Is ColdFusion Dying?

We hear this question all the time. Isn’t it dying? Won’t it be gone soon? Should we even invest in our legacy application? While it is true that ColdFusion has been around for quite a long time and has seen its fair share of gaps between releases, it is also true that Adobe has continued to push efforts in the direction of bringing ColdFusion into the modern landscape. Development tools continuously evolve, enabling developers to write more efficient and effective code with every new tool. With that comes a wide range of options for everyone to use to achieve their goals. The ColdFusion community has come together in many ways to advance our ability to not only achieve similar advancements using ColdFusion as a base, but also integrate with the newer tools. So to answer that question, ColdFusion is very much alive and thriving. 

If you take the time to review the very few statistics across the web on the matter you may see it as niche. ColdFusion has always been quite niche from the jump. Accounting for the majority of highly customized applications that handle multiple needs but for specified sectors. With portions of the US Government, the Food and Drug Administration, and NASA claiming to use it in the past you can imagine the possibilities. These days it is hard to identify who might be using it without straight out asking them. The things they use it for likely have no ties to the world wide web in the sense that it can be viewed by the general populace. 

What does Adobe have to say about it? 

If you were lucky enough to be in attendance at the Adobe ColdFusion Summit this year then you heard this directly from them and likely walked away with a renewed sense of excitement for the future. During various sessions there were even hints at the possibility of yearly releases moving forward. If true, one can assume that the release of CF 2023 was the beginning of this initiative. 

There were also many discussions of bringing new developers out of college into the fold, and the many ways that they and the community can do this together. Great minds think alike as they say, WRIS had a similar idea at the end of 2022. We held our first ColdFusion Summer Internship in 2023 with great success. Our first candidate completed their internship with their Adobe ColdFusion Certification and has continued to work with CF since leaving. We are sure to see continued growth with yearly releases and internships blossoming worldwide. 

Should you upgrade to ColdFusion 2023?

For any legacy or existing applications, ColdFusion 2023 allows you to leverage the new power and capabilities of this version. Not to mention the enhanced security measures that will no doubt bring a better sense of ease. The first step in deciding if this is the right direction for you is to assess your compatibility. Your developer or development team should review the release notes, in addition to the comprehensive documentation and resources that Adobe provides, to identify any potential compatibility issues or deprecated features that may impact you. With a thorough code review to identify your unique needs a plan of action can be compiled in preparation. 

If you still aren’t sure then you can take advantage of setting up a testing environment. WRIS finds this step essential in any CF upgrade process or migration. To ensure a smooth transition a testing environment is critical. You can use this, virtually risk free, to test all new features, update code, find functionality gaps or performance discrepancies before giving the green light. 

Embracing ColdFusion 2023 is the best way to ensure your application is safe, secure, and ready for the future. 

What if I don’t use ColdFusion? 

If you are not currently using ColdFusion then you have nothing to worry about as far as the above conversation is concerned. If you are deciding whether or not you should move to ColdFusion then WRIS can help you answer that question. Some deciding factors can be whether or not you can settle for an out-of-the-box solution to fit your application needs and if this application can run without the need for robust processing power. If the answer to either of those are ‘no’ then you may be a good candidate for ColdFusion. 

WRIS can discuss those needs in depth and provide you with the best solution to fit your needs. We do work with multiple different languages and platforms after all. Being a solutions provider means that we are here to help you reach your goals without making you compromise. Reach out today to start that process. 

Curious about the history of ColdFusion? If so, checkout ‘Building ColdFusion for the web’ by Jay Hoffmann from The History of The Web.