Who Should Use This Book?

Macromedia ColdFusion was the first Web application server (created actually before the term existed) and remains the world's leading cross-platform Web development tool. Although ColdFusion remains an easy (and even fun) product to learn, some of its more advanced features and technologies require substantial know-how and experience.

This book was written for ColdFusion programmers. If you have yet to write ColdFusion code, this is not the book you needat least not yet. For starters, grab a copy of Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit (Macromedia Press, ISBN 0-321-22367-5). That book teaches you everything you need to know to get up and running (including extensive coverage of prerequisite technologies such as Internet fundamentals, the basics of application and database design, and the SQL language). It also teaches you everything you need to know to write real-world Web-based applications.

ColdFusion MX 7, the latest version of ColdFusion, introduces and extends many new high-end technologies designed to let you create highly secure, scalable, and extensible applications. This book teaches you how these technologies work, how they are used, and how to incorporate them into your own applications.

All of the authors who worked on this book are programmers. Most develop or maintain massive Internet or intranet sites built on ColdFusion technology. The information presented here is based on the real-world experiences of these developers, allowing you to leverage their hard-earned knowledge and experience within your own applications.