I’ve been a CFML developer for a long time, as have a lot of you. But everyone can always learn something new. There’s also a new generation of devs hungry for resources to learn about CMFL, figure out how to move over their existing knowledge, or just get certified as they search for their first ColdFusion position.
I get a lot of questions about where to go for CFML knowledge, so I thought I might compile a few things here, so there’s a one stop shop to hit up when looking for info. So, without further <cfado>
Adobe Certified Professional: Adobe ColdFusion
I need to start with the ACP:AC simply because, well, I helped develop it alongside some other incredibly talented devs and the ACF team. No, it isn’t free, but for $149 you get access to more than 50 online videos for a year that will take your skills to the next level, plus a proctored exam.
Adobe Webinars
Every month, join Adobe specialists (like me!) for fun, informative 1 hour webinars on a wide variety of subjects. This month I’m covering Cloud Report Building Using CFML, GraphQL & PDF.
Learn CF in a Week
An oldie but still a standard, and still incredibly useful for anyone interested in learning CFML. This open source course can take a rank beginner in ColdFusion and help them upskill into working at a professional level in about a week (though practice is recommended!)
Modern CFML in 100 minutes
This free online (though also purchasable to support Ortus) book dives deep into modern CFML development and is an excellent resource for developers looking to move from older software development patterns.
CFdocs & Adobe ColdFusion Docs
These two documentation locations (one open source covering all CFML, the other Adobe centered) have a huge number of pages detailing nearly anything you might need information on about ColdFusion.
Adobe ColdFusion YouTube Channel
A huge repository of videos, from webinars to CFSummit talks and more, for those folks who prefer to learn visually.
Those places should be more than enough to get anyone started and up to speed on CFML. I’m sure I’ve missed a few places, so please be sure to link out to your favorite places to learn ColdFusion in the com
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The next question, what makes someone want to learn CFML? Not knowing the answer to that question could be lost opportunity to grow the community and lost opportunity for those who choose something else.
The pragmatist in me wants to answer that “people will want to learn it if they have an economic motivation to do so“, and as well that “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink“. These resources would help those who do want to learn.
The idealist might say “but Adobe needs to do more to MAKE people want to learn it“, to which one might ask in reply: “what are some examples of ways that a vendor has been able to influence the market that way?” (And please, folks, before suggesting that Adobe “needs get it taught in schools“, note that Adobe’s been there/done that. They literally created a curriculum and offered it for free, and there were virtually no takers.)
Instead, it seems such things (why folks want to learn something) tend to grow organically, as the community in general rallies around that thing. But with cf being seen as “legacy”–and being commercial, there just doesn’t seem much chance of that, at least not like the kind of things that have garnered strong mindshare.
Another challenge is that vocal folks (who write and speak and lead tech communities) tend to follow what’s new and different–and even with Adobe improving cf, there just seems precious few wanting to step up and talk about cf, whether within the cf community or outside of it.
The too, within the community there’s dilution as some such vocal contributors focus on Lucee, or on tools that serve both CF and Lucee. Each of those will tend not to focus much on promoting what’s new in cf.
Then outside the community many find that trying to get non-cf conference organizers and publishers to accept CF (or even Lucee) talks/articles is often an uphill climb.
Fortunately there are some in the community (and Adobe) who have been stepping up to contribute over time and in many ways. Hats off to all of them!
And Mark’s done so with this post, which he’s indicated elsewhere is the start of a series of posts and webinars promoting cf. Even Adobe’s mere creation of his evangelist role is another step to be applauded.
All these are ways to help those who want to learn more, and even help increase the chances of people WANTING to learn more.
Clearly I’m more a “glass half-full” kind of guy on this, though some may still accuse me of being complacent or even defeatist. Anyway, I just wanted to chime in with some different perspectives, if it may help in consideration of this point of John’s (SOSensible) .
Thanks for those, Mark. Since you ask for other options, I’ll note that I list a few others that may interest folks, in a category of my cf411.com.site, specifically:
CFML Resource Sites
And the cf411.com site is itself a meta site pointing out over 2,000 tools and resources of interest to CFers in over 170 categories.
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