2024-10-22 Weekly News — Episode 221

Watch the video version on YouTube at https://youtube.com/live/j-e_y4OwuCw?feature=share

Hosts: 

Thanks to our Sponsor - Ortus Solutions

The makers of ColdBox, CommandBox, ForgeBox, TestBox and all your favorite box-es out there including BoxLang.
A few ways to say thanks back to Ortus Solutions:

Patreon Support ()
We have 59 patreons:
https://www.patreon.com/ortussolutions.


News and Announcements

Lucee 6.1.1 (6.1.1.100-RC) Release Candidate
There is a new Lucee 6.1.1.100-RC release candidate available for testing. Give it a try and share your feedback with us.
What’s New?
This release focuses mainly on bug fixes, along with a few useful enhancements.
https://dev.lucee.org/t/lucee-6-1-1-6-1-1-100-rc-release-candidate/14353
 
ColdFusion 2023 and 2021 October 15th, 2024 updates
We are pleased to announce that we have released general updates to ColdFusion (2023 release) Update 11 and ColdFusion (2021 release) Update 17. The updates include bug fixes and enhancements in Administrator, Language, CFSetup, Database, and other areas. They also contain library upgrades, such as netty, ehcache, etc. The updates also include enhancements to whitespace management and client variable support in CFPM.
Known issues in the update
The PDF Services page in ColdFusion Administrator does not load even with the HTMLToPDF package installed
https://coldfusion.adobe.com/2024/10/released-coldfusion-2023-and-2021-october-15th-2024-updates/

CF Summit India Announced
We are excited to announce that the Adobe ColdFusion India Summit 2024 is happening on December 7, 2024, and this year, we’re bringing the event to two vibrant cities: Bengaluru and Noida. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just beginning your journey in web development, this free summit offers a unique opportunity to learn, connect, and grow with the best minds in the industry.
https://coldfusion.adobe.com/2024/10/get-ready-for-adobe-coldfusion-india-summit-2024/

Announcing Java updates of Oct 2024 for 8, 11, 17, 21, and 23: thoughts and resources
It's that time again: there are new JVM updates released today (Oct 15, 2024) for the current long-term support (LTS) releases of Oracle Java, 8, 11, 17, and 21, as well as the new short-term release 23. (The previous short-term release, Java 22, is no longer updated.)
TLDR: The new updates are 1.8.0_431 (aka 8u431), 11.0.25, 17.0.13, 21.0.5, and 23.0.1 respectively. Crazy that there are now 5 current Java releases, I realize. More below, including more on each of them including what changed as well as bug fixes and the security fixes each version contains (including their CVE scores regarding urgency of concerns), which are offered in Oracle resources I list below.
https://www.carehart.org/blog/2024/10/15/java_updates_oct_2024


PayPal's NVP/SOAP API for Website Payments Pro accounts suddenly stopped working sometime early October
PayPal's NVP/SOAP API for Website Payments Pro accounts suddenly stopped working sometime around October 4th (possibly Sep 30). Some developers that reported having the issue were using legacy classic ASP and others were using ColdFusion. I believe we've been using the PayPal DoDirectPayment API since it was introduced back in 2002.
At some point, PayPal added the following undated disclaimer to their documentation. (According to Microsoft Copilot, "PayPal's NVP (Name-Value Pair) API was marked as "legacy" around October 12th, 2021".)
CFPayment (retired) supports WPP & Payflow, but not the new REST API method. Searching online for "ColdFusion (or cfml) paypal rest api" didn't return anything beneficial, so it became apparent that there was a need for a solution... any solution.
James Moberg has an updated Paypal Rest API Cfc available here: https://dev.to/gamesover/coldfusion-paypal-rest-api-cfc-339p
Secure Your ColdFusion Perpetual License Before Adobe’s Subscription-Only Switch
Following Adobe’s announcement at the Adobe ColdFusion Summit in Las Vegas, ColdFusion will transition to a subscription-only licensing model. This major shift in licensing strategy means developers and organizations have a limited window to secure their final perpetual ColdFusion license.
While we don’t know the date for the Adobe switch, FusionReactor customers have an exclusive opportunity to secure their last perpetual license and save significantly in the process. This final offer has been extended to December 31, 2024, giving organizations more months to make this crucial decision.
https://fusion-reactor.com/blog/secure-your-coldfusion-perpetual-license-before-adobes-subscription-only-switch/

Microsoft Copilot is a little Snarky about ColdFusion 😛


New Releases and Updates

Introducing CBSSO: Simplifying OAuth and SAML for ColdBox Applications
Ortus Solutions has unveiled its latest innovation, CBSSO, a game-changing module for ColdBox applications. CBSSO is designed to make integrating with OAuth and SAML identity providers easier than ever before, significantly reducing the complexity of managing Single Sign-On (SSO) flows. Whether your users authenticate through Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or custom identity providers, CBSSO streamlines the entire process.For CFML and ColdFusion developers, dealing with identity provider integrations can often feel like navigating through a labyrinth of documentation, redirects, and configurations. That’s where CBSSO comes in. By handling the technical details, CBSSO allows developers to focus on building their applications, making the process of integrating third-party authentication far less time-consuming.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/introducing-cbsso-simplifying-oauth-and-saml-for-coldbox-applications

Introducing SocketBox, a new WebSocket library
We’ve been working on a fun new library designed to make WebSockets easier for CFML (and BoxLang) developers. WebSockets are incredibly powerful for real-time applications and it’s honestly an area that CF developers have lagged far behind other languages in using. We’ve wanted something easy like Socket.io which can just be dropped into Node apps, but the problem with CF is how it’s deployed typically to a servlet and a library can’t easily modify the behavior of the HTTP listeners, which requires an integration embedded into the servlet itself.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/introducing-socketbox-a-new-websocket-library

Cool new demo: https://community.ortussolutions.com/t/introducing-the-socketbox-stomp-broker-demo/10396
 
BoxLang Betas — Beta 18-19

10/11/24 - BoxLang 1.0.0 Beta 18 Launched
5 New Features
3 Improvements
11 Bugs Fixed
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/boxlang-100-beta-18-launched


10/18/24 - BoxLang 1.0.0 Beta 19 Launched
7 New Features
11 Improvements
8 Bugs Fixed
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/boxlang-100-beta-19-launched


Webinars, Meetups and Workshops

Boost Your Confidence & Silence the Inner Critic: Overcome Imposter Phenomenon!
Sac Interactive Tech Meetup • Sacramento, CA
Wed, Nov 20 · 6:00 PM PST
https://www.meetup.com/sacinteractive/events/303708476/?eventOrigin=home_page_upcoming_events$all


CFCasts Content Updates

https://www.cfcasts.com

Conferences and Training

CF Summit India 2024
Join us for the Adobe ColdFusion India Summit, a premier, completely free event where developers, industry experts, and thought leaders come together to explore the latest in ColdFusion and web development. Network with peers, meet the ColdFusion engineering team, get your questions answered, discover strategies to boost your career and grow your business—all at no cost.
Price: Free
December 7, 2024
2 Cities: Bengaluru and Noida
Register: https://cf-indiasummit-2024.attendease.com

ITB 2025

CFCamp 2025
May 22, 23rd - 2025
Atomis Hotel Munich Airport
https://www.cfcamp.org/

More conferences

Need more conferences, this site has a huge list of conferences for almost any language/community.
https://confs.tech/


Blogs, Posts, and Videos of the Week

10/22/24 - Blog - FusionReactor - Secure Your ColdFusion Perpetual License Before Adobe’s Subscription-Only Switch
Following Adobe’s announcement at the Adobe ColdFusion Summit in Las Vegas, ColdFusion will transition to a subscription-only licensing model. This major shift in licensing strategy means developers and organizations have a limited window to secure their final perpetual ColdFusion license.
https://fusion-reactor.com/blog/secure-your-coldfusion-perpetual-license-before-adobes-subscription-only-switch/


10/21/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - Continuous ColdFusion Training is essential for these 6 important reasons. Don't ignore them!
Maintaining competitive advantage in today’s fast-paced technology landscape requires more than just having a stable web application. Continuous training is essential for companies leveraging ColdFusion web development or CFML web development to keep your team updated on the latest trends, security measures, and best practices. This is particularly critical for CT
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/continuous-coldfusion-training-is-essential-for-these-6-important-reasons-dont-ignore-them


10/18/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - Is WordPress Drama Holding You Back? Discover a Seamless Alternative with ContentBox!
Recent news around WordPress has seen significant discussions about its future. While WordPress remains a dominant player in the CMS market, concerns about potential privatization and changes in leadership have led some users to reevaluate their platform choices. This isn’t about condemning WordPress, but about finding a CMS that aligns with your long-term stability and operational goals. If you’re unsure about WordPress’s sustainability for your business, now might be the right time to consider pivoting.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/is-wordpress-drama-holding-you-back-discover-a-seamless-alternative-with-contentbox

10/17/24 - Blog - Ben Nadel - Running Memory Leak Detection After Every ColdFusion Request
In the comments of a post over on LinkedIn, I was talking to Charles Robertson about how unnerving it is to have unscoped local variables leak into the variables scope of a persisted component. This type of memory leak can lead to the cross-contamination of requests; and, in a worst case scenario, will cause one user's data to be shown to another user. Inspired by that conversation, I decided to add memory leak detection to the post-processing of every ColdFusion request in my feature flags playground application.
https://www.bennadel.com/blog/4715-running-memory-leak-detection-after-every-coldfusion-request.htm

10/16/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - ColdBox Free Tip 3: CommandBox ColdBox Commands
CommandBox isn't just a powerful CLI for CFML—it’s also packed with tools to make ColdBox development faster and more efficient. In this tip, we’ll explore some of the most useful ColdBox-specific commands that can make your development life easier.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/coldbox-free-tip-3-commandbox-coldbox-commands

10/16/24 - Blog - Charlie Arehart - Announcing ColdFusion updates released Oct 15 2024: enhancements and fixes
An update for ColdFusion has been released yesterday for both cf2023 (as update 11) and and cf2021 (as update 17). In brief, the update has no security fixes, but does fix dozens of issues that folks have stumbled over recently. It also upgrades some "OEM" libraries underlying CF, and it offers some modest enhancements.
Also, if you may be skipping to this update from prior to CF2023 update 7 or earlier, or CF2021 update 13 or earlier, please don't apply the update before reading below my discussion about possible breaking changes introduced in those updates from March and June of this year.
https://www.carehart.org/blog/2024/10/16/ColdFusion_updates_released_Oct_15_2024

10/15/24 - Blog - James Moberg - ColdFusion PayPal REST API CFC
PayPal's NVP/SOAP API for Website Payments Pro accounts suddenly stopped working sometime around October 4th (possibly Sep 30). Some developers that reported having the issue were using legacy classic ASP and others were using ColdFusion. I believe we've been using the PayPal DoDirectPayment API since it was introduced back in 2002.
At some point, PayPal added the following undated disclaimer to their documentation. (According to Microsoft Copilot, "PayPal's NVP (Name-Value Pair) API was marked as "legacy" around October 12th, 2021".)
https://dev.to/gamesover/coldfusion-paypal-rest-api-cfc-339p

10/15/24 - Blog - Ben Nadel - Collocating My ColdFusion, CSS, And JavaScript Files
When building a ColdFusion multi-page application (MPA), I've never been satisfied with how files are organized. Client-side files (CSS and JS) that are tightly coupled to server-side files (CFML) are often located in completely different parts of the application's folder structure. This adds friction to the maintenance of the ColdFusion application. In an effort to experiment with a more cohesive file strategy, I want to try putting CSS and JavaScript files right next to their CFML counterparts.
https://www.bennadel.com/blog/4714-collocating-my-coldfusion-css-and-javascript-files.htm

10/15/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - Introducing CBSSO: Simplifying OAuth and SAML for ColdBox Applications
Ortus Solutions has unveiled its latest innovation, CBSSO, a game-changing module for ColdBox applications. CBSSO is designed to make integrating with OAuth and SAML identity providers easier than ever before, significantly reducing the complexity of managing Single Sign-On (SSO) flows. Whether your users authenticate through Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or custom identity providers, CBSSO streamlines the entire process.For CFML and ColdFusion developers, dealing with identity provider integrations can often feel like navigating through a labyrinth of documentation, redirects, and configurations. That’s where CBSSO comes in. By handling the technical details, CBSSO allows developers to focus on building their applications, making the process of integrating third-party authentication far less time-consuming.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/introducing-cbsso-simplifying-oauth-and-saml-for-coldbox-applications

10/15/24 - Blog - Charlie Arehart - Announcing Java updates of Oct 2024 for 8, 11, 17, 21, and 23: thoughts and resources
It's that time again: there are new JVM updates released today (Oct 15, 2024) for the current long-term support (LTS) releases of Oracle Java, 8, 11, 17, and 21, as well as the new short-term release 23. (The previous short-term release, Java 22, is no longer updated.)
TLDR: The new updates are 1.8.0_431 (aka 8u431), 11.0.25, 17.0.13, 21.0.5, and 23.0.1 respectively. Crazy that there are now 5 current Java releases, I realize. More below, including more on each of them including what changed as well as bug fixes and the security fixes each version contains (including their CVE scores regarding urgency of concerns), which are offered in Oracle resources I list below.
https://www.carehart.org/blog/2024/10/15/java_updates_oct_2024

10/12/24 - Blog - Ben Nadel - Making A Case For Var Declarations In ColdFusion Templates
Last week, I opened a feature request in the Adobe bug tracker to allow for var declarations in CFML templates. After I opened this, I shared it within the Working Code discord; and, all those who responded did so in opposition to the idea. As such, I wanted to take a moment to more clearly articulate my case for allowing var declarations in, essentially, any ColdFusion context.
https://www.bennadel.com/blog/4712-making-a-case-for-var-declarations-in-coldfusion-templates.htm

10/12/24 - Blog - Ben Nadel - Dave Farley On What Makes High Quality Code
This morning, on the latest episode of the Engineering Room podcast, Dave Farley said something about code quality that really connected with the way in which I see software development. In the past, I've talked about the importance of writing code that's easy to find and easy to delete. But, both of these concepts tactically roll-up in a higher-level strategy that Dave identifies: write code that's safe and easy to change
https://www.bennadel.com/blog/4713-dave-farley-on-what-makes-high-quality-code.htm

10/10/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - Introducing SocketBox, a new WebSocket library
We’ve been working on a fun new library designed to make WebSockets easier for CFML (and BoxLang) developers. WebSockets are incredibly powerful for real-time applications and it’s honestly an area that CF developers have lagged far behind other languages in using. We’ve wanted something easy like Socket.io which can just be dropped into Node apps, but the problem with CF is how it’s deployed typically to a servlet and a library can’t easily modify the behavior of the HTTP listeners, which requires an integration embedded into the servlet itself.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/introducing-socketbox-a-new-websocket-library

10/11/24 - Blog - Michael Horne - Using Lucee’s built in array returntype in CFQUERY – Performance benefits!
In our application, we perform a lot of CFQUERYs, just like most people using CFML as a backend that gets data from a database and then displays it.
In our case, we often do a lot of post-processing on the data being returned from a CFQUERY. Doing this to the actual query is, frankly, messy and a hard work and didn’t save us much development time. Therefore, we tend to convert the query result into an array. This is done using a module I wrote yonks ago called dataTypeConvert – the function is called queryToArray and does exactly what it says on the tin – it converts a CFQUERY query object into an array. It does this the “hard way” by looping over the rows and columns and creating an array of structs. If that sounds like a bad idea, or hard work for the server, then you’re probably right, but it’s “historical” and very useful. It means you can then loop over the array and change/add things to the structs within quite quickly.
We are querying a table for 5000 records
Original CFQUERY executed in 112ms and the whole thing took 5362ms
CFQUERY with array returntype executed in 141ms
https://recantha.co.uk/using-lucees-built-in-array-returntype-in-cfquery-performance-benefits/

10/9/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - Leveraging Real-Time Business Intelligence for Decision-Making
In today’s fast-paced business world, data-driven decision-making is a strategic necessity. Companies must adapt to constant market changes and technological innovations to remain competitive. Real-Time Business Intelligence (RTBI) offers organizations immediate insights that affect critical areas such as sales, marketing, and operations, enabling swift, precise responses.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/leveraging-real-time-business-intelligence-for-decision-making

10/9/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - Master Object-Oriented Programming in CFML with Our Video Series
At Ortus Solutions, we're excited to offer our comprehensive Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) series, designed specifically for CFML developers. Whether you're new to OOP or looking to deepen your understanding, this series led by Nolan Erck is the perfect resource to help you master both the fundamentals and advanced features.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/master-object-oriented-programming-in-cfml-with-our-video-series

10/8/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - ColdBox Free Tip 2: Fluent If Statements using the when() Method
Continuing our "102 ColdBox Tips and Tricks" series, let’s explore a powerful feature introduced in ColdBox 6: the when() method. This method simplifies conditional logic by allowing you to chain execution blocks based on boolean values in a clean and fluent way.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/coldbox-free-tip-2-fluent-if-statements

BoxLang Corner

10/18/24 - Blog - Luis Majano - Ortus Solutions - BoxLang 1.0.0 Beta 19 Launched
Welcome to BoxLang 1.0.0 Beta 19, where innovation and performance converge to redefine dynamic development on the JVM. This release marks a significant leap forward with the introduction of the ASMBoxPiler, enabling direct BoxLang-to-Java bytecode compilation for unparalleled speed and efficiency. By streamlining the build process, developers can now achieve up to 4x faster performance, setting a new standard for seamless Java integration. Alongside this, enhancements like star-imports, module-specific class imports with the @ notation, and the introduction of STOMP protocols for websockets bring flexibility, precision, and power to your development toolbox. Dive into this transformative update and unlock the full potential of BoxLang!
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/boxlang-100-beta-19-launched

10/14/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - VS Code BoxLang Extension: The MiniServer
So you’ve installed CommandBox and are running the latest BoxLang server like a boss. You open up your browser and are met with an error message. This looks like a job for, you guessed it, the BoxLang VS Code Debugger! Learn what our Senior Developer Jacob Beers has to say about it!
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/vs-code-boxlang-extension-the-miniserver

10/11/24 - Blog - Ortus Solutions - BoxLang 1.0.0 Beta 18 Launched
This release introduces several new features and configurations to enhance functionality and security. It also continues to squash tons of bugs to bring about CFML compatibility. Key updates include:
Enhanced arrayFind and arrayFindNoCase functions, allowing value closures to accept item indices.
New validBoxLangTemplates configuration for filtering templates processable by the Runnable Loader.
New validClassExtensions configuration to specify permissible class extensions.
A new security configuration section designed to disallow BIFs, Components, and Imports, enhancing security.
https://www.ortussolutions.com/blog/boxlang-100-beta-18-launched

CFML Jobs

Several positions available on https://www.getcfmljobs.com/

Listing over 18 ColdFusion positions from 18 companies across 13 locations in 5 Countries.

1 new jobs listed in the last two weeks


Full-Time - Senior Coldfusion Developer (ColdBox) at Arlington, VA - United States
Posted Oct 15
https://www.getcfmljobs.com/jobs/index.cfm/united-states/Senior-CFDeveloper-at-Arlington-VA/11646


ForgeBox Module of the Week

Singleton Leak Detector

A debugging module to help detect var scoping issues in your singletons. Instead of using static code analysis, this module latches onto WireBox to track each of the singleton CFCs that get created. The contents of each CFC's variables scope will have a snapshot stored upon its creation so it can be compared later in the life of your application to see if vars have leaked out of your methods and into the shared variables scope.
https://www.forgebox.io/view/singleton-leak-detector

VS Code Hint, Tip, and Trick of the Week

Visual Studio Code WSL

The WSL extension lets you use VS Code on Windows to build Linux applications that run on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). You get all the productivity of Windows while developing with Linux-based tools, runtimes, and utilities.
The WSL extension lets you use VS Code in WSL just as you would from Windows.
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl

Thank you to all of our Patreon Supporters

These individuals are personally supporting our open source initiatives to ensure the great toolings like CommandBox, ForgeBox, ColdBox, ContentBox, TestBox and all the other boxes keep getting the continuous development they need, 

Their Contributions fund the cloud infrastructure at our community relies on like 

You can support us on Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/ortussolutions

And many more Patreons - up to 59 now!!!!!
You can see an up to date list of all sponsors on Ortus Solutions' Website
https://ortussolutions.com/about-us/sponsors

Thanks everyone!!!