This document lists corrections and additions to the ColdFusion 4.0.1 documentation. These items apply to the documentation for both ColdFusion Application Server and ColdFusion Studio.
See the ColdFusion 4.0 Release Notes for a listing of known issues and upgrade changes.
See the ColdFusion 4.0.1 New Features document for information about new features enabled for this release.
The following is a list of corrections to the printed ColdFusion documentation:
In the preface material to ColdFusion documentation, the primary technical support resource should be the support page of the company web site: http://www.allaire.com/support. For all technical support questions, the best place to start is the Support page on the Allaire Web site.
In the printed version of the CFML Language Reference the BitNot, BitOr, and BitXor functions contain a cross-reference to the AuthenticatedContext function. This cross-reference should instead be to the BitAnd function.
The CJustify and RJustify function pages in the CFML Language Reference contain cross-references to the ListValueCountNoCase function instead of the LJustify function.
The SetVariable function contains a cross-reference to GetBaseTemplate where it should be a cross-reference to the GetClientVariablesList function.
A code error exists in the CFML example for the Year function on page 519 in the CFML Language Reference. In the 14th line of code in the example, a pound sign has been left near the end of the line. If you copy and run this code, that pound sign should be removed.
Documentation for the CFAUTHENTICATE tag is missing information about the new AUTHTYPE attribute. Here is that information:
AUTHTYPE
Optional. Valid entries are BASIC and X509. The AUTHTYPE attribute indicates what type of authentication scheme ColdFusion should use. A value of BASIC indicates that authentication will be accomplished using username/password. A value of X509 indicates that authentication will be done using X.509 client certificates that are passed to the web-server from a browser using SSL.
The new AUTHTYPE attribute relates to support for X.509 authentication. For details about X.509 authentication, see Additions.
Documentation for the CFPARAM tag is missing information about the new TYPE attribute. Here is that information:
TYPE
Optional. The type of parameter that is required. The default value is "any."
Type Value Description any Any value. array Any array value. boolean A Boolean value. date A date/time value. numeric A numeric value. query A query object. string A string velue or a single character. struct A structure. UUID A Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) formatted as æXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXÆ where æXÆ stands for a hexadecimal digit (0-9 or A-F). Refer to the Language Reference pages on the CreateUUID function for more information. variableName A valid variable name.
In Administering ColdFusion Server on page 156, under the heading "Storing security profile information in an LDAP directory," the text of the Note is incomplete. The correct version of the text should read:
To use the Netscape Directory Server on UNIX, you must install it before installing ColdFusion Server. If you have already installed ColdFusion Server and you want to use the Netscape Directory Server to store security profile information, you must reinstall ColdFusion Server after installing Netscape Directory Server.
In Administering ColdFusion Server on page 15, under the heading "ColdFusion Processes on Solaris," the list of processes is incorrect. The correct processes are as follows:
These ColdFusion processes are stopped and started using the bin/stop and bin/start scripts. Refer to Administering ColdFusion Server for more information about start and stop scripts on Solaris.
Bright Tiger processes, which provide load-balancing and failover are as follows:
These processes can be started and stopped separately using the btadmin utility. Refer to Administering ColdFusion Server for details about btadmin.
SiteMinder processes, which provide advanced security, are as follows:
SiteMinder processes can be started and stopped separately using the siteminder/smstop and siteminder/smstart scripts.
The following list contains links to late-breaking information about ColdFusion 4.0.1:
The ColdFusion Administrator Verity page includes a new option that allows you to reference an existing Verity collection by selecting "Map" instead of "Create". Ordinarily, when you create a Verity collection, ColdFusion writes an entry in the system registry, and creates the directory structures necessary for the collection. When you choose the "Map an existing collection," ColdFusion creates the registry entry, but instead of also creating the directory structure necessary for the collection, references the collection you specified in the Path box.
This is a useful option for referencing collections that are maintained on a dedicated server. It allows ColdFusion pages executed on one server to reference Verity collections that actually live on another server.
When you delete a local Verity collection, ColdFusion deletes the registry entry and the directories that constitute the collection. When deleting a mapped collection, ColdFusion deletes only the registry entry for the mapped collection.
A new function has been added to ColdFusion: IsProtected, which you can use to determine if a ColdFusion resource is a protected resource. It takes the same arguments as the IsAuthorized function and is meant to be used in combination with ColdFusion Advanced Security.
Returns TRUE if the specified resoruce is protected by a rule in a security context in ColdFusion Advanced Security.
Syntax
IsProtected(resourcetype, resourcename [, action])
String specifying the type of resource:
String specifying the name of the resource. The value specified varies depending on the resource type:
| resourcetype specification | resourcename specification |
|---|---|
| APPLICATION | Application name |
| CFML | CFML tag name |
| FILE | File name |
| DSN | Data source name |
| COMPONENT | Component name |
| COLLECTION | Verity collection name |
| CUSTOMTAG | Custom tag name |
| USEROBJECT | Object name |
Resourcename is the actual resource that is protected, not to be confused with the rule name, which you specify in the ColdFusion Administrator.
String specifying the action for which authorization is requested. Do not specify this parameter for COMPONENT and CUSTOMTAG. For all other resource types, this parameter is required.
| resourcetype specification | Possible ACTIONs |
|---|---|
| APPLICATION | ALL USECLIENTVARIABLES |
| CFML | Valid actions for the tag specified by resourcename |
| FILE | READ WRITE |
| DSN | ALL CONNECT SELECT INSERT UPDATE DELETE SP (stored procedure) |
| COMPONENT | No actions for this resource type |
| COLLECTION | DELETE OPTIMIZE PURGE SEARCH UPDATE |
| CUSTOMTAG | No actions for this resource type |
| USEROBJECT | Action specified via the ColdFusion Administrator |
The CurrentDate function can be used within the CFINSERT and CFUPDATE CFML tags. For example, you can add a date column for when a record is added to the database. You could add a CurrentDate column to the database, then add a hidden form field to the entry form:
<INPUT TYPE="Hidden" NAME="CurrentDate" VALUE="CurrentDate()">
The CurrentDate function differs from the Now function in several ways:
Now function needs to be enclosed in # signs.Now function must have <CFOUTPUT></CFOUTPUT> around the form field.Now function adds the date and time to the database, while the CurrentDate function adds only the date.The comparable Now syntax is:
<CFOUTPUT> <INPUT TYPE="Hidden" NAME="CurrentDate" VALUE="#Now()#"> </CFOUTPUT>
CFLOOP has been modified to reduce the occurrence of a problem in programming languages that has to do with the internal representation of floating point numbers. Programmers think they are working with decimal numbers, but in fact all floating point numbers are represented in binary notation as some form of binary fractional numbers. Some numbers, e.g., 0.1 do not have an exact representation in binary. Therefore, when some arithmetic operations are performed on them cumulative error is added. The following code in CFML illustrates the problem:
<CFSET result = (1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1) eq 2>The variable result is equal to "No" instead of the expected "Yes". The problem, however, cannot be entirely eliminated.
ColdFusion 4.0.1 supports X.509 client certificate authentication. This means that ColdFusion can now work with an SSL-enabled Web server such as Netscape Enterprise 3.5.1 or IIS 4.0 to request client authentication in the form of an X.509 certificate. The ColdFusion Application Server will extract the client information from the X.509 certificate and authenticate it against a user directory such as a Windows NT domain or an LDAP server.
Several steps need to be performed to enable ColdFusion Server 4.0.1 for client certificate authentication:
AuthTrans fn="get-sslid"
PathCheck fn="get-client-cert" dorequest="1"
This ensures that ColdFusion has access to the encoded client certificate that is passed by the browser. See Chapter 2 (Directives and Built-In SAFs) of the NSAPI Programmer's Guide at http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/nsapi/index.htm for more details.
The cfdist.exe program, which is used in distributed ColdFusion configurations (see Administering ColdFusion Server for details) only works on Windows NT and Solaris. It does not run on Windows 95/98.
These features were added after the Using ColdFusion Studio book went to press. You can find information on them in the online Help References.