If you're looking to create real-world applications that solve real-world problems using ColdFusion MX as your tool, there's no better place to start than with The ColdFusion MX Web Application Construction Kit. Serving as both tutorial and reference, this all-in-one kit provides everything you need to begin creating Internet-based applications--including evaluation and developer versions of ColdFusion MX and its development environment. Building on the tried-and-true formula of the four best-selling previous editions--but using lessons geared toward creating the next generation of Web projects--veteran author Ben Forta moves from the fundamentals of Web and database design to more complex topics like creating data-driven pages, implementing security mechanisms, and building complete applications. In the process, he covers new features in ColdFusion MX: a J2EE-based engine, a new development environment, additional debugging tools, Flash integration, business charting, XML manipulation, and more. Whether you're a recent ColdFusion convert or an old hand who's ready to learn some new tricks and best practices, you'll find answers to all your questions in the definitive and standard developer's reference--The ColdFusion MX Web Application Construction Kit.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. I. GETTING STARTED. 1. Introducing ColdFusion MX. The Basics. Understanding ColdFusion. ColdFusion Explained. Powered by ColdFusion. 2. Building the Databases. Database Fundamentals. Using a Database. Understanding Relational Databases. Understanding the Various Types of Database Applications. Building the OWS Database Tables. 3. Accessing the ColdFusion Administrator. Logging In to (and Out of) the ColdFusion Administrator. Using the ColdFusion Administrator. 4. Previewing ColdFusion. Preparing to Learn ColdFusion. Using Dreamweaver MX Code Generation. Treating It Yourself. 5. Introducing SQL. Understanding Data Sources. Preparing to Write SQL Queries. Creating Queries. Sorting Query Results. Filtering Data. 6. SQL Data Manipulation. Adding Data. Modifying Data. Deleting Data. 7. Introducing Macromedia Dreamweaver MX. Dreamweaver MX Overview. Getting Help. The Dreamweaver Workspace. Code Editing. Design Tools. Customizing Dreamweaver. II. USING COLDFUSION. 8. Using ColdFusion. Working with Templates. Using Functions. Using Variables. Working with Expressions. Using ColdFusion Data Types. Commenting Your Code. 9. CFML Basics. Working with Conditional Processing. Using Looping. Reusing Code. Revisiting Variables. 10. Creating Data-Driven Pages. Accessing Databases. Displaying Database Query Results. Using Query Variables. Grouping Result Output. Using Data Drill-Down. Debugging Dynamic Database Queries. 11. ColdFusion Forms. Using Forms. Creating Forms. Processing Form Submissions. Creating Dynamic SQL Statements. Building Truly Dynamic Statements. Creating Dynamic Search Screens. 12. Form Data Validation. Understanding Form Validation. Using Server-Side Validation. Using Client-Side Validation. Putting It All Together. 13. Using Forms to Add or Change Data. Adding Data with ColdFusion. Introducing . Updating Data with ColdFusion. Introducing . Deleting Data with ColdFusion. Reusing Forms. Creating a Complete Application. 14. Debugging and Troubleshooting. Troubleshooting ColdFusion Applications. Using the ColdFusion Debugging Options. Using the ColdFusion Log Files. Preventing Problems. III. BUILDING COLDFUSION APPLICATIONS. 15. Planning an Application. Getting Started on Your Application. Planning the Process. While You Are Working. 16. Introducing the Web Application Framework. Using Application.cfm. Customizing the Look of Error Messages. Using Application Variables. Using Locks to Protect Against Race Conditions. Application Variable Timeouts. 17. Working with Sessions. Addressing the Web's Statelessness. Using Cookies to Remember Preferences. Using Client Variables. Using Session Variables. Locking Revisited. 18. Securing Your Applications. Options for Securing Your Applications. Using ColdFusion to Control Access. Using Session Variables for Authentication. 19. Building User-Defined Functions. Thinking About Extending CFML. Functions Turn Input into Output. Building Your First UDF. Creating Libraries of Related UDFs. Creating General-Purpose UDFs. Sharing UDF Libraries with Others. 20. Building Reusable Components. Easy, Powerful Extensibility. Introducing CFML Custom Tags. How to Use Custom Tags. Controlling Template Locations with . Writing Custom Tags That Display Information. Custom Tags That Process Data. Custom Tags That Encapsulate Business Rules. Custom Tags for General-Purpose Use. Additional Custom Tag Topics. Introducing ColdFusion Components. Your First CFC. A More Complete CFC. Components That Hold Instance Data. Learning More About CFCs. 21. Improving the User Experience. Usability Considerations. Remembering Settings. Creating Next-N Records Interfaces. Returning page Output Right Away with . 22. Improving Performance. Options in the ColdFusion Administrator. Improving Query Performance with Caching. Caching Page Output. Controlling Whitespace. 23. Integrating with Macromedia Flash. Flash Integration Concepts. Your First Flash Movie. Using Flash Remoting. Working with Record Sets in Flash. Calling CFC Methods from Flash. Other Cool Flash Remoting Features. 24. Enhancing Forms with Client-Side Java. 25. Graphing. Charting and Graphing Features. Building Simple Charts. Creating Sophisticated Charts. Additional Charting Topics. 26. Interacting with Email. Sending Email from ColdFusion. Retrieving Email with ColdFusion. 27. Online Commerce. Building Ecommerce Sites. Creating Storefronts. Creating Shopping Carts. Payment Processing. Other Commerce-Related Tasks. IV. ENHANCING FORMS WITH CLIENT-SIDE JAVA. 28. ColdFusion Server Configuration. The ColdFusion Administrator. Server Settings. Data & Services. Debugging & Logging. Extensions. Security. 29. More About SQL and Queries. Advanced SQL Topics. Additional Topics. Using Database Transactions. 30. Working with Stored Procedures. 31. Error Handling. Catching Errors as They Occur. Throwing and Catching Your Own Errors. 32. Generating Non-HTML Content. 33. Interacting With the Operating System. 34. Full-Text Searching. Getting to Know Verity. Creating a Search Tool for Your Documents. Indexing SQL Data. Maintaining Collections. Administrating Collections with . Expanding Verity's Power. Understanding Verity's Search Syntax. Spidering Your Local Documents. 35. Event Scheduling. 36. Managing Your Code. Coding Standards. Documentation. Version Control. 37. Development Methodologies. Why Use a Development Methodology? Fusebox. Other Methodologies and Frameworks. Issues to Consider with All Development Methodologies. Conclusions. V. APPENDICES. A. Installing ColdFusion MX, Dreamweaver MX, and the Sample Files. Introduction. ColdFusion MX. Dreamweaver MX. Samples & Data Files. B. ColdFusion Tag Reference. Tag Groups by Function. Alphabetical List of ColdFusion Tags. C. ColdFusion Function Reference. Functions by Topic. Alphabetical List of ColdFusion Functions. D. Special ColdFusion Variables and Result Codes. Special ColdFusion Variables and Result Codes. E. Verity Search Language. Using Angle Brackets Around Operators. Operators Are Not Case Sensitive. Using Prefix Instead of Infix Notation. Searching for Special Characters as Literals. Understanding Concept Operators. Understanding Evidence Operators. Understanding Proximity Operators. Understanding Relational Operators. Understanding Search Modifiers. Understanding Score Operators. F. ColdFusion MX Directory Structure. G. Sample Application Data Files. Index.