An Introduction to Integrating ColdFusion, ColdSpring, and Flex 3

1
An Introduction to Integrating ColdFusion,
ColdSpring, and Flex 3

• A Presentation to the Kansas City Adobe RIA User
  Group
• March 25, 2008
• Download this presentation at http//www.brucephil
  lips.name/blog

2
Goals

• Learn how to use ColdSpring to manage
  dependencies between ColdFusion Components (CFCs)
• Learn how to use ColdSpring to automatically
  create CFCs that Flex can use

3
What Do You Need To Already Know?

• How to create and use CFCs
• Service, Gateway, DAO, Bean CFCs
• A basic understanding of how to create a Flex
  application that uses ColdFusion and remote
  object services
• mxRemoteObject component

4
What Do You Need To Have?

• ColdFusion version 7.0.2 or higher
• ColdSpring 1.0 final release (see ref. 1)
• Flex Builder 2 or 3

5
Example Projects

• Example projects
• Example1NoColdSpring, http//www.brucephillips.nam
  e/flex/coldspringexample/example1nocoldspring.zip
  
• Example1, http//www.brucephillips.name/flex/colds
  pringexample/example1.zip
• Example2, http//www.brucephillips.name/flex/colds
  pringexample/example2.zip
• Microsoft Access or MySQL Database
• http//www.brucephillips.name/flex/coldspringexamp
  le/data.zip

6
Setup Example Projects

• Download the zipped project files
• Import into Flex Builder
• File Import Other General Archive File
• Download the zipped data file and unzip it. Use
  justCSdb.sql to create a MySQL database or use
  the justCSdb.mdb Microsoft Access database
• Create a data source in ColdFusion administrator
  named justCSdbMySQL that refers to the database

7
ColdSpring

• Developed by Dave Ross (www.d-ross.org) and
  several others
• Manages the dependencies between CFCs
• Read an Introduction to ColdSpring and ColdSpring
  and Dependency Injection for the beginner part 1
  (ref. 3 and 4)

8
CFCs Dependencies

• UserService CFC
• UserDAO CFC

UserService m_userDAO UserDAO getUserByID()
UserDAO read()
The UserService CFC is dependent upon the UserDAO
CFC. It must have an object of type UserDAO.
9
Managing CFC Dependencies Without Using ColdSpring

• Hardwire the dependencies
• Show Code example (example1NoColdSpring)
• Within the UserService CFC create an object of
  the UserDAO CFC
• On large projects with lots of Service, Gateway,
  DAO, Bean CFCs that are dependent on each other,
  hardwiring these dependencies can be cumbersome
  and time consuming to manage

10
Get and Setup ColdSpring

• Download ColdSpring zipped file (ref. 1)
• Unzip it to your web root
• Should now have a ColdSpring folder under your
  web root
• C\ColdFusion8\wwwroot\coldspring
• Under the coldspring folder are an examples and a
  docs folder

11
Integrating ColdSpring and A ColdFusion
Application

• Add code to Application.cfm (or Application.cfc)
  to create the ColdSpring BeanFactory object
• A bean factory is a container that holds all of
  your CFC objects
• The ColdSpring BeanFactory object is stored in
  application scope
• See example1 Application.cfm
• See example1 Application.cfc

12
Provide ColdSpring Your Applications
Configuration Parameters

• ColdSpring reads an XML file that describes the
  CFCs, their dependencies, and any additional
  properties for your application
• This line in Application.cfm/cfc reads the
  configuration XML file
• ltcfset application.beanFactory.loadBeans(expandPat
  h("services.xml"))/gt

13
Services.xml Telling ColdSpring About Your CFCs
and Dependencies

• See example1 - services.xml
• CFCs are defined in the XML by the bean element
• The bean child element named property defines
  dependencies
• See bean definition with an id of userService
• For each property we need a comparable set method
  in the CFC
• See example1 - UserService CFC setUserDAO method

14
Services.xml continued

• See the bean definition with an id of userDAO
• Can also pass values to a CFCs init method using
  the constructor-arg child element of the bean
  element
• See init method for the UserDAO CFC and note the
  argument named dsn

15
Changing Services.xml or a CFC

• Append reloadApp1 to the index.cfm URL
• See example1 - Application.cfm
• See example1 Application.cfc (onRequestStart
  function)
• Forces the BeanFactory to be recreated and
  ColdSpring to read the services.xml file

16
Using CFCs Being Managed By ColdSpring

• When you need an object of a CFC being managed by
  ColdSpring use the BeanFactorys getBean method
• See example1 index.cfm

17
CFCs Are Ignorant of ColdSpring

• The UserDAO and UserService CFCs are ignorant of
  ColdSpring
• ColdSpring makes has no requirements except that
  your CFCs have an init method
• Using an init method as a pseudo-constructor is a
  ColdFusion best practice (ref. 11)
• These CFCs could easily be used in an application
  that isnt using ColdSpring to manage dependencies

18
ColdSpring and ColdFusion Frameworks

• Most major ColdFusion Frameworks (Mach-II,
  Model-Glue, FuseBox) include the ability to
  integrate ColdSpring
• Complex applications often use ColdSpring and a
  framework together

19
ColdSpring and Flex

• If ColdSpring is managing the dependencies
  between CFCs how can we use those same CFCs with
  Flex?
• Cannot call the UserService CFC directly from
  Flex because its dependencies have not been
  resolved
• See example2 UserService CFC - getUserByID
  method
• Call from Flex will fail because
  variables.m_userDAO object doesnt exist
• Need to connect Flex to the UserService CFC being
  managed by ColdSpring

20
ColdSpring and Remoting

• ColdSpring can automatically create a remote
  façade CFC that we can connect to with Flex
• The remote façade CFC will expose any CFCs being
  managed by ColdSpring with their dependencies
  resolved

21
Creating A Remote Façade CFC

• Add a bean element to the Services.xml
  configuration file
• class attribute value should be RemoteFactoryBean
• See example2 services.xml
• Specify the target (the CFC to create a remote
  façade for)
• Specify the name of the remote CFC
• Specify where to write the remote CFC
• Specify the methods to expose

22
Have ColdSpring Create The Remote Façade CFC

• Modify the Application.cfm so that when
  ColdSpring finishes processing the configuration
  XML file it will create the remote CFC object in
  application scope
• See example2 Application.cfm/cfc
• The first time the application runs ColdSpring
  will create the remote façade CFC
• In this example UserServiceRemote CFC

23
Remote Façade CFC

• See example2 UserServiceRemote CFC (in model
  folder)
• Note the function getUserByID
• The remote façade CFC can be used by Flex or Ajax
  applications

24
Connect Flex to The Remote Façade CFC

• Use the mxRemoteObject component to connect Flex
  to the Remote Façade CFC
• See references 7, 8, and 9 for how to connect
  Flex to ColdFusion CFCs
• See example2 example2.mxml (in src folder)
• Note Flex is connecting to the UserServiceRemote
  CFC
• Should be able to run example2 Flex project,
  click on the Test Connection button, and get
  Bruce Phillips back from the ColdFusion CFC

25
Cautions

• Make sure the remote façade CFC exists (has been
  created by ColdSpring) before trying to connect
  to it using Flex
• Research how to integrate Flex into ColdFusion
  applications that use a framework (Mach-II,
  Model-Glue, FuseBox) combined with ColdSpring
• How does the framework integrate ColdSpring and
  can ColdSpring still create remote façade CFCs?

26
Questions?

• This presentation is posted on my blog at
  http//www.brucephillips.name/blog
• My email address is Bruce_at_Phillips.name

27
References

• ColdSpring Framework, http//www.coldspringframewo
  rk.org/
• ColdFusion Developer's Journal Special
  "Frameworks" Focus Issue ColdSpring
  http//coldfusion.sys-con.com/read/176181.htm
• The Blog of Andy Jarrett, ColdSpring and
  Dependency Injection for the beginner part 1
• ColdSpring Online Documentation,
  http//www.coldspringframework.org/docs

28
References continued

• Remote Synthesis Blog, Objects and Composition -
  Connecting To Flex
• Developing With ColdSpring, ColdSpring and
  Remoting
• Flex 3 Remote Object Components,
  http//livedocs.adobe.com/flex/3/html/data_intro_2
  .html
• Flex 3 Using RemoteObject Components,
  http//livedocs.adobe.com/flex/3/html/data_access_
  4.html

29
References

• Using ColdFusion With Flex 2, http//download.macr
  omedia.com/pub/documentation/en/flex/2/using_cf_wi
  th_flex2.pdf
• FuseBox and ColdSpring, http//corfield.org/blog/i
  ndex.cfm/do/blog.entry/entry/Fusebox_5_and_ColdSpr
  ing
• ColdFusion MX Coding Guidelines - Good Practice,
  http//livedocs.adobe.com/wtg/public/coding_standa
  rds/goodpractice.html