About CFScript

The ColdFusion Server-side scripting language, CFScript, offers ColdFusion functionality in script syntax.

This JavaScript-like language offers the same control flow, but without tags. CFScript regions are bounded by <cfscript> and </cfscript> tags. You can use ColdFusion expressions, but not CFML tags, inside a CFScript region.

CFScript example

The following example shows how you can rewrite a block of cfset tags in CFScript:

Using CFML tags

<cfset employee=structnew()>
  <cfset employee.firstname=Form.firstname>
  <cfset employee.lastname=Form.lastname>
  <cfset employee.email=Form.email>
  <cfset employee.phone=Form.phone>
  <cfset employee.department=Form.department>
<cfoutput>
  About to add #Form.firstname# #Form.lastname#<br>
</cfoutput>

Using CFScript

<cfscript>
  employee=StructNew();
  employee.firstname=Form.firstname;
  employee.lastname=Form.lastname;
  employee.email=Form.email;
  employee.phone=Form.phone;
  employee.department=Form.department;
  WriteOutput("About to add " & Form.firstname & " " & Form.lastname);
</cfscript>

The WriteOutput function appends text to the page output stream. Although you can call this function anywhere within a page, it is most useful inside a cfscript block. For information on the WriteOutput function, see the CFML Reference.

Supported statements

CFScript supports the following statements:
if-else
while
do-while
for
break
continue
for-in
switch-case
var (in custom functions only)
return (in custom functions only)