In this unit, you review code and content reuse in the form of custom tags, .Net integration and web services. Custom tags are used to access any passed arguments and variables in the calling page, and may be nested to improve efficiency. You can use .NET assemblies to provide added functionality such as accessing existing .Net components or control Microsoft products such as Word or Excel. A web service is application functionality that can be published and consumed over the Internet. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Create ColdFusion custom tags for user interface display • Create ColdFusion nested custom tags • Create and call web services

In this unit you will learn how to handle page-level and application level ColdFusion errors, and build an exception handling framework to deal with these types of problems. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Set up and configure a server-wide error handler • Output server-side input validation errors within your custom design by using • Handle runtime errors gracefully using the onError() method of Application.cfc • Gracefully handle requests for non-existent CFM files with onMissingTemplate() • Handle exceptions with and • Build an exception

In this unit you explore advanced ColdFusion components using instance-based and built in components, using methods to gracefully handle missing methods, and validate components. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Encapsulate data in a CFC by creating a CFC instance and assigning properties. • Persist CFC instances in the application and session scopes. • Access component properties through getters and setters • Automatically create getter and setter proxies using onMissingMethod() • Prototype and validate your components using

In this unit you will work with components, arrays and structures to manipulate data. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Use arrays to store groups of data in one variable. • Manipulate arrays using array functions. • Use structures to store a group of related data. • Use functions to manipulate array and structure data. • Loop over array and structure data using . • Access various scoped variables using structure notation. • Access values from dynamically named variables. • Combine arrays and structures to create complex data types. • Understand how complex data is passed either by reference or by value.

In situations where you need to retrieve data from a database and display it, lists are an ideal way to summarize and group output data. You may also choose to query an existing query to further refine the scope of a list of data. In this unit you will create and manipulate lists, confirm transaction processing and query a query in order to modify the display of information. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Loop over queries using . • Suppress repeated data using grouping. • Query an existing result set. • Lock table rows to ensure effective concurrency in a multi-user environment. • Import external data into a query object.

ColdFusion components (CFCs) let you encapsulate and reuse code in small, logical units. ColdFusion components are special objects that contain both data and functions. With ColdFusion 8, you use CFCs to build applications that take advantage of an object-oriented like approach. In this unit you will be introduced to the syntax, configuration and implementation of ColdFusion components. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Describe the benefits of using ColdFusion components • Create a static ColdFusion component. • Use the self-documenting features of a CFC • Invoke methods of a CFC • Configure application settings • Create shared variables that are thread-safe • Read and cache configuration data from a .ini file in shared variables • Structure your application to easily support maintenance windows • Track the number of active sessions • Capture application events to a log file

Once you have completed this first unit, you will have installed the necessary software and course files to proceed with the balance of the Advanced ColdFusion 8 Development course. This unit is for setup only. It contains Step-by-Step activities but does not contain Lessons or an On Your Own assignment component. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Install and configure ColdFusion 8 • Install and configure Dreamweaver CS4 • Install and configure the Advanced ColdFusion 8 Development course files • Test the development environment • Create a site in Dreamweaver CS4 • Explore the Café Townsend public website and Intranet application

The Advanced ColdFusion 8 Development course is designed to teach experienced web developers how to take full advantage of ColdFusion 8 while building web applications. In this project-based course, you incorporate advanced functionality to build a robust website and intranet for a fictional restaurant named Café Townsend using the Dreamweaver CS4 and ColdFusion 8 development environment. In this task-based course, you incorporate advanced functionality to build a robust website and intranet for a fictional restaurant named Café Townsend. The course includes web application assets, installation and setup guidelines and reproducible student materials.In this task-based course, you incorporate advanced functionality to build a robust website and intranet for a fictional restaurant named Café Townsend. The course includes web application assets, installation and setup guidelines and reproducible student materials.

Security is a very important consideration when developing ColdFusion web applications, and should always be a top concern. ColdFusion web applications are used to collect sensitive personal information from users such as credit card numbers, maiden names, passwords etc and it is your responsibility to ensure that information is kept as safe as possible. One method to secure a site is through the use of application and session variables. Application variables are commonly used for shared information including the application name, data source names, paths to shared images, and so on, and are persist for all application users for a defined period of time. Session variables are more effective for security as information specific to a single browser’s interaction with a ColdFusion application is lost when the user logs out or the browser is closed. In this unit you will be introduced to various ways to secure ColdFusion web pages using application and session variables. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Secure access to your web pages • Use the application framework • Use application variables • Use session variables This is Unit 10 of the Introduction to ColdFusion 8 curriculum.

Creating reusable code has many benefits to developers building ColdFusion web applications. These include savings in development time, portability and reusability of code, and economies of updating where one change to code instantly changes all instances of use across the application. In this unit you learn how to create reusable code. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Call CFML custom tags from your application • Call user-defined functions • Call ColdFusion components from your application This is Unit 9 in the Introduction to ColdFusion 8 curriculum.

In addition to adding new records to a database, you can also build update and delete logic into your ColdFusion web pages. Update forms can be built that will pre-fill a form based on the information contained within the database record. A delete action provides the logic to remove a record from the database table. In this unit you will learn how to update and delete records from a database table. You will also learn how to improve security on the dynamic variables you use in your queries. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Build an update form • Pre-fill form controls • Update a database record using the tag and the SQL UPDATE statement • Delete a database record using the tag and the SQL DELETE statement • Define the acceptable data types for the dynamic variables used in SQL statements This is Unit 8 in the Introduction to ColdFusion 8 curriculum.

A database is a changeable list of information saved in the form of records. You use insert logic built into a ColdFusion page to write new information to a database. An insert adds a new row to a database table. In this unit you learn how to insert user-supplied data into the database. After completing this unit, you should be able to: • Create an insert form • Implement user input validation • Create insert logic • Redirect processing to another page This is Unit 7 in the Introduction to ColdFusion 8 curriculum.