Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For years, the Web Application Construction Kit has been the gold standard by which ColdFusion books are judged. This new edition, updated for the latest version of ColdFusion, continues in that tradition.

Previous editions have been a bit daunting, so the authors this time wisely decided to split into three volumes instead of the normal two. Volume 1 introduces readers to the basic concepts behind setting up ColdFusion and beginning to write their first applications. Once the basics are covered, it moves on to show how to connect to databases and display that information, create and use forms and their data, make printable content, and set up a basic application framework - pretty much, everything a newcomer to the language would need to know.

The thing that struck me, an advanced ColdFusion developer, about this edition was that many books claim to preach accepted best practices but then sacrifice them in the name of simplicity. These authors, on the other hand, practice what they preach. For years, ColdFusion developers have been stressing the need to create multi-tier applications using ColdFusion Components, and yet most introductory materials on the language have relegated CFCs to advanced courses. This book introduces them as soon as it reasonably can - about half way through - and then follows the "proper" format of using multi-tier applications from then on. So this is not another book that just shows how to create ColdFusion applications, but is rather a book that shows how to build them correctly.

The ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit: Volume 1 is a book that no beginning ColdFusion developer should be without, and even the most experienced developers are bound to learn a few things along the way. It is quite simply the book that no ColdFusion developer at any level can do without.

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...

this is mostly the same as 7.0 book, but for 7.0 it covers more than this one. No ajax function, have to wait until the Volumn2 to come out and it seems not coming as scheduled.(it delayed two times)

Like the book says "Getting Started". I would say that this book it's good for beginners who wants to know the ColdFusion 8 technology and get a bit deep into it. You will learn about the configuration, dreamweaver wizard, database fundamentals, datasource, basic ColdFusion tags, basic forms and search, basic validations, understanding components, some ajax examples, generating reports, how to configure your Application.cfm/cfc, a bit of how to plan an Application, and will know the basics of Session. The book has an project that you can follow if you want or just use it to learn what chapter do you really need. It's incredible the Power of ColdFusion 8 for Web Applications. Instead of learning other languages such php/asp, go and learn ColdFusion and get your application finished sooner than ever before, you won't regret about CF8.
I would recommend this book if you are starting this ColdFusion World, and the others (volume 2, 3) as well.

I was one of many reviewers that write on amazon reviews that Forta is the most respected and skillful technical writer ever borned. His writing style is not only a joy of reading but also an effective educational style. So far so good. But in the last 8 series books I'm almost sure that Forta hasn't write more than 2-3 chapters and he just marketing these books by his name in the front cover. No more the funny style of writing, no more logical sequence in the chapters and many many others. Sorry Ben but the old quality has been lost. I wouldn't suggest the 8th edition books because they are not from Ben or Ben has lost his style, or maybe his name name has to be written in the same size as the other writers.

If you are brand new to Coldfusion and the database side of web, this book will make you a little crazy. I'm about halfway through the book and have had to jump online several times to find our why things weren't working out for me the way they were outlined in the book. Several small, but VERY important steps are left out. Overall, it's not a horrible book, just be prepared to supplement your reading with online help if you are a beginner.

ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit: Volume 1 is better than "ColdFusion for Dummies" or the "ColdFusion MX Bible". The authors describe how to use coldfusion tags, databases and SQL language to build applications. The descriptions and samples are easy to understand, and good tips are given throughout the book. Even experienced developers will learn how to create multi-tier applications. Can't wait to get Volume 2 and 3 for my bookshelf!

The first thing you'll notice upon picking up this book is how light it is compared to previous versions of the ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit. This is probably due to the fact that this latest installment is less than half as long as the previous versions and doesn't even include a tag and function index (which are the main reasons to keep buying from this series...) To be fair, the content covered is good information for "getting started", as the title implies. Aspiring CFML developers would do well to pick up this as a first step toward learning the language, but make sure to either order the MX7 version as well, or the next book in this CFML 8 series - of course who knows if that book will end up also being a diet version. I can't fault the info in the book but I am absolutely disappointed in the books depth.

no one puts it better then Ben. touches on all basic parts of coldfusion and sql. you would be crippled if you did not pick this book up! i used online tutorials for a while. and after reading some of this book. i know i get alot more out of this book then any video tutorial. you buy this book you can sell it in a year and not lose any money, if you would even want to !

I've been around the CF community for over 12 years. In the early days, there were numerous authors and there was competion so I think folks were more customer oriented. Forta, et. al., have become the gurus so they just keep curning out their brand of book, which are less than stellar. I think they know the subject matter so well that they can't bring it down to the mortal level.
Another complaint is that you have to work really hard to find all the info about a give subject and there is no guarantee that you may ever find that piece one bit that you really need.
Finally, the 3 volume set has no overall index so you are forced to look in every book for whatever you are trying to find. More often than not, it is the overflow chapters that are offline, so to speak. They used to include a CD with these chapters.
I finally download all of their online stuff so I can quickly reference it off of my harddrive, but it is less than satisifying.