I like the approach the book takes and it really facilitates learning. Ben Forta is a great author and Raymen Camden and Charlie Arehart are no slouches either.
I upgraded from MX so the following feedback may not be spot on for people coming from last version.
The book has been updated from the previous versions to reflect the newer features in ColdFusion (Ajax, reporting, graphs, etc) best practices for security (SQL injections), and guidelines for programming using ColdFusion Components. The sample code uses features not always addressed and also teach other short cuts. There is a lot of great content.
I hope others find it as useful as I have.
I've been developing ColdFusion applications since the days of (JJ and Jeremy) Allaire, Macromedia and now Adobe. Back in the mid 90's Ben Forta wrote THE book on ColdFusion and he's done it again, with assistance from Ray Camden and Charlie Arehart. ColdFusion 9 Web Application Construction Kit is composed of three volumes. Volume I Getting Started, which I report on here, assists beginners with downloading/installing required software, server setup, database connectivity and starts the reader developing the OWS (Orange Whip Studios) movie web site. As you progress through the book, the OWS web site is enhanced throughout all three volumes. Compared to previous editions, local setup is much easier because CF 9 is resource integrated. I purchased all three volumes, because I need to get familiar with CF 9. Download and install ColdFusion 9 Developer Edition (free), ColdFusion Builder (60 day trial) as well as the authors files (web address supplied) and you'll have everything you need. There's an excellent online support forum. The book introduces CF Builder in Chapter 11 to assist with CFC (ColdFusion Components), but if you're not familiar with CF Builder, its a minor distraction. If you're a ColdFusion developer from the early days, you're familiar with Forta's old "blue book" as THE reference. I'm happy to report Ben Forta has created another engaging tutorial with Adobe ColdFusion 9 Getting Started Volume I as it's destined to become THE definitive basic reference for ColdFusion 9.
As a new ColdFusion developer I was a little intimidated about ColdFusion. I bought all three of the books in this series. I am working through the books one by one. I am almost finished with Vol 1. I have typed in all the examples and worked my way through the chapters.
I was a little disappointed with the lack of errata for the book as I ran into typos along the way.
In defense of the authors, the code for the book which is available on the Ben Forta web site ALL WORKS.
When I was stuck I could open the author's code and run it and compare it to mine. Many times the problem was my own FAT FINGER mistake.
But I was unable to find the typo of mine. After comparing their code to mine I could find my mistakes.
And the authors have all been quick to reply to my comments and have updated the errata for the book as I have brought it to their attention. How many book authors can you say that about?
I have found this book very informative and a great learning and reference tool for the Beginning ColdFusion developer.
I look forward to every Next chapter for new cool stuff that ColdFusion offers.
I like these books and they will be a valuable part of my learning and reference library.
I use the web site [...] for code samples and errata.
PeachPit has informed me that the eBook version of this book does not come with any exercise files even though there is a link listed in the book for files (the link does not work) and there are many references to files that don't exist. I am trying to work with PeachPit now to find out the story, but so far they have been of no help. Buy the print version!!!!
... After much deliberation with Amazon and PeachPit, it was my pleasure to find that the Author, Ben Forta posted these files on his website. The book is well written and I have learned a great deal since then and I am working on my own coldfusion website at [...]
... There are a few snags in the book. At times, things don't seem to connect and the beginning SQL program that Ben included did not work on my Mac (I did not pursue this further as I was able to work around it). I did end up buy the hard cover as well and I use both the hard cover and eBook on a regular basis (it's nice not to have to open the computer every time you want to learn). I have also purchased the second book on Kindle, but I haven't gotten there yet.
Over all... great book!
I was one of the first reviewers here at Amazon of Ben Forta's books on ColdFusion back in the late 1990's. Much has changed since then. Most things for better. It is amazing how ColdFusion has updated itself and stood the test of time, even when many new languages and platforms have been introduced.
Ben Forta's unique writing style, comprehensive but extremely clear and engaging, is still the same. Ray Camden is another great writer and it shows.
One of the things (probably the most critical one) that has not changed for better has nothing to do with ColdFusion itself. The scarcity of books on ColdFusion 8 is amazing. And now with ColdFusion 9 the situation is worse. Even Adobe itself has not published the three Ben Forta books of this series in time with the release of ColdFusion 9. And as of June 2010 two are still missing! Meanwhile there is no shortage of books on, say, Ruby. ColdFusion doesn't deserve this treatment. And many in the ColdFusion community are probably not happy with this situation. But it may change soon. ColdFusion 9 is the not only the latest but the best ever!
As a recent Gartner's study puts it, "ColdFusion is nearly unique in the industry because it provides a balance of ease of use and advanced features that can support 'entry level' business unit application developers, as well as 'advanced' centralized IT development teams. (..) Most notably, ColdFusion is unmatched by any competitor for ease of use and technical capabilities. (..) Investments in ColdFusion technology are safe for the next five years and potentially longer."
Among other things, ColdFusion 9 has some outstanding object-oriented frameworks, supports components, has a built-in ORM and can be greatly combined with CSS3 and Ajax and other, more recent technologies. Unfortunately the distribution of the chapters in the three books of this series doesn't reflect these improvements well. For the sake of a pretense simplicity much of the meat of ColdFusion 9 is no longer given in the first book and seems somewhat lost (if not incomplete) in the other two books of the series, among less relevant subjects to developers.
Yet Ben Forta's talent shines through in this book. Ray Camden is not left behind either. One can read this book and truly enjoy it. ColdFusion is still so powerful but simple as ever.
If only all technical books were so well written and so exciting to read! A true fun ride. You won't be disappointed.
Update: As of this writing (June 2010) [...] has at least three excellent video tutorials on ColdFusion 9, some aimed at new and some aimed at seasoned ColdFusion developers. Amazon also sells each of these tutorials on CD-ROMs. The book ColdBox by Luis Majano is one of the best sources for the robust, sustainable and modern ColdFusion, where one of the best frameworks available is explained in full with an outstanding documentation. The book Adobe Coldfusion Anthology by Michael Dinowitz and Judith Dinowitz also has some of the latest on ColdFusion written by a world class team of ColdFusion developers.
Product Details :
Paperback: 600 pages
Publisher: Adobe Press; 1 edition (May 9, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 032166034X
ISBN-13: 978-0321660343
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.2 x 9 inches
More Details about Adobe ColdFusion 9 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 1: Getting Started 1st edition
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Download Adobe ColdFusion 9 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 1: Getting Started 1st edition PDF Ebook
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