Many technologies exist today for making web pages dynamic and integrating them with a database. Adobe ColdFusion web application server is one such technology and although somewhat overshadowed by PHP and Microsoft’s .NET systems, ColdFusion remains a robust, secure and proven way to rapidly develop powerful sites offering a host of features:
- Secure password-protected areas for backend Content Management Systems and members-only sections of a public site
- Tracking of registered user’s actions, allowing customer profiling, site optimisation and cusomisation
- Intranets and extranets for effective administration of your company or organisation
- Powerful database integration
- Forum and messaging systems for interactive communication
- Automated mailing lists
- Uploading files such as images and documents
- Interactive applications such as quizzes and games
- Powerful site search functionality
- E-commerce
Database integration
ColdFusion can integrate seamlessly with a variety of datasources. From a bog-standard Microsoft Access database — sufficient for a mailing list or club membership record — up to the enterprise-level SQL Server for more traffic-intensive sites. The open-source database, MySQL, is also supported.
Whatever the size of the project, however, databases should always be designed with best-practices in mind. Both they, and the code written to interact with them, should be engineered to provide a stable, scalable environment. Like all stages of website development, database solutions should be as efficient, useful and future-proof as possible.