Hopefully some dear readers can help me out with my current quandary.
I have several components that I use on nearly every site that I develop. By using them, I save untold hours of programming and therefore provide cheaper results for my clients. At the same time, I am using solutions that have been tried and proven rather than developing from scratch every time.
There is, of course, a catch to all of this.
The recent discussion on OO programming has created quite a bit of discussion, some with more heat than light, but other thoughts that have been illuminating. Some discussions covered whether or not OO has "won" over procedural programming. Some have suggested that those avoiding OO do so because they are unable or unwilling to learn new things.
My favorite thing, however, was "sipping the [OO] kool-aid" by Matt Williams (I owe you a beer, Matt!).
Marc Funaro recently posted a blog entry called "How OO Almost Destroyed My Business". It is a good entry, inasmuch as it is thought provoking.
It is a bit long, however, so hopefully he will post a shorter, more organized entry to the same effect later. Even at its long length it is a worthwhile read. The stream of consciousness style does help demonstrate his experience and feelings.
I started to post a comments, but my thoughts ended up running a bit long.
One of the larger systems that on which I work runs multiple sites from one code base. Each site needs to have some data that is specific to that site. For example, each site should use a different from email address and mail server when sending email.
During the initial development of the system, I decided to give each site its own application scope. After that, I don't have to worry about which data is site-specific and which isn't. Despite a continually growing number of sites, this has worked pretty well for more than five years.
Then the use of one of my own open source projects revealed a problem with this approach.
More than a year ago, I released a beta of Scheduler.cfc. Then I promptly forgot to release a full version. So, now I mean to correct that oversight.
Years ago, I used to put uploaded files any random place in my sites. This turned out to be a pain when I wanted to deploy a new version of a site. If I was using FTP, I couldn't just upload a set of root folders because some folders used for uploads might be within them and I wouldn't want to overwrite files that had been uploaded on the live site. If I was using subversion, then I would have to select "ignore" on each upload location individually. Even comparisons in BeyondCompare were a little more tedious.
I decided a year ago to start the cf_BlogPicks. I hoped to keep it up every week for at least a year. I hoped that I could get 50 entries done in that time (that is, miss no more than two weeks). With this entry, I have done that.
I have to start this entry with a confession. I don't use Application.cfc, except on one web site (and I'm not convinced that I should have used it there). In theory, I like it. So far, however, it hasn't been worth the trouble.
This got me thinking, exactly what trouble do I think it is to use Application.cfc, anyway?
This week saw lower blogging volume due to Christmas and other holidays, but still had a good selection of blog entries.
Happy holidays! Another great week of blog entries as the holidays draw near. Hanukkah started yesterday and goes through next Monday, Christmas is this Thursday, and Al-Hijira is next Monday. Happy holidays to all!
