MattHorrell.com

While searching for a way to dynamically create ColdFusion mappings, I came across this post by Ben Nadel on hiding CFCs outside of the web root. Ben’s technique draws on the functionality of <cfinclude> to pre-localize a user-defined function. It solved my problem completely.

CFUNITED proved to be the most valuable Coldfusion experience I have ever been involved with. I won’t lie; the whole trip was intense and draining, but it exposed me to the creative forces driving the CF development community. The days were long but valuable, and I mostly forwent drinking with the younger crowd at the hotel bar.

Probably the most interesting part for me was interacting face to face with the powerhouse CF technology specialists, most of whom either extend or outright produce many of the development tools and best practices that I utilize in my own coding work. Getting to eat lunch with Sean Corfield and listening to him talk about his cats and finagling a picture of myself with Sandy Clark topped my list of high points.

While the hotel accommodations were well above my (extremely low) standards, the conference itself could have been much more appealing, considering the sticker price. Washington’s Downtown Convention Center ended up being a poor choice of venues, and Mr. Corfield sums the matter up quite nicely in his overview.

Despite loss of sleep and the twice daily hike through Downtown D.C. rush-hour traffic, I had a pretty good time. I met some interesting new friends and discovered many great resources. Everything being equal or better, I most certainly plan on attending CFUNITED 2009, and recommend any CF developer with the means to do the same.

Over time I will distill the concepts that I walked away with into usable examples fit for human consumption.

This post marks the official eight day countdown to CF United 2008. In one week from today, myself and a colleague will be flying to Washington D.C. to attend, thanks to my employer. Although I have been to similar functions spotlighting other facets of IT, this is my first professional conference involving ColdFusion, and I’m not completely sure what to expect. The main focus of my class selection was ‘coding best practices’ as well as OOP, with AJAX, and maybe a little Flex (and, since I have an educational copy of flex builder 3, I can follow along with my laptop).

Should prove to be interesting.

– Matt