Nando on OO
If anyone is still having a hard time with OO in CF, check out the new series of postings by Nando on OO in CF. Looks like it could be a great series.
And for other OO advice remember to check out Brians big resource list for OO and frameworks and Doug Boudes lighthearted by informative intro to OO terminology.
Introducing OO Architecture in CFDJ
A lot of people know what CFC's are but aren't really sure how to start to go about architecting their ColdFusion apps. There are a bunch of resources out there, but I though I'd add one more with a CFDJ article on Architecting your ColdFusion Objects that has just been published. It tries to provide a high level overview of where, why and how to use OO design patterns to create more maintainable CF apps. Any input appreciated!
Wow, three articles on my author page in three months - cool :->
The Campaign Against Unnecessary Object Orientation
I have seen posts and comments over the years from a number of developers who feel OO is getting a little too much press. They point out (quite reasonably) that many applications don’t need to be Object Oriented, but some also suggest that Object Zealots (I'm a card carrying member :->) are proposing we OO everything from single page forms on up.
In my personal experience, the biggest proponents of Object Orientation and Design Patterns tend to be strongly opposed to the unnecessary use of patterns or OO principles. I for one still have some smaller apps that are proudly procedural and many that have cfqueries in their views. Some of the projects are old, others just didn’t need the additional complexity.
So, I am calling for everyone who likes and dislikes OO alike to comment below, listing these blog postings where Object Oriented proponents suggest that we brazenly and maliciously overuse Design Patterns and Object Orientation on our simplest forms and screens (other than perhaps as a learning tool which I see as a valid excuse) as then we can present a united front against this diabolical evil and return to the saner problems of how to learn OO and DP (if appropriate/relevant) and where best to utilize them.
Getting Started
I know some of my posts might seem a little esoteric for anyoe just getting started with Object Oriented programming in CF. As mentioned before, I will be posting at least one "OO 101" post every month to provide a resource for getting started.
In the meantime, anyone interested in getting going with OO or frameworks should check out the great list of resources Brian Rinaldi just posted. An excellent resource!
If you're not sure why you should consider OO programming at all, check out this brief summary - or this one.
Why Object Oriented at All?
Brian Rinaldi wrote a great post last night about getting started with OO and frameworks. The fact is, getting started with OO can be intimidating, and as Gary Funk noted in the comments:
"why do we go to all this trouble when the life of a page is only 54 ms?"
Very cool :->
Of course, the real lifetime of a web page isn't 54ms - it is the months or years that you have to maintain it. OO is just a set of proven solutions to maintainability problems that might come up and the reason that OO can seem hard to learn is because we’re often trying to learn patterns (solutions) to problems we haven’t encountered just yet.
