Switching to ColdFusion? [closed]

When I was a youngster who just graduated college without a lick of experience, I learned ColdFusion and had a workable foundation in it at my first job in about a week. It's really easy to learn.

Pros of ColdFusion:

• Easy to learn
• Allows for rapid development
• Easiest language in the world to connect to a database and write SQL in
• It's an Adobe product so configuration is a snap
• Just released a new version with plenty of new features
• You'll always be able to find a job knowing ColdFusion

Cons of ColdFusion:

• Expensive (in $ terms)
• Harder to find a good hosting company
• A bit outdated, even with its newest update
• Extremely verbose and cludgy (might describe it as Enterprisey)

I've used Java and ColdFusion with the Flex AMF protocol, and both are pretty easy and work right out of the box - don't rule out Java if you have any interest in that.

Although, without knowing everything, I have to ask: if you're building a desktop app, why do you need to connect to a backend when AIR has access to SQL lite?

Keep in mind that as Flex/AIR gets more popular, more languages will (in my opinion) likely provide AMF protocols as part of the language. But you may not want to bet on that.

Having said all that, I'd say go with ColdFusion. Even though it's not glamorous, it's a good skill to have - it's going to become the COBOL of scripting languages (a few state governments and large chunk of the federal government use it)

I vote for ColdFusion. It is a piece of cake for almost any software developer, it is so easy. It doesn't take much time to learn it.

Not only AMF...

• remote object as simple as declaring methods as access="Remote"
• integration with BlazeDS or LiveCycle Data Service (LCDS included in CF8)
• **CF as a service, exposes services like sending email directly from ActionScript
• **support Data Centric Development in Flash Builder 4

**supported in ColdFusion 9

These really make ColdFusion the ideal platform for RIA. I would highly suggest you to use ColdFusion 9. The script-based CFC (class in CF) will be much easier to learn for ppl with PHP or JAVA or .NET background.

I second the vote for ColdFusion. I recently pushed out a Time trackign app built in Air with a ColdFusion backend. You mentioned all one one and thats what you get its easy to setup and reliable. With Adobe backing both technologies ( client and server ) you cant go wrong. Here are some Flex and CF samples that may give you an incite as to how well CF and Flex/Air communicate: http://flexcf.com/