an instructor in PHP, this book offers the ideal classroom learning experience whether you're in a classroom or on your own. From learning how to install PHP to designing database-backed web applications, Learning PHP 5 will guide you through every aspect of the language you'll need to master to achieve professional web programming results.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 with ASP, ColdFusion, and PHP: Training from the Source

Jeffrey Bardzell, Bob Flynn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Excellent Guide for taking it to the next level 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I have quite a bit of experience building static sites and pages and realized the importance of expanding my understanding of building dynamic sites. I have a pretty good understanding of using Dreamweaver but am just getting started on using Dreamweaver CS3. I was hoping to get a better idea of how to use all of the new features in CS3 while also specifically learning php. I got more than I bargained for. Specifically, I was not aware of the differences between ASP, ColdFusion and PHP. Now, I have a much better feel of which one to use for different situations.

One of the things that struck me right away is that anyone, regardless of your current level of experience, that is interested in using Dreamweaver can start out with this book. For those of you who already have Dreamweaver experience, you can speed through a few of the first parts but it is always great to see how someone else approaches things.

The tutorials and sample files were great and very easy to use - very intuitive and the sequential steps made lots of sense. I am still in the process of implementing all of the things I am learning. As a result of using this book, I am now planning to revise an existing static site and launch a new dynamic site. I love the way the book is written - very practical. I almost feel like the authors are having a dialog with me all along the way.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn how to use Dreamweaver CS3 to build dynamic websites and applications.

Editorial Review:

Designed for intermediate Web designers and developers with no previous experience with programming or server-side technology. Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 with ASP, ColdFusion and PHP: Training from the Source has been fully-updated, not just for the latest version of Dreamweaver but for today's Web. It's now standards--compliant, with a site created using one of Dreamweaver's brand-new CSS templates, that includes Ajax elements in the dynamic site design. Users ready to take the next step and make their Web sites interactive will find the same easy-to-read, logical, well-constructed projects, but with a site based on the latest Web technology.

Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit

Ben Forta, Raymond Camden, Leon Chalnick, Angela C. Buraglia

Amazon Price: $37.79 List Price: $59.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Macromedia Press Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $17.23

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

With more than 75 of the Fortune 100 companies using it (and more than 10,000 organizations employing it worldwide), it’s pretty much a given that if you’re developing applications for the Web, you’re going to need to know ColdFusion at some point! Not to worry: Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit provides everything you need to start creating Web-based applications immediately—including the latest version of the ColdFusion Web Application Server and development environment. Author and ColdFusion master Ben Forta starts by covering the fundamentals of Web-based database design and then proceeds to show you how to do everything from create data-driven pages to build complete applications, implement security mechanisms, integrate with e-mail, interact with Macromedia Flash, and more. From design and installation to application deployment and troubleshooting, this guide’s got ColdFusion covered, including all the features new to the latest version: structured business reports, rich forms, Enterprise Manager (which lets users cluster multiple ColdFusion servers on a single machine), and more!

Programming ColdFusion MX, 2nd Edition

Rob Brooks-Bilson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Incredible Coldfusion book for Beginners or Pros 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This book seems to bring a whole new perspective on Coldfusion. I have been programming CF for approximately 2-3 years, and this just opened up more doors of CF functionality. For example it displays one of the best "homegrown" login examples I have ever seen. It also really goes into great detail on more advanced topics that other books seems to skate around. Once again, an incredible book for beginners and pros!!!

Editorial Review:

ColdFusion has enjoyed widespread use among developers as a powerful, easy-to-learn platform for creating and deploying dynamic web applications. ColdFusion's simple, tag-based language makes it easy to handle basic tasks, like processing form data and querying databases, but the language is also powerful enough to deliver highly scalable, robust applications. And now that Macromedia has integrated ColdFusion into its MX family of technologies, ColdFusion is capable of interacting with Flash MX applications, which opens up even more possibilities. The first edition of this book has been praised as "the best reference book available on the subject." This new edition, Programming ColdFusion MX, 2nd Edition, goes even further, documenting new techniques for using ColdFusion MX 6.1 to develop and serve dynamic web page content. This exhaustive guide covers everything from the basics to advanced topics, with numerous examples that you can use for your own applications.

ColdFusion MX for Dummies

John Paul Ashenfelter, Jon N. Kocen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Why did the author make so many typos in this book? 3 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I've been a ColdFusion programmer for about three to four years now, but if I hadn't read Ben Forta on ColdFusion 4.0, I would have really not understood this book. There were so many typos and incorrect spellings in certain sections of the book that I wondered if the author was testing us. I was really impressed by ASP.NET for Dummies which I highly recommend, but this was a real disappointment. The Flash-CF program interactive you download was very interesting, but considering the download also included only two downloaded tables persons and departments, I wondered why some of the book's code asked for a table called employees. (page 93) Also XAsisTitle (page 83) -- very bad taste, but it's right next to YAxisTitle so I guess we're supposed to figure that out. Also I believe there is no ColdFusion internal function for Sqrt (page 92) so when you poor programmer try to program that -- you get a please define variable Sqrt. Not recommended for the faint of the heart. Ben Forta forever.

Editorial Review:

* Provides introductory database material for readers who are new to working with databases.
* Explains how to install and configure ColdFusion.
* Describes how to work with forms, and secure and troubleshoot the software.
* Discusses how to use e-mail, Java, Flash, and XML.

ColdFusion 8 Developer Tutorial

John Farrar

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Adobe ColdFusion is an application server, renowned for rapid development of dynamic websites, with a straightforward language (CFML), powerful methods for packaging and reusing your code, and AJAX support that will get developers deep into powerful web applications quickly.

This book is the most intense guide to creating professional ColdFusion applications available. Packed with example code, and written in a friendly, easy-to-read style, this book is just want you need if you are serious about ColdFusion.

This book will give you clear, concise and, of course, practical guidance to take you from the basics of ColdFusion 8 to the skills that will make you a ColdFusion developer to be reckoned with.

ColdFusion expert John Farrar will teach you how about the basics of ColdFusion programming, application architecture, and object reuse, before showing you a range of topics including AJAX library integration, RESTful Web Services, PDF creation and manipulation, and dynamically generated presentation files that will make you the toast of your ColdFusion developer town.

This book digs deep with the basics, with real-world examples of the how and whys, to get more done faster with ColdFusion 8.

This book also covers the new features of ColdFusion 8 Update 1.

Approach

This book is a fast-paced tutorial to developing ColdFusion applications, with an emphasis on real-world skills. Packed with examples and careful explanations, the book leads you through all the topics relevant to today's ColdFusion developer.

Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Certified Developer Study Guide

Ben Forta

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

With an estimated base of more than 300,000 users, there are an awful lot of ColdFusion developers out there. The cream of the crop, however, are those with Macromedia certification. To get that, you must pass the Certified ColdFusion Developer exam: This comprehensive study guide ensures that you do! In these pages, veteran author and ColdFusion product evangelist Ben Forta provides you with the inside skinny on everything you need to know to become a certified ColdFusion MX 7 developer. Organized as a series of tightly focused review sessions that follow the same subject divisions as the test itself, this thoroughly updated study guide covers all that’s new in ColdFusion—structured business reports, rich forms, Enterprise Manager (which lets users cluster multiple ColdFusion servers on a single machine), and more—as well as every major feature and skill: variables and expressions, data types, services and protocols, databases, tuning and optimization. Each short chapter includes well-explained code examples, and a companion Web site rounds out the package.