Comparison- coldfusion and .net

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grizzed

Limp Gawd
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Jan 24, 2006
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We're looking to do some web development and are trying to decide which language to use. Coldfusion and .net are being discussed. This will be for a front end that will interact with an MSQL database.

We're hearing conflicting rumors that one or the other is on the way out. Or that one is much easier to use than the other. Is there much that would really sway the argument one way or the other?
 
MSQL? Did you mean MSSQL or MySQL perhaps?

I don't believe .NET is going anywhere, unless you're talking about the older .NET 1.1 Framework or maybe the VB.NET language. Coldfusion, however, I don't really hear much about anymore.
 
If your environment is Windows based, .NET is probably your best option.
 
CF was a big player in the early days of corporate web app development - you don't hear much about it anymore. There's still a large installed base & shops that have committed themselves to it but very few people would suggest it for greenfield development. .NET is more actively developed & supported, there's more resources for developers & finding developers comfortable with it will be 10x easier.

Company I work for now has halted CF development, is trying to phase out CF apps & has mandated that CF not be used for new ones. It just isn't really bringing much to the table these days. I'm pretty sure that CF's the one on the way out - .NET is still growing in popularity & MSFT has a lot invested in keeping the platform around for years to come.
 
What's ColdFusion now? I had to look it up, then again I don't really do much web development, I work on embedded stuff.

I'd still suggest .NET fwiw, from the previous comments.
 
calebb said:
What do your developer(s) recommend?
Click to expand...
The dev we have now is saying coldfusion. But he's heavy on coldfusion background and won't be sticking around after the project. So while his opinion carry's weight, it mostly seems to be based on what he prefers to work in, rather than the best product for this solution.

Thanks to all for the input so far -
 
grizzed said:
The dev we have now is saying coldfusion. But he's heavy on coldfusion background and won't be sticking around after the project. So while his opinion carry's weight, it mostly seems to be based on what he prefers to work in, rather than the best product for this solution.
Click to expand...
Let's see.... a web site project, a project team size of one (who will be leaving soon), the only requirement is to talk to SQL Server and serve content via HTTP, a general resistance from you for CF for an unknown reason...

Given what has been shared so far, I'm honestly not sure why CF and .NET are even being debated on this. There isn't anything in this thread so far that points toward one and not the other, let alone why other established front-end technologies like PHP, Java, Silverlight, XYZ, etc. are not being considered.

Other thoughts....
1 - Are you a development shop? (I'm guessing no.)
2 - What technology roadmap and/or requirements do you have? 3rd party integrations? Data sharing? Web service communications?
3 - Why are .NET and CF the only technologies being considered?
4 - If you're set on a particular technology path (for whatever reason) that contradicts the skillset of the one dev, then why not hire a development shop to do the work?
5 - Any plans for future maintenance, enhancements, etc.?
 
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Disclosure, I'm the Manager of the DFW ColdFusion User Group. I currently work for a private company that employs about 100 ColdFusion developers for a massive Enterprise Application.

I've been using CF for web applications since 1997, but I've also used PHP, Java/JSP and I'm looking at Grails just to try something new. ColdFusion is currently at version 9 and version 10 has been under development for some time now. CF has been Java under the hood since verison 6, so picture it as the most robust Java Tag Library out there and you might have a better idea of what it can do. In addition to Adobe's (formerly Macromedia's, formerly Allaire's) ColdFusion, there are also two open source CFML engines: OpenBD (New Atlanta) and Railo (a JBoss project).

Your question boils down to this: what's the right tool for the job?

If you're on an MS platform and you already have developers that do VB or other MS languages, then .NET would probably be best. If your developers are really designers skilled with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, then ColdFusion or PHP might be a good fit, but I'd say of the two, CF is easier to learn. If you have any Java types, then CF or Grails.

Regardless, you should download a few of the languages and try each one to see which fits best.
 
Some of this stuff is really confusing to me. Why would you develop for ColdFusion if you could develop for JBoss?
 
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