I was terribly vexed about a problem I was having on an IIS cluster. I had set content expiration on the images to a value way out in the future, but they were still being downloaded each time a page was requested. This was only happening in IE and not Firefox or Safari.

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This is something that has been simmering below the surface for a while, but needs to come out in the open. There is a knowledge gap in the ColdFusion community and it is only getting wider. There are a lot of what would be considered "entry-level" or "junior" developers out there. These people can use a good bit of the database functionality that CF offers, but don't push it much beyond a way to display database tables and insert and update data. Inline queries are the norm for this crowd and they rarely, if ever have anything to do with CFCs. Some of these people have been using ColdFusion for a LONG time, but they are not what we would consider an advanced developer despite all the time in the trenches. This group of people have been using CF the same way for years and are very comfortable where they are, in regards their skill level. They are not the type of developer who you can count on to design and architect an enterprise level application, but are very strong in maintenance roles. The other side of the spectrum are your advanced developers. People who push ColdFusion to the limits of what it can do and beyond. These are people who architect applications from the ground up. These are developers who recognize the power of objects and what they can bring to a ColdFusion application. They tend to look at a project from a much higher level and can abstract concepts much easier and quicker than the previous group. They have embraced CFCs and gateways and exploited all that CF can do, plus tried to push ColdFusion to its limits and beyond. Why is this even an issue? The ColdFusion market is BOOMING right now. Look at Monster, HotJobs, etc. Everyone wants a ColdFusion developer right now. A lot of people want an entry level developer, or a junior developer. Who, but someone fresh out of school, is going to call themselves a junior developer? Most people who have been in the game for a few years consider themselves senior-level, or highly experienced ColdFusion developers. But are they really? It doesn't take long for a ColdFusion developer to ramp up. I believe that someone who has a decent grasp of programming concepts (procedural or OO) can become a decent ColdFusion developer in 2 months. The problem comes when they reach a certain plateau of their skill set. At this plateau, they can use the basic functionality that makes ColdFusion viable and make a decent living. They do not much more with ColdFusion than your rudimentary database tasks. The other option is for them to push themselves and their skill sets with regard to ColdFusion. This is where that divide begins to get filled in as you have developers who push themselves past the rudimentary ColdFusion skill set and explore objects. They don't have to master a framework or break some new ground with ColdFusion, they just have to break out of that skill plateau that has been good them up to now. One of the great strengths, and possibly weaknesses, of ColdFusion is that it allows for this divide to be created. Developers can code in a procedural manner, or they can embrace the object-oriented methodology. Cries of developers complaining that ColdFusion is becoming too much like Java can be stopped with one sentence: You do not have to use the new functionality if you don't want to use it. Plain and simple. Will this gap fill overnight? No. Will it fill over the next six months to a year? Maybe. It's up to people to want to increase their skill sets and break out of their comfort zones to fill that gap. Until developers are ready to break out of their comfort zone and venture into space they have not before, this divide will remain. Are you ready to push your limits?

Flex has nothing against AJAX. In fact, they can play together quite well. I have heard this argument a few times: "If I use AJAX, why would I need Flex?" or the converse argument. The reality is that Flex and AJAX each have their own unique space. Imagine a page where you want dyanmic dropdown boxes and no other dynamic pieces. Should you build a full-blown Flex app for that? Of course not; you want to use AJAX for that scenario. Now, say you want a full featured data-sensitive dynamic web applicaiton...does AJAX make sense for that? Not quite. Chances are Flex is going to give you a more robust solution than AJAX can offer. Throw FDS into the mix and Flex can run rings around AJAX in that type of situation. Flex can produce a much richer and more full featured web app than using AJAX can. They each have their space and use. Adobe is embracing each of them by producing Flex and their own AJAX framework, Spry. There is also a Flex-AJAX bridge which helps the two technologies talk to each other. So back to the question: Which is better, Flex or AJAX? The answer: It depends on your situation.

This is another anti-Flex argument I have heard. "Flex is going to replace ColdFusion." or maybe you have heard something to the tune of: "Adobe cares more about Flex than ColdFusion." You've got to be kidding, right? Flex is not the end of ColdFusion, quite to the contrary, it is the next evolution. ColdFusion will remain the engine that is driving the application, but Flex is that shiny new front end for your web applications. Flex cannot talk directly to a database...but ColdFusion can. ColdFusion is moving into the middleware space. ColdFusion is maturing. Flex is the new presentation layer. We first got a taste of this in CFMX 7 with Flash Forms. Flash Forms were a nice preview to what we could do with Flex (albeit Flex 1.5). I have frequently called Flash Forms "Flex Lite" because that is just what they are... Flash Forms serve the purpose of being a temptation to get you to dive into Flex. Should every ColdFusion developer learn Flex? It wouldn't hurt. In fact, it would be a good career move. Can you keep on using ColdFusion like you have since you started way back when? Sure. Will you be getting the most out of one of the web's most powerful application tools? No. You can keep developing without CFCs or any type of OO structure, but you will get left behind. ColdFusion's role is changing, but it won't leave you out in the cold if you still develop in a ColdFuison 5 style. The functionality is in place to develop in an OO style, but you don't have to use it. You probably should though if you don't want to be left on the wrong side of the curve. Flex and ColdFusion together are the next wave of RIA's. Are you ready to ride the wave, or will you get pulled under?

I finally ditched my old hosting provider who was having serious uptime issues because they were using way old hardware that couldn't handle any kind of load. There was constantly database issues and the db server kept crashing... It was hosting hell. Who is this awful provider? Me. I was running my own DB on my own network and it was just not up to the task. Now that I have stopped hosting my own website and switched to a reputable provider, maybe this site won't crash as much when Peter and Matt talk about it on their show...