Jumping IN!

[George]

So I think I want to start using CFWHEELS as a framework, but I'm not
convinced.

Can someone help me address these concerns and hold my hand through
this process?

Use of code: From all the frameworks, I see them using their own
functions and tags inside the documents. None really show examples of
Cold Fusion tags. Are their limitation to tags? What if I have a pre-
existing CFFORM, would I have to redesign it with CFWHEELS code?

Security. I feel like that if I build my application from the ground
up then I am going to be in much more control of how secure my pages
are. Adding a framework createS a whole lot of unknowns. How can i
know that a framework (or a plugin on the framework) will not
compromise my system?

DeBugging. I currently have enough of a grasp on my CF that when I hit
an error, I can easily track it down. I'm worried that adding a
framework is also adding many more lines of code to root through when
my application starts going wonky.

[rjasonc]

> Use of code: From all the frameworks, I see them using their own
> functions and tags inside the documents. None really show examples of
> Cold Fusion tags. Are their limitation to tags? What if I have a pre-
> existing CFFORM, would I have to redesign it with CFWHEELS code?

To my knowledge no but you won't be taking advantage of some of the
awesome functionality that Wheels provides!

>
> Security. I feel like that if I build my application from the ground
> up then I am going to be in much more control of how secure my pages
> are. Adding a framework createS a whole lot of unknowns. How can i
> know that a framework (or a plugin on the framework) will not
> compromise my system?

You can't. The old adage is "trust but verify." Either build your own
security model on top of CFWheels or verify that the code does what's
it is supposed to. To this end, have you verified that ColdFusion
doesn't compromise your system? How about the operating system? All
of these have potential security holes. You patch what you can and
keep abreast of the latest so you don't become a victim to what you
should have known was a vulnerability.

> DeBugging. I currently have enough of a grasp on my CF that when I hit
> an error, I can easily track it down. I'm worried that adding a
> framework is also adding many more lines of code to root through when
> my application starts going wonky.

This is always the case. I have a whole slate of Fusebox 4 code
installed that I, unfortunately, am the only one in my department who
knows how to debug because nobody else seems to understand (or want to
learn) how FB4 works. I definitely hit some hiccups with CFWheels,
but once you get the hang of it you should be able to debug it easier.

Jason Cronk

[George]

This was some welcome advise. Thanks

With point 1, I mostly wanted to make sure that the framework was an
"enhancment" and not a "limitation". I can sometimes make some complex
pages and want to be sure that if all else fails I can still fall back
on CF code I know to make something happen within CFWHEELS

As far as security, I agree with your questioning everything else that
could be a security hole, that is kinda why i was not anxious to add
another layer of something.

I think i'll pop my cherry tonight and get a CFWHEELS site running.

[Mohamad El-Husseini]

1. It's definitely an enhancement.

Why? I recently tried to learn a new framework and put it on hold when I realized I had to write my own pagination function along with page security, filters, and a ton of other things. Also, if you are worried about re-writing your forms, check this out:

http://yannickmorin.com/formBuilder/index.cfm

I will not comment on points two and three as others are more familiar, but let me tell you my own experience:

I started using Wheels about 1 year ago with virtually no development experience other than crappy HTML I write about 11 years ago. I built two applications since, one tremendously complicated, without knowing a single thing about OOP, design patterns, security, etc... both apps are for my personal business.

I'm saying this because Wheels allowed me to enjoy programming and be productive without putting any pressure on me to learn. Eventually I started learning all this stuff myself, mostly within the last three months, and it was a lot of fun, even if backwards, because after seeing the awesomeness of Wheels' functionality, I became more curious about how the code words, programming techniques, etc...

I know very little about Wheels is guts, still know next to nothing about MVC, but I never had a problem that took too long to debug, and today I know the cause of an error as soon as I see it, 90% of the time it's gonna happen in your model, controller, or view... never too hard to figure out.