Coldfusion Design Patterns

I set out tonight to determine if the Prototype design pattern would be useful in object factories in ColdFusion 8. The Prototype pattern, in a nutshell, is to create a new instance of an object by copying an existing object instantiation. The object to copy is an object instantiated once and then used as a blueprint for future objects of the same type. The thought is that copying an object holds a lesser cost than instantiating a new object.

Data Access Object and Gateways are the names given to ColdFusion components that access information from a database or other external data source. Within the ColdFusion community DAOs and Gateways have pretty much taken on the meaning as follows

For those of you new to this concept, an object factory is nothing but a component whose sole job is to create components. An object factory is quite simple and small. Its main role is to collect the information necessary to create an instance of the intended object’s class and then to invoke that class’s constructor

The tutorial is simple in its presentation but gets the job done and includes a full working application putting everything to good use. You’ll be creating a home automation Remote Control for the appliances in your house. My remote has simple on/off buttons and and undo button but the tutorial will teach you to do more

The introduction of ColdFusion Components (CFCs) in ColdFusion MX opened the door to more object-oriented programming in CF. When application developers start thinking about OOP, the idea of design patterns almost always comes up. In that context, Brian Kotek discusses the State pattern: its purpose, the problems it can solve, and how you can implement it using CFCs.