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Charlie Arehart
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A veteran ColdFusion developer since 1997, Charlie Arehart is a long-time contributor to the community and a recognized Adobe Community Expert. He's a certified Advanced CF Developer and Instructor for CF 4/5/6/7 and served as tech editor of CFDJ until 2003. Now an independent contractor (carehart.org) living in Alpharetta, GA, Charlie provides high-level troubleshooting/tuning assistance and training/mentoring for CF teams. He helps run the Online ColdFusion Meetup (coldfusionmeetup.com, an online CF user group), is a contributor to the CF8 WACK books by Ben Forta, and is frequently invited to speak at developer conferences and user groups worldwide. |
Exploring Amazon Web
Services with ColdFusion
MX By Charlie Arehart Amazon.com, the 'earth's
biggest selection,' has
exposed their entire
catalog of products,
product reviews and
ratings, user-created
book lists, and more via
Web services. Whether
you're new to Web
services or not, and even
if you don't care so much
about accessin... Apr. 3, 2003 12:00 AM Reads: 18,893 Replies: 2 | Flash for CFers:Getting
over the Hump By Charlie Arehart Where do you stand in the
march of CF developers
moving toward
implementing Flash
interfaces in your Web
apps? Are you gung ho?
Still on the fence? Dead
set against it? Feeling
left out? Left behind? Feb. 28, 2003 12:00 AM Reads: 13,121 | Fun with Filters in CFMX By Charlie Arehart There are a lot of
powerful new integration
points between CFMX and
Java, but one that might
benefit a lot of people -
even those who don't know
how to program in Java -
is the ability to
leverage servlet filters
in CFMX. Jan. 31, 2003 12:00 AM Reads: 14,981 | CFDJ: The Fifth Year By Charlie Arehart Four years is a
generation in Internet
time; in the life of
ColdFusion Developer's
Journal and ColdFusion
itself, it marks an
epoch. As we celebrate
the new year and the
beginning of CFDJ's
fifth, here's a look at
where we've been and
where we may be going. Jan. 7, 2003 12:00 AM Reads: 9,121 Replies: 1 | Compilation and
Precompilation in CFMX
Templates By Charlie Arehart Last month I introduced a
precompile 'batch' file
that allowed you to
manually compile CFMX
templates, saving the
penalty paid by the first
user to browse a CFMX
template after it was
created or edited.
But there will be
curious folks (and
bit-twiddlers) ... Oct. 22, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 13,359 Replies: 1 | Compilation and
Precompilation in CFMX
Templates Part 1 By Charlie Arehart Most of you have heard by
now that ColdFusion MX
templates are compiled
into Java. Some may
wonder what the big deal
is. Many more of you may
be surprised to learn
that you can precompile
CFMX templates. Oct. 4, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 13,255 Replies: 9 | Hidden Gems in CFMX By Charlie Arehart With each new release of
CFMX some features are
trumpeted a lot and
others seem to fall
between the cracks. I
call these 'hidden
gems,'and in CFMX there
are quite a few. Aug. 23, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 14,107 Replies: 1 | New Possibilities for
Session/Client Variable
Handling in CFMX By Charlie Arehart Tucked away among the
press and praise about
ColdFusion MX are some
new options that could
benefit every CF
developer. If you've seen
them mentioned, they may
not have seemed important
at first glance, but I
hope you'll give them
consideration. Jul. 31, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 20,873 Replies: 3 | New Possibility in CFMX:
Server-Side Redirects By Charlie Arehart Now that we can talk
freely about ColdFusion
MX, I want to share
something new that you
likely won't hear much
aboutÂ… but that I think
stands to be an important
feature: server-side
redirects, or 'forwards.' May. 30, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 17,416 Replies: 2 | Using JSP Custom Tags in
CFMX By Charlie Arehart CFMX, the new release of
ColdFusion, will allow us
to use JSP custom tags
within our ColdFusion
programs. Some may say,
'So what?' In this
article I hope to show
you why it's definitely
worth looking into this
new possibility. May. 2, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 14,317 Replies: 4 | Toward Better CF Server
Administration Part 2 of
3 By Charlie Arehart As an administrator, or a
developer interested in
how your server is run,
are you getting the most
out of your CF Server
configuration, especially
with regard to
security-related settings
in the Administrator? Are
you fully aware of the
opportunities and
challenge... Apr. 8, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 8,306 | Unlocking Restricted Use
of CFFILE,CFCONTENT,and
More By Charlie Arehart Many developers know that
the CF administrator can
restrict your ability to
use several tags that not
only provide very useful
capabilities, but can
also be used to provide
unauthorized access to
server resources. What
many don't know is that
they can arrange to use... Feb. 5, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 10,130 | Toward Better CF Server
Administration Part 1 of
2 By Charlie Arehart Are you a CF Server
administrator? Or a
developer with an
interest in knowing how
your server is configured
and managed? Are you
aware of all that should
be done to keep the
server running well - or
all that could be done to
make the most of it? In
this two-part a... Jan. 9, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 9,757 | Adding New Help Topics to
Studio By Charlie Arehart Ever wished you had easy
access to Help on non-CF
topics such as
JavaScript, SQL, and
DHTML? Did you know you
could easily add such new
Help topics to Studio? In
this month's Journeyman
ColdFusion, I'll show you
how easy it is. I'll also
point out some existing
re... Jan. 9, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 12,544 Replies: 3 | Getting Focus()ed and a
Quick JavaScript Lesson By Charlie Arehart Many new J2EE developers
get caught up in focusing
on the details and
nuances of servlets and
JSPs and, as a result,
may not learn how to
leverage JavaScript. Some
may even dismiss it as
too much hassle, given
cross-browser
compatibility issues. Jan. 1, 2002 12:00 AM Reads: 26,987 Replies: 2 | Validating Input with
Regular Expressions By Charlie Arehart Have you ever wished
CFINPUT provided a way to
validate an e-mail
address? Or were you
frustrated that its
telephone validation
didn't allow parentheses
around an area code among
other such limitations?
Well, your wish has been
granted in a new,
little-known feature of
CF5. Dec. 3, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 26,638 Replies: 2 | The Many Sides of J2EE
Development By Charlie Arehart There are many facets to
J2EE Web application
development. It's a
powerful platform that
offers a variety of
possibilities and
capabilities, with many
different approaches and
models of development
available. This is both a
strength and, for
newcomers to the
pla... Nov. 1, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 13,083 | E-Testing: Debugging Your
Projects By Charlie Arehart You're nearly finished
with the code you've been
slaving over for hours
(or days or weeks, or
maybe it was just a few
seconds' effort). You're
about to turn it loose
for your customers to
enjoy. The questions are:
Is it ready? Do you know
it will work? Have you
te... Oct. 4, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 10,260 Replies: 1 | Making the Move to J2EE By Charlie Arehart Welcome to the first
installment of Journeyman
J2EE. I'm honored to
present this new
bi-monthly column of
ruminations and reactions
as I, like so many of
you, make my foray
through the vast world of
J2EE application
development and
deployment. But this
isn't int... Sep. 1, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 12,133 | Why It's Wrong to Use
Application.dsn in Your
Templates By Charlie Arehart You've probably seen the
use of a variable called
'application.dsn' (or
'application.datasource')
in code. Perhaps you've
even been taught to use
the method in a class.
Maybe you've even
been doing it in your own
code. I'm talking about
setting this variable... Jul. 11, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 16,508 Replies: 3 | Toward Better Error
Handling - Part 4 By Charlie Arehart If you've programmed in a
modern programming
language (Java, C,
JavaScript, or even
stored procedure
languages), you've
probably heard of
exception handling via
try/catch statements.
ColdFusion supports the
same capability. Jun. 7, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 15,567 | Which Wireless Way? By Charlie Arehart Wireless Business &
Technology welcomes
veteran writer and
technologist Charles
Arehart as our newly
appointed 'Wireless
Journeyman' columnist.
Serving as 'the
developer's developer'
he'll be examining
wireless technologies and
techniques, sometimes
praising... May. 2, 2001 03:47 PM Reads: 7,636 | Who's Using ColdFusion? By Charlie Arehart I actually look forward
to the question, because
I enjoy seeing their
surprise when I list some
of them. I don't have a
definitive list, but it's
enough to impress most
who ask. Apr. 27, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 15,710 Replies: 1 | Testing Existence in
Arrays By Charlie Arehart Have you ever wanted to
test if a given array
element exists? Or when
dealing with arrays of
structures, if a given
key exists? Mar. 30, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 19,872 Replies: 3 | Database Choices for
ColdFusion Developers By Charlie Arehart What database do you use
for your ColdFusion
applications? Are you
fully satisfied with your
choice? Did you even have
a choice? Would you be
interested in knowing
what other alternatives
you may have? In this
article I present some of
the discussions that
inevita... Feb. 22, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 7,043 Replies: 1 | Toward Better Error
Handling By Charlie Arehart When your users
experience a CF error, do
they still see the
traditional default - a
plain black-on-white CF
error screen? More
important, are you being
notified when such errors
occur? Would you like to
log the errors to a
database? If you're not
taking advantag... Jan. 27, 2001 12:00 AM Reads: 28,522 | Paired Custom Tags By Charlie Arehart You may have heard that
Release 4 of ColdFusion
introduced support for
nested and paired custom
tags. This offers many
possibilities for
creating more complex
custom tags. Dec. 26, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 13,888 Replies: 1 | Toward Better Error
Handling - Part By Charlie Arehart Did you know that when a
CF error occurs, in many
cases not only can you
cause something other
than the plain,
black-on-white default CF
error message to appear,
but you can also log in a
database or e-mail to
support staff information
about the error,
including t... Nov. 27, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 14,269 | CFUN-2k = CF Party By Charlie Arehart Late in July ColdFusion
developers who simply
couldn't wait for the
November Allaire
Developer conference had
the opportunity to gather
with compatriots and
spend time learning CF
tricks and techniques
from some of the most
popular CF speakers. Oct. 5, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 7,292 | Toward Better Error
Handling By Charlie Arehart We've all seen it: the
dreaded 'Error Occurred
While Processing
Request,' which is the
headline above a normal
CF error message. As
developers, of course, we
relish the detail it
offers: the CF error
message, the line number
and actual line of code
in error, the n... Oct. 5, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 11,959 | Facing the Challenges
Part 2 By Charlie Arehart It's fun developing
wireless applications in
ColdFusion, but if you
don't solve several key
challenges it'll be more
painful than pleasant.
In this second part of a
series, I'll focus on
some common problems
encountered by CF/WML
developers. Aug. 23, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 11,183 | Developing Wireless Apps
with ColdFusion Pt. 1 By Charlie Arehart There's a growing buzz
around the world of
wireless Web
applications, that is,
Web sites accessible to
phones and other wireless
devices. You may have
read that in ColdFusion
4.5 Allaire added support
for something called WAP
(Wireless Access
Protocol). Jul. 26, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 10,878 | Reconfiguring Remote
Databases via SQL By Charlie Arehart Here's a dilemma faced by
nearly every developer of
Access databases who's
got the database stored
on a remote CF server.
How do you reconfigure
the database if you want
to add, change or remove
columns, tables or
indexes? If it's remote,
you can't very well use
t... Jun. 22, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 16,237 Replies: 1 | Getting Focused - and a
Quick JavaScript Lesson By Charlie Arehart You visit a Web site that
offers a form inviting
you to enter some input.
No big deal - we see them
all the time, right?
But do you move your
cursor to that first data
entry area using the
mouse? Or are you, like
me, a keyboard maven - in
which case you find that... May. 25, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 17,346 Replies: 1 | Calling All Custom Tags
Part 2 By Charlie Arehart In my Journeyman column
last month (CFDJ Vol. 2,
issue 4) we began looking
at how - and why - to
call custom tags in
different ways. So
far, we've learned that
the CF_ approach will
look first locally, then
in the shared
\cfusion\customtags
directory, while the... Apr. 26, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 12,866 | Calling all custom tags By Charlie Arehart You probably know about
custom tags, but are you
aware of all the
possibilities for
controlling who can
access them and how?
Perhaps you knew that a
custom tag could be
placed in the
cfusion\customtags
directory of the CF
server to provide shared
access by all... Apr. 3, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 13,797 | Helping Yourself By Charlie Arehart In my work as an
Allaire-certified
instructor, students
often ask questions, and
while the courses address
most of them, they
sometimes have some
really interesting ones
that I know have been
asked and answered
before. Mar. 16, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 11,569 Replies: 4 | Hidden Gems in 4.0.1 By Charlie Arehart Given that most people
are now introducing and
installing ColdFusion
version 4.5, Allaire's
latest release of the
server and studio
software, it may seem
strange to read an
article on 4.0.1. Jan. 27, 2000 12:00 AM Reads: 10,409 | Stored Procedures In
Access By Charlie Arehart While many experienced CF
developers will spurn the
notion of creating a
production CF application
with a back-end database
in Access, there are far
more developers who for
one reason or another
proceed to - or simply
have to - do so. Oct. 18, 1999 12:00 AM Reads: 14,221 | ColdFusion 4.0 Developer
Enhancements By Charlie Arehart In the premier issue of
CFDJ, Richard Schulze
wrote a fine article on
several new features of
ColdFusion 4.0, part of
Allaire's recent upgrade
to their entire product
line. In this article
I'll highlight some
additional features of
the new release. I'll
also expan... Mar. 26, 1999 12:00 AM Reads: 10,164 |
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