[thelist] ColdFusion 4 -> 6 migration tips?

[Keith Gaughan]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Paul Cowan wrote:

> I've got a colleague who wants to change web hosts for their (very
> high-traffic) web site, which is in CF4. However, CF4 seems to be (I've
> never used CF) a technology that seems to pre-date the use of flint
> tools, as every CF person I talk to just shakes their head when I ask
> them how likely it is the code will "just run" on a CFMX 6 server.
> 
> Does anyone have any tips/input on this? I've found some reference on
> the Macromedia site to a tool that helps the upgrade path from 5 to 6 by
> analysing code and suggesting what changes need to be made, etc. Is an
> upgrade from 4 -> 5 the best idea, then 5 -> 6? Or are the differences
> insignificant enough that we'll be able to improvise as we go?
> 
> Any tips, helps, gotchas, estimate of likely effort greatly appreciated.

Tip 1: Skip straight to CF7.

CF7 contains everything in CF6.1, uses the same core engine with lots of
bug fixes, and has lots of useful stuff. Unless you already have CF6
licenses, there's no sense in going with it in preference to CF7.

Tip 2: The code checker.

CFMX (CF6 & 7) have a code checker for people migrating from older
versions. Well behaved code should generally work without problems,
but there will be places where something that was fine on CF4 will
break on CFMX. But generally, breakage will only occur if you've been
doing something naughty.

Tip 3: Stop using a development server.

You're probably using a single development server right now. Stop. CF7
(and CF6) have developer editions available. Get each one of the
developers to install a copy on their machines and get them to use that
instead. If you're not already using a source control system (such as
CVS, Subversion, Perforce, Darcs, Arch, &c.), then think about using it.
After the initial pain of thinking differently about how you do
development, you'll be much happier.

Tip 4: Create a testing server.

You can download a trial of the full version from Macromedia that
reverts to a Developer Edition copy after a month. Download this and
test each of your applications on it.

Other stuff:

Upgrading to CF7 is dead simple: it's almost a matter of fire and forget
really, and is in fact simpler than installing CF6.

Hope that's been of some help.

K.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (MingW32)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFCnFoMmSWF0pzlQ04RApCbAJ9yQKDUvSz3sRPilfX6i5CNTNO2cgCcDPx4
qg83xGjMfu8LzyTZcG6GDCs=
=wjht
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----