CFUNITED 2006 The Premier ColdFusion Technical Conference
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2006 TOPICS:
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2006 Track Chairs - Organizers for each track are: Flex - Tom Link; Deployment/Platform - Jeremy Kadlec; Manager/Empowered Programming - Hal Helms; Advanced CF - Nate Nelson; Bootcamp - Raymond Camden; Accessibility/Usability - Douglas Ward


Organized by Track

Accessibility/Usability - Section 508, CSS and disabled access
Advanced CF - Advanced ColdFusion topics
Birds of Feather - Open Discussion Topics
Boot Camp - Basic ColdFusion and Flash Topics
Deployment/Platform - Integrating with SQL Server, Windows and .NET
Flex - Learn Flex 2 by experts at Universal Mind & Adobe
Keynote - Keynote Sessions
Manager/Emp Programming - Fusebox and Project management topics

Accessibility/Usability

Fundamentals of Good Usability
Douglas Ward

Usability is today~'s competitive advantage. Industry leaders understand this. Google has codified 10 principals that guide its approach to development. Number one is, "Focus on the user, and all else will follow." At Microsoft's 2005 PDC, Bill Gates repeatedly encouraged developers to focus on the user experience. The folks at Macromedia have persistently emphasized creating better RIAs that enhance the user experience. Come to this presentation to learn the basics of usability. Learn and apply the fundamentals, and see immediate improvements on the sites you build.
Prerequisites: An interest in creating effective, usable web sites.
    
Cascading Style Sheets - Floating
Sandy Clark

Cascading Style Sheets support a postioning technique called floating. In this session, Sandra Clark will look at floating, describe the rules of engagement and give an overall view of this important layout concept
Prerequisites: Some knowlege of Cascading Style Sheets
    
Cascading Style Sheets - Relative and Absolute Positioning
Sandy Clark

Positioning is one of the main situations that people want to know about CSS. Building on last years, Box Model talk, Sandra Clark will introduce positioning including the differences between relative, absolute and fixed. If you want to understand how to layout your web page, this talk is a must!
Prerequisites: Some knowlege of Cascading Style Sheets
    
Government Website Accessibility and Section 508
Adam Wayne Lehman

All websites for the government must be disabled accessible and obey section 508. Can you successfully implement section 508? Do you meet the legal requirements for handicapped accessibility on your ColdFusion website? This government regulation became required several years ago and some agencies already have compliance issues!
Prerequisites: Basic understanding of HTML and CSS.
    

Advanced CF

ColdFusion Application Security
Adam Wayne Lehman

This presentation details the OWASP Top Ten Most Critical Web Application Security Vulnerabilities and how they are pertain to developing ColdFusion applications. Demonstration of effective methods to avoid and prevent invalidated input, broken access controls, broken authentication and session management, cross-site scripting flaws, injection flaws, and improper error handling.
Prerequisites: none.
    
SOAP Headers and Advanced Web Services
Ron West

Working with complex Web Services, such as the services available through SalesForce, can be difficult. With the addition of response and request headers in ColdFusion MX 7, this process is now much easier. Learn more about these and more Advanced Web service features now available in ColdFusion.
    
CFAJAX
Steve Rittler

Join us for this presentation as we rehash old techniques and package them as something new and sexy with a catchy name: Ajax! Not yet tired of solving cross-browser Javascript and CSS issues? This is the session for you!

We~'ve all seen Ajax-powered applications built using Ruby on Rails and other non-CF tools. Have you wondered how to create them using ColdFusion? This presentation will show some basic examples using the latest CF-powered packages for doing so and also include the demonstration of a CFAjax-powered application. We'll also discuss security, usability and cross-browser compatibility concerns. Once we're done, you'll be able to look around at all the "Web 2.0" pundits and laugh at how simple it is to emulate their techniques using your favorite programming language: ColdFusion.
    
Farcry 3.0
Steve Rittler

Farcry has been completely renovated and updated with version 3.0 to be much more users friendly and approachable. The presentation will be built around showcasing the implementation of the Frameworks conference site. There will also be an overview of how the system works and how to get started (kind of like last year’s presentation but with better live examples).
Prerequisites: Comprehending Farcry requires no experience. Understanding of integrating with an object oriented architecture is helpful for the section on extending Farcry. Sysadmin training not required, but it will help you understand the installation process.
    
ColdFusion/Flex Coding Kitchen
Multiple Speakers

With the introduction of Flex 2.0 a new generation of applications is about to be launched into the world. In this special 3-hour session, you will have the opportunity to work with the experts in creating a rich application using Flex and ColdFusion. Be sure to bring your laptop and be ready to write code. Previous experience with ColdFusion is required.
    
Building High-performing Applications using Asynchronous Gateways - 201
Sarge Sargent
(Adobe Systems Inc.)

The introduction of Event Gateways in ColdFusion MX 7 opened many new possibilities for ColdFusion. Until this release, ColdFusion applications operated in a synchronous model, often requiring the user to pay the price while complex application logic executed. In this session we will explore how the use of the asynchronous event gateway can dramatically change the performance characteristics of applications, opening up new design and architectural options for your future applications. Previous experience with ColdFusion is required.
Prerequisites: ColdFusion MX 7
    
Inversion of Control and ColdFusion: Using ColdSpring
Dave Ross
(Albany Medical College)

ColdSpring~'s core focus is to make the configuration and dependencies of your CFCs easier to manage. ColdSpring uses the "inversion-of-control" pattern to "wire" your CFCs together. Inversion-of-control provides many advantages over traditional approaches to assembling your application's model. Also part of ColdSpring is the first Aspect-Oriented-Programming (AOP) framework for CFCs. This presentation will be a hands-on look at ColdSpring and how it can help you write larger CFC-based applications..
Prerequisites: Experience developing w/ CFCs
    
Recursive functions in CF
Andrew Schwabe
(IEXP Software, LLC)

An introduction to recursive functions. Discussion of when they are useful and a walkthrough of examples as CFX tags and CFC methods. Examples include creating a directory scanner and a threaded and indented select/combo box pulling data from a database.
    
CF Pest Control - Debugging ColdFusion application
Shlomy Gantz
(BlueBrick)

Your applications are perfect and are works of art, until those pesky users start using them. They find bugs, complain and don~'t understand that error 8x04382743 means they did not input their birth date correctly. You can: 1) Get rid of the users 2) Get rid of the bugs. Unfortunately, the first option is frowned upon.
    
ColdFusion Printing and Reporting
Glenda Vigoreaux
(roundpeg)

Printing and reporting are two of the most important new features in ColdFusion MX 7. This introductory session will get you started on the new family of tags, and the powerful new Report Builder.
Prerequisites: Familiarity with basic ColdFusion tags helpful.
    
Introduction to ColdFusion Components
Raymond Camden

This three hour session will delve into the basics of building ColdFusion Components (CFCs) as well as discuss various methods of CFC development. We will have many examples that you can take home with you to help you start building your first site with CFCs!
Prerequisites: None.
    
Verity Searching Secrets
Raymond Camden

Do you want to do free text searches like Google in your sites? Are you afraid of ColdFusion~'s Verity search engine? Come to this Introduction to Verity and learn how easy text searches can be for search database or documents. We will also cover the newest and latest features of Verity.
Prerequisites: None
    
Event Gateways in CFMX7
Jeff Tapper

One of the most exciting new features of ColdFusion MX7 is Event Gateways. Event Gateways offer a way to trigger ColdFusion code without needing to make a HTTP request. They allow ColdFusion to react to Instant Messages, SMS messages, File System changes, and much more. This opens a whole new world of possibility for ColdFusion applications. In this session we will explore what these gateways are, how they work, and how you can leverage them in your applications.
Prerequisites: Requires working knowledge of structures in CF
    
Advanced RegEx
Michael Dinowitz

The session is an examination of advanced techniques when using Regular Expressions in ColdFusion. Regular Expressions are the most powerful ways to find (and replace) text data. This topic covers the advanced techniques and deals heavily in usable examples of the technology in action.
    
Undocumented CFMX
Nate Nelson

This topic includes some nice hidden features of ColdFusion MX that you won't find anywhere in the documentation. Learn how to use these features through an example rich presentation. These undocumented treasures will show there is much more to ColdFusion than meets the eye.
    
Beyond Basic SQL for CF
Nate Nelson

This presentation will skip past the basics of using SQL with ColdFusion and dive right in to more intermediate and advanced topics. It covers the many features, options, and practices available to developers besides just using basic queries. Discover there is much more to using a database with ColdFusion than simply storing and accessing data.
    
Fun with Structures
Selene Bainum

Structures are complex data types that many ColdFusion developers are either not familiar with or do not use to their full potential. This session would explain the basics of structures, how to work with ColdFusion~'s built-in structures (FORM, URL, etc.) as well as how to create their own.
Prerequisites: General knowledge of ColdFusion development, including working with local variables, query results and scoped variables.
    

Birds of Feather

Managing Stress
Mark Gorkin

In a 24/7 world that's cycling from "lean-and-MEAN" downsizing to ever faster upgrading while periodically spinning out of control, managing stress and effective team communication and cooperation are on everybody's mind in today's diverse workplace. The pressures to sustain individual and organizational productivity and morale have never been greater. Have no fear…Mark Gorkin, "The Stress Doc" ™ is here with his dynamic and interactive, inspiring and fun-filled presentation and small group exercises. You will:

a) Rapidly, purposefully and playfully recognize stress signals and "The Four Stages of Burnout"
b) Discover burnout prevention and recovery strategies
c) Have fun while learning purposeful communication tips and techniques for disarming power struggles and rebuilding trust
d) Generate team sharing and creativity, group-problem solving and many laughs
e) Discover the real "Serenity Prayer" and the "Secret of Wisdom"

Seek the higher power of Stress Doc Humor: May the Farce Be with You!

Don't Miss Your Appointment with the Stress Doc.
    
Security Roundtable
Michael Smith
(TeraTech)

Are your websites secured from hackers? What best practices should you be using in your code? What about database security? Are your credit card records safe? Join in this dicussion to learn what others are doing and what the best security practices are.....
Prerequisites: Basic ColdFusion and SQL
    
Celebrity Death Match
Simon Horwith

Frameworks--Who Needs Them? Why do some people swear by them while others swear at them? What's all the fuss about? Hal Helms is the pioneer of the popular Mach-II and Fusebox frameworks, and Simon Horwith has, after several outspoken public comments on the subject, managed to become the unofficial opponent of framework use.

This is a steel cage match. Audience participation is encouraged, the fight... err...umm... debate, will be limited to 10 rounds, and there will be no hitting below the belt (we'll see about that). But remember, at the end: There Can Be Only One…
    
Celebrity Death Match
Hal Helms
(Hal Helms Inc)

Frameworks--Who Needs Them? Why do some people swear by them while others swear at them? What's all the fuss about? Hal Helms is the pioneer of the popular Mach-II and Fusebox frameworks, and Simon Horwith has, after several outspoken public comments on the subject, managed to become the unofficial opponent of framework use.

This is a steel cage match. Audience participation is encouraged, the fight... err...umm... debate, will be limited to 10 rounds, and there will be no hitting below the belt (we'll see about that). But remember, at the end: There Can Be Only One…
    
Ajax: buzzword du jour or revolution in Web 2.0?
Rob Gonda
(iChameleon Group)

Open discussion about Web 2.0 fast pacing changes and how Ajax plays into it. Is it really a revolution, given the fact it has been here for five or six years. The fact is that Venture Capital is jumping into Ajax based sites, but will it crash again like the first dot-com? What role is Ajax playing in the future of the Web and how can it compete or play along with Flash, Flex, Laszlo, and Sparkle.

All these questions and more will be openly discussed and answered while trying to predict how you can be ahead of the game in 2007.
    
CFDynamics First Day Free for All
Brad Allen
(CFDynamics)

Have you had any "HUH?" moments on the first day of CFUNITED? Or maybe you didn’t get to attend all the classes you wanted to. Attend the CFDynamics "First Day Free For All" and discuss the first-day classes, ask your questions, and mingle with other attendees. Come sit-back with our finger foods and discuss the "goings on" of the first day of CFUNITED!
    
Starting your own business
Joshua Cyr

Considering working for yourself or starting a small web development company? Are you a contractor now, but looking to promote your services and formalize your business? Joshua will discuss pitfalls to avoid, creating a marketing strategy, and general business issues to consider.
    

Boot Camp

Variables and Conditions
Nicholas Tunney
(AboutWeb)

Variables are at the heart of any CF program, but many people are confused about the different scopes and how they should be used. Learn about CF's data types, scopes and assignment rules. Then take a branch into conditionals. Conditionals let your programs make decisions from simple branching to more complex switch and logical comparisons, so that you can build more complex web applications successfully.
    
Welcome to CF
Simon Horwith

Get an overview of the ColdFusion language CFML and the power that is available to you. Whether you are coming from another programming language or are new to programming this talk will get you up to speed on the basics of programming in CF.
    
Creating and Consuming Web Services in CFML
Charlie Arehart

CFML is one of the easiest languages with which to create and consume Web Services. Both BlueDragon and CFMX allow you to easily extend CFC methods to publish them as web services -- and it~'s just as easy to consume them as well. You don't need to understand XML to work with them. In this introduction to the topic, veteran CFUG speaker Charlie Arehart will show you how easy it is, explain what you need to know about CFCs, Web Services, and a little about XML. Other important issues like security and exception handling are covered as well.
Prerequisites: Attendees need not know anything about web services, XML, or typical topics related to web services. Modest understanding of CFML is presumed, but the code examples used will be simple enough for beginners yet powerful for intermediates.
    
Ten Things You Need To Know
Joe Rinehart

In this presentation, you~'ll learn ten beginner-to-intermediate techniques and practices that you should follow in every ColdFusion application. The Ten Tips will help your applications run faster, be more secure, and more maintainable. We'll also look at tools that can be used to help with these techniques, and resources where you can learn more
Prerequisites: None. This presentation is appropriate for all levels of developers.
    
Databases
Kurtis D. Leatham

Adding data to a database and then displaying that data is one of the main tasks in most ColdFusion programs. In this session we will cover the basics of database access in CF, including how to setup a data source, how to create SQL queries in CF, how to select data to display, options available to you when outputting data and the basics of inserting and updating data.
    
Arrays, Structures, Multidimensional Arrays, Arrays of Structures
Kurtis D. Leatham

Ever run across a problem where you needed to store data into a multidimensional array that contains a multidimensional array that contains a structure? What would the logical storage container look like that houses a companies org chart? This topic will show you how to create such a complex container, populate it with data, and then get the data back out. We will be covering Arrays and Structures and ways that you can mix and match these containers to create one huge container for your complex data.

This discussion will cover a real world example of an application that uses a complex container to automatically generate dynamic reports for several different people at different times throughout the year. The complex container that will be discussed houses information about the report itself, information about the people getting the report, and the unique parameters that gets passed into the report each time the report is generated. A sample applet will be provided that contains all of the required source code and database tables to implement an auto report generating applet.
Prerequisites: People attending this topic should have a basic understanding of the following CF commands: CFQUERY, CFLOOP, CFOUTPUT, and CFSET.
    

Deployment/Platform

Testing CF Applications
John Paul Ashenfelter

Test-driven development is very popular in the Java and Ruby worlds and becoming moreso in the ColdFusion world. This session covers the tools that are available to test ColdFusion applications and discusses how to implement them into your existing workflow. We~'ll specifically cover: * CFCUnit/CFUnit for testing ColdFusion code * Selenium for testing web pages * DBUnit for managing the database during testing * Grinder (and similar) load-testing tools Together, these tools can provide unit, functional, regression, and load tests for your applications. Finally, we'll touch on automating these tests so you can ensure that you are delivering higher-quality, well-tested code.
Prerequisites: None
    
Another Look at Microsoft Office Using Apache Jakarta POI
Jeremy Lund

Has a client sent you a Word document, wanting the content added to their website right away? And of course, they want the content to fit in flawlessly with the rest of the website. What about that excel spreadsheet data that they want imported into their database? Or, what about that nice table report that it sure would be nice to have as an Excel spreadsheet? In this presentation, I will look at the options that Apache Jakarta POI project offers in working with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, and present code examples and use cases where POI is a good choice. If you have ever found COM too slow to work with in ColdFusion, or the conversion facilities of Word of Excel too limiting for your needs, then Jakarta POI just might be the answer!
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of how to call Java objects from ColdFusion.
    
Error handling in CF
Michael Dinowitz

Understanding and handing errors in CF from basic pages to advanced gateways. This presentation also gives error alert codes and best practices.
    
Writing Efficient SQL
Selene Bainum

More often that not slow applications can be traced back to the database. This session would show ways to write more efficient queries, such as never using SELECT *, using EXISTS as opposed to IN, different join types, etc... I would also cover how things such as joins and subqueries can affect speed. The session would focus on techniques that could be used in most databases as opposed to focusing on only one. This session would be geared towards developers who know how to write queries but are looking for an understanding on how to write better queries.
Prerequisites: Basic SQL experience and a desire to know more!
    
CFEclipse: A guided tour
Simeon Bateman

CFEclipse is a free editor for ColdFusion based on the open source Eclipse project. This session will give an intro level guided course of how CFEclipse can help you do CF development. We will also cover a basic install guide and feature overview. Simeon is part of the CFEclipse committee.
Prerequisites: No pre-requisites.
    
CFMX7 Admin API in Depth
Nate Nelson

Many developers are interested in the CF Admin API that is available for CFMX7, but many also find that it is difficult to follow because there is so much there. This topic will get into some great uses of the API and go through the main pieces to help developers understand it. This topic would include many examples with take home code.
    
Web Services Tips and Tricks
Charlie Arehart

We all know that CFML makes web services creation and consumption easy. Still, there tips and tricks that can solve common problems in working with them, or expose new possibilities you may not have considered. In this presentation, veteran CFUG speaker Charlie Arehart will share some useful (and some little used) features of ColdFusion MX, BlueDragon, and Dreamweaver MX to help you make the most of web services. He~'ll also show several ways to test web services, as well as point out some interesting and useful examples of real web services you can use in business today. He'll also cover challenges of passing data between CFML and other web service apps, including .NET.
Prerequisites: This talk presumes that developers have begun working with CFML-based web services and are looking to add to their bag of tools and tricks. Even so, someone without experience will likely still follow and benefit from all the info shared.
    
The Road Ahead for CFML and for .NET: Cool Tricks Today and Tomorrow
Vince Bonfanti
(New Atlanta Communications)

What's in store as you move your CFML to .NET? What amazing possibilities are enabled, both now and into the future as CFML, BlueDragon, .NET, and related Windows components all continue to evolve? In this session, we look at the road ahead and give some insights (and demonstrations) of just some of the many possibilities enabled by the marriage of CFML and .NET. Starting with some cool things you can do today to solve important problems, we'll then move to a sneak peak at some even cooler things coming down the road with .NET and related components including as much on Vista, Atlas, Windows Presentation Foundation, Avalon, Indigo, XMAP, and other new technologies as time and timing will allow.
    
Version Control 101 with Subversion
Shlomy Gantz
(BlueBrick)

This session covers: -Version Control -Subversion overview -Installing Subversion -Using Subversion -TortoiseSVN & Subeclipse - Q&A
    
CFMX Server Configuration and Troubleshooting
Dave Watts
(FigLeaf)

Since CF became a Java application, many aspects of CF server configuration and troubleshooting have changed dramatically. This session will cover CFMX server configuration options, and will provide useful diagnostic processes for JVM configuration and tuning, and troubleshooting CFMX server stability problems.
    
SQL Server 2000 and 2005 Performance Tuning
Jeremy Kadlec

Achieving high performance is no mistake. But what if no one took the time during the design, development and testing phases to ensure the platform will meet the performance requirements? Now the system is live, performance is unacceptable and it needs to be corrected. Does this sound familiar? Come learn how to diagnose and resolve common performance issues with the SQL Server tool set. You will learn tips and tricks to take back to the office as a resolution for those pesky performance problems.
Prerequisites: None.
    
Jump on the express way with SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
Jeremy Kadlec

With SQL Server 2005, Microsoft has introduced new editions to support evolving customer needs. With these new editions, especially the Express Edition, new features and capabilities for development, test and production environments are available. This session will be a hands-on starting from installation, to the management tools for operations and application development for developers. See how the SQL Server 2005 Express Edition can expand your offerings to your organization!
Prerequisites: None.
    
MySpace.com - One Year Later, CFML on the .NET Platform: An Overview
Vince Bonfanti
(New Atlanta Communications)

Part I
Last year at CFUnited 2005 it was announced that the most heavily trafficked CFML site on the web, MySpace.com, was transitioning to BlueDragon.NET. Today, not only is Myspace running entirely on BlueDragon.NET - but it now trails only Yahoo.com as the most-heavily trafficked of all sites on the internet. Come learn how they serve upwards of 2 billion CFML page views per day leveraging the power of CFML on the .NET framework.

Part II
Why should a CFML developer care about .NET? With BlueDragon.NET, it's not about rewriting your CFML code, nor about learning another language, nor even using ASP.NET unless there's a benefit. .NET is a framework, indeed it's a platform on which CFML can run while delivering significant enhancements over other platforms. In this session, you'll learn what it means to run CFML on .NET, the advantages of running CFML there unchanged, and the tremendous opportunities for integration between CFML and the .NET framework. Further, you'll get a brief overview of recent advances in .NET, IIS 7, Vista, Atlas, SQL Server 2005, and more.
    
Benefits of Deploying CFML on .NET Versus Java/J2EE
Josh Adams
(Adobe)

Running your CFML on the .NET Framework gives you advantages over the Java/J2EE based form of deployment that you~'ve heard about (and perhaps been using) for some years. This talk will focus on the performance, reliability, and scalability enhancements provided by running CFML, unchanged, on the .NET Framework using BlueDragon for Micrsoft .NET Framework (a.k.a. BlueDragon.NET). Come learn how to take advantage of those enhancements, especially as enabled by Windows Server 2003 and IIS 6 (and the upcoming IIS 7).
Prerequisites: A basic understanding of what BlueDragon for Microsoft .NET Framework is: a CFML application server platform for the Microsoft .NET framework.
    
Benefits of Integrating CFML with ASP.NET
Josh Adams
(Adobe)

If your organization is contemplating (or has already started) to move to .NET, or when you see the many advantages in ASP.NET and the .NET Framework, you may desire to better integrate your CFML with the ASP.NET pages and components that your .NET developers are creating. With BlueDragon.NET, the doors to integration are wide open. Come learn how CFML and ASP.NET can share session, application, and request variables, how CFML and ASP.NET pages can include/forward between each other, and more. A CFML page can call a .NET component, and an ASP.NET page can invoke a CFC--both without web services, with components of both types returning native objects that the other page will understand. All this and more will be demonstrated, with plenty of code examples.
Prerequisites: A basic understanding of what BlueDragon for Microsoft .NET Framework is: a CFML application server platform for the Microsoft .NET framework.
    
BlueDragon: Editions and Advantages
Lori Pacheco
(New Atlanta)

With all the talk today about BlueDragon.NET, it's easy to think that that's all that BlueDragon is about. There are in fact other editions of BlueDragon, including a standalone server (more familiar in concept to traditional ColdFusion server) and an edition that deploys CFML on any J2EE server in just 3 steps. Beyond the different editions, there are also many advantages to using BlueDragon, and it's about a lot more than just some new tags and functions. Come learn the many advantages that simply make existing CFML run better, make managing the CFML engine easier, and make troubleshooting CFML coding errors a breeze.
    
Troubleshooting and Optimizing CFMX Performance
Grant Straker
(Straker Interactive)

Find out how to optimize and troubleshoot CFMX driven applications. You will learn how to quickly debug and identify issues such as the server CPU going to 100%, what causes out of memory errors and how to track memory leaks. The session will also cover how to optimize your application for performance and scalability as well as how to monitor what is going on in the underlying java architecture. Grant is an experienced ColdFusion Developer who runs Straker Interactive, a successful ColdFusion software development house with offices in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Many of the lessons you will learn in this session have been learnt the hard way and in 50 minutes you could save yourself many hours of head scratching and frustration down the track.
    
Building a Complete Web Application using ASP.NET 2.0, Visual Studio 2005, and IIS7, End-to-end
TBA Microsoft Speakers
(Microsoft)

Walk through the most exciting release of Microsoft's Web Platform yet including ASP.NET 2.0, Visual Studio 2005, IIS7, and "Atlas". Learn how the new release enables developers to dramatically reduce the amount of time and code required to write real-world Web applications. ASP.NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005 provides much improved administration and management support, and dramatically improved performance. IIS7 integrates directly with ASP.NET and provides a new breed of server management, integration and extensibility. This talk will include discussions of: Data Controls, SQL Output Caching, Master Pages, Themes/Skins, Personalization, Web Parts, Membership, Role Management and Security Controls, Web Site Administration Tool, MMC Administration Tool, Site Pre-Compilation, Web server improvements, Atlas, user experience and the significantly improved Visual Studio 2005 Web experience.
    
An End-to-end overview of Microsoft’s New Web Application Server, IIS7
Drew Robbins

The future of Microsoft’s Web Server Platform is exciting for developers! The release of Internet Information Services 7.0 in Windows Vista and Server will dramatically improve the development, deployment and management of web sites and applications. This demo packed session will highlight an all new, distributed configuration system and administration tool, a new modularized core web server with powerful new extensibility support. Most importantly, you will see how to plug in custom modules, written in native or managed code, in order to implement entirely new capabilities for IIS 7 and the web applications it delivers. Learn how these advances and more make IIS the best place to run ColdFusion applications.
    

FLEX

Flex 2.0 Enterprise Services and ColdFusion – 203
Thomas Burleson
(Universal Mind)

With Flex 2.0 Data Services, developers can create applications with features previously unavailable using any other web technologies. In this session, you will see some of these possibilities and learn specifically how ColdFusion integrates with Flex Enterprise Services and why it is a great choice as a backend for Flex Data Services enabled applications. Previous experience with ColdFusion/Flex applications will be helpful, but not essential.
    
Flex 2.0 and ColdFusion – Functional and Load Testing – 203
Matt Stevanus
(Universal Mind)

Non-trivial applications require functional and load testing beyond “shift-F5” and a developer checking his own work manually. This is particularly true for richer interfaces, like those that can be created with Flex. RIAs allow for richer user interaction – and more permutations that require testing. This session will introduce you to functional and load testing techniques, methodologies, and software related to testing Flex applications. While the performance testing information can be applied to any backend server product, specific attention will be paid to the use of ColdFusion as the backend server. Some previous experience with Flex will be helpful, but not essential, for this session.
Prerequisites: None.
    
Flex 2.0 and ColdFusion Integration – 101
Nahuel Foronda
(Universal Mind)

In this session, ColdFusion developers will learn how it’s not CF or Flex, but rather how Flex and ColdFusion integrate to create RIAs. In “traditional” applications, CF connects to external systems, processes business logic, and builds an HTML presentation layer. In an RIA, CF still connects to external systems and processes business logic while Flex is used to construct a richer presentation layer delivered by the Flash Player. In this session, you’ll see how the two technologies integrate and get a first taste of Flex development. You’ll learn next steps for orienting yourself to Flex and common gotchas encountered by CF developers new to Flex. While previous experience with Flex is not necessary, knowledge of ColdFusion components will be helpful for this session.
Prerequisites: none
    
Flex 2.0 Event Model – 202
Tom Link

Understanding the Flex event model is critical to developing powerful Flex applications. Further, using the event model to build your own components and architect your application, while not required, is considered an important best practice for building scalable and maintainable applications. While developers experienced with other languages that utilize the DOM event model (e.g. Java and JavaScript) are usually familiar with concepts related to the event model, many ColdFusion developers struggle with this important concept. This session will discuss the event model, why it is important, how it is implemented in Flex’s core architecture, and how custom components and application architecture can utilize events to foster scalable and maintainable Flex applications. This session will also discuss a related conceptual hurdle for web programmers – the asynchronous nature of Flex applications. We’ll discuss how this relates to both the event model and integration with backend systems like ColdFusion.
Prerequisites: Beginner experience with Flex applications is suggested for this session, including experience using events from Flex UI components and developing simple custom components.
    
Flex 2.0 and ColdFusion Integration – 201
Mike Nimer

Using Flex 2.0, you can now deploy Flex applications using any number of backend technologies without the addition of a Flex server product. However, with the new ColdFusion-Flex connectivity features, ColdFusion will have a significant advantage over all other backend technologies; providing the most efficient data exchange, the easiest programming model, and specialized tooling that make it the fastest, easiest way to build Flex apps – with or without the purchase of a Flex server. This session will provide advanced details on RemoteObject and the CF-Flex connectivity features including the use of value objects to exchange data between ColdFusion and Flex. General tips and tricks related to data exchange between ColdFusion and Flex will also be discussed. Previous experience with CF/Flex applications is highly suggested.
    

Keynote

Developing a Better User Experience with "Atlas"
Brad Abrams

"Atlas" is Microsoft's new cross-platform/cross-browser framework for building rich, client-centric AJAX-style Web applications. In this keynote you will see an exciting overview of "Atlas" and learn about data-binding, modernized object-oriented JavaScript techniques, designing interactive UI and more. Follow along as we explore how the "Atlas" controls and components remove the complexity from designing rich, interactive experiences, and help you build AJAX-style applications more quickly. Get more information at http://atlas.asp.net/
    
Adobe's Opening Keynote
Ben Forta
(Adobe Systems Inc.)

Ben Forta, renowned author and the world’s leading expert on ColdFusion will be sharing his views on the future of ColdFusion, Flex and new opportunities for ColdFusion developers.

2005 was an unprecedented year for ColdFusion with the tremendous success of ColdFusion MX 7 and the acquisition of Macromedia by Adobe. In 2006, Adobe will launch Flex 2.0, opening up a significant new opportunity for ColdFusion developers in the creation of a new, rich class of applications combining ColdFusion and Flex. This opening keynote will expose the scope of this exciting new opportunity, and tell the complete story on how easy it will be for ColdFusion developers get started using new ColdFusion-Flex integration.
    
BlueDragon - Five Years of CFUnited: Yesterday, Today and the Road Ahead.
Vince Bonfanti
(New Atlanta Communications)

2006 marks the fifth year that New Atlanta has been present at CFUN/CFUnited since BlueDragon was first introduced at CFUN'02. Today, BlueDragon is firmly established as a world-class, enterprise-ready alternative for deploying CFML applications in standard Java/J2EE and Microsoft .NET server environments. During the first part of this keynote session, Vince Bonfanti, president and co-founder of New Atlanta, will provide an overview of the history of BlueDragon and trace its evolution over the years, highlighting significant customer successes in government, education, health care, finance, retail, and other industries.

During the second part of this keynote, Vince will highlight and demonstrate some of the unique features offered by BlueDragon and how you can use these features to improve your productivity and the performance of your CFML applications. Vince will conclude by demonstrating some of the new features being introduced in BlueDragon 7.0 that continue BlueDragon's tradition of innovation and leadership in the CFML server market.
    

Manager/Emp Programming

Heresy! Embracing Duck Typing in CFCs
Hal Helms
(Hal Helms Inc)
Read Interview
The conventional wisdom for working with CFCs is that you should provide returntypes and argument types for methods. This idea stems from working with strongly-typed languages such as Java and C#. What if, though, we accepted ColdFusion as a dynamically-typed language, such as Smalltalk or Ruby? This talk explores the problems "duck typing" solves and the new possibilities it opens.
    
Practical Design Patterns
Hal Helms
(Hal Helms Inc)

Design patterns have caught the attention of the ColdFusion community, but too often, they are praised without being actually used. Practical Design Patterns explores three design patterns that are eminently useful in real-world situations and includes code samples you can apply in your own situation.
    
Object Think - Common Sense Software Architecture
Simon Horwith

'Object Think' is a technique for object modeling applications. It is the foundation for designing applications using S.A.M., a methodology that Simon adopted largely from the techniques taught in Streamlined Object Modeling and 'purist' theories on OOP. 'Object Think' is, in Simon's own words, 'the most important skill that a software architect could have at their disposal'. Its goal is to demystify design patterns and lead to better software design by teaching architects how to think and by making common sense out of architectural best practices.
Prerequisites: Technically there are no prereqs, as this session teaches architects how to think and every developer will benefit. However, those with expert knowledge and/or experience planning and designing software will benefit most.
    
Mindmapping for Better Programs
Michael Smith
(TeraTech)

Do you want to write better programs? Maybe thinking about programming in a different way would help. Mindmapping is a way to visually work with ideas that was invented in 1970. Now used by millions of people worldwide, mindmapping uses both the left (logical) and right (visual) sides of the brain - so that we can more than double our productivity! Learn how to create effective mindmaps for requirements gathering, program architecture, project management and more. I will demo some mindmapping tools and given an interactive mindmapping exercise for attendees too. Don~'t miss it!
Prerequisites: None
    
Secrets of Top Notch Development Teams
Maxim Porges

Max has been leading software development teams for most of his career. In this session, Max will share his many secrets for success in all areas of successful team management. If you~'re a Team Lead or Development Manager, you'll learn how to maximize the potential of your existing team, as well as how to build a successful new team from scratch. Topics covered in detail include the following: - How to hire and retain the best talent (regardless of budget), including step-by-step coverage of an incredibly effective interview process - Using an open collaboration environment to achieve constant improvement with very little effort - Growing the skills of your team through tactical use of mentoring and delegation - Proven techniques for the creation and enforcement of development standards - Getting the most out of your team with peer review cycles - Striking the documentation balance: how much is "just enough"? - Effective distribution of new code and maintenance work for maximum throughput and skills development
Prerequisites: None
    
MVC for You and Me
Joe Rinehart

Model-View-Controller is a fundamental Design Pattern that~'s great for building Model-Glue, Mach-II, Fusebox, Flex, and Flash applications. However, it's not commonly talked about or understood in the ColdFusion community! Come see Joe Rinehart demystify the MVC Pattern.
Prerequisites: You'll need to have a few years of development under your belt. If you've developed applications large enough where you've though "Maybe a framework could help!" or you've developed your own system of includes and custom tags to re-use code, this session is for you.
    
My Personal IPO - Taking Your Personal Brand Public to The World
Joey Coleman

Last year, Joey Coleman presented an introduction to Personal Branding... Building on this information, Joey will be presenting My Personal IPO - a detailed outline of how to assess your personal brand attributes, package them in a compelling offer, and promote your brand to the public. Anyone who currently does freelance work or who hopes to be promoted in the coming year should attend this session. Attendees will leave the session with tools for determining their key brand attributes and creative suggestions for packaging those attributes in the marketplace.
    
Agile ColdFusion: Delivering better apps in less time
John Paul Ashenfelter

ColdFusion has always been an excellent tool for rapidly delivering high-quality web applications, but by adopting techniques and software from the Agile world, we can deliver applications even faster. In this session, we~'ll take a look at how we can use open source frameworks, automated database/object-relational mapping software, and unit tests to quickly build a simple application. The proof for Agility will be this session itself -- we'll build a small but non-trivial ColdFusion application using a selection of these tools *during* the session. We'll start with an empty directory and end up with a fully-functional and tested prototype site before the timer ticks down.
Prerequisites: Basic understanding of ColdFusion development cycle
    
Managing a Project: From the Developer's Point of View
Kelly Tetterton

CF = RAD, and there~'s a Project Manager in charge -- so the developer is just along for the ride, right? Wrong! Learn some tips & tricks to make sure your projects go as smoothly as possible.
Prerequisites: There are no pre-requisites for this session -- although any serious project experience will definitely make it more meaningful!
    
Sponsor Case Studies
Sponsor Speakers

Friday
1:30pm - 1:45pm TeraTech
1:50pm - 2:05pm CFDynamics

2:10pm - 2:25pm Webapper - Monitoring and Troubleshooting ColdFusion Servers and Applications Using SeeFusion

2:30pm - 2:45pm Systems Alliance

2:50pm - 3:05pm Straker Interactive - Zoom... the fastest way to build ColdFusion-based Flex applications

3:10pm - 3:25pm Joe Danziger - CFUNITED's Scheduler Program done in AJAX
    
Managing ColdFusion Components with Factories
Sean Corfield

As everyone rushes to adopt CFCs as "the" way to build the core of their ColdFusion applications, they have to deal with creating, initializing and linking those components - resolving dependencies and managing their lifecycle. This talk will show how to simplify CFC lifecycle management by using various forms of a common pattern - the factory - including factory frameworks such as ColdSpring.
Prerequisites: Some familiarity with ColdFusion components.
    
Objects and Persistence
Sean Corfield

With tools springing up like weeds in the object / persistence space, it~'s hard to keep track of the options available to us! This talk will look at a variety of libraries, tools and techniques for assisting developers solve the persistence problem. The talk will also examine the term "Object Relational Mapping" (ORM) and look at conflicts between object model design and relational table design.
Prerequisites: Some familiarity with ColdFusion components.
    
Supercharging Fusebox Project Management
Jeff Peters

Managing a development project can be an exercise in frustration. Fortunately, the more structured a project is, the easier it can be to manage--if you take the right approach. This session will demonstrate how the highly structured nature of a Fusebox application and the Fusebox Lifecycle Process (FLiP) provide the foundation for simple, effective, and transparent project management.