Resources
Below are some helpful resources for any ColdFusion Web Developer (and many are helpful for web application developers in any language).
ColdFusion
- Adobe Livedocs
- The number one web place to go for information on all of the ColdFusion tags, functions, plus documentation on any other Adobe product.
For specific ColdFusion documentation check out the following:- ColdFusion 8 - CFML Reference - Direct link to ColdFusion documentation
- Application.cfc Reference - Complete descriptions of all the properties you can set, and functions you can utilize (along with stubs that you can copy and paste to create each of the functions
- CF Quickdocs
- The problem with the Livedocs: they are slow and it can be rather clunky to search for and find your specific tag or function. The solution: CFQuickdocs. This site leverages AJAX and cfhttp snapshots of the Livedocs to provide a much faster, more user friendly reference.
General Web
- W3 Schools
- An outstanding resource for documentation on any scripting language, particularly HTML, Javascript and CSS. Also contains a complete list of browser usage, to help you determine which browsers you need to support/test with and information on which screen resolutions are most prevalent. A great place for beginners and experts alike.
- Firefox
- As a preface, let me say, you must still at the very least test your sites in both IE and Firefox. When you are developing, however, nothing beats firefox. Download it, and install the following valuable add-ons:
- Web Developer - Control cookies, prepopulate forms, simulate http gets and posts to your forms, view CSS and Javascript information (including the details of those pesky included files), outline your table cells and divs to debug HTML problems, launch validation tools, etc… A must have for any one doing any serious web application development.
- Firebug - View the HTML source in a panel with expand/collapse, mouseover an element in your HTML and it highlights on the page, debug your Javascript with breakpoints and watches (a must for the serious AJAX developer). Another must have.
- Adblock Plus - “Ever been annoyed by all those ads and banners on the internet that often take longer to download than everything else on the page? Install Adblock Plus now and get rid of them.”
Leave a Reply