Many paths lead developers to ColdFusion. In the past ColdFusion was often
viewed as an entry-level language enabling designers and other nonprogrammers
to build dynamic sites. Since the release of CFMX it has become more
recognized among developers familiar with languages such as Java and PHP.
This is partly due to language enhancements such as CFCs, and partly because
it now runs as a Web application on top of a J2EE servlet container, thus
allowing it to be used to develop the presentation layer for complex J2EE
applications. For both types of developers there are requirements that an IDE
must support. Many Web development tools are geared toward the first type of
users mentioned above. They include features such as WYSIWYG Design Mode and
image mapping functionality. For many developers falling into the second
category, the WYSIWYG tools are lacking in the featur... (more)