Charlie Arehart's Blog - CFBuilder

My CFBuilder Debugger chapter (for CF9 WACK Vol 2) is online

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:21:00 -0400

Here's good news for folks seeking more documentation on how to configure, use, and troubleshoot the ColdFusion Builder debugger. My chapter on the topic, in the newly released CF 9 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 2 Application development is available free online. It's one of 3 chapters at the end of the book (out of 21 total) that were forced online due to pagecount restrictions. While it's a bummer for those who buy the print book and may not notice these are missing (though it should be mentioned in the TOC), the good news is that it means anyone can read the chapter. You'll find the 25-page chapter (chapter 45, "Using the Debugger") online in a PDF of all 3 chapters available at Ben's site. Note that since mine is the last chapter of the PDF, you will want to skip to page 71 within the document. The following link should open the PDF directly to that page (if not, just use the Acrobat feature to go to a page): Read the PDF, starting at page 71 Finally, some may notice on the Amazon page offered above that only Ben Forta is listed as author for the book. Of course, there were multiple authors. Ben, Ray Camden, and I were contributors to all 3 volumes, while there were still other contributors for volumes 2 and 3. Ben says that this oversight will be addressed soon.

How to open CFBuilder/FlashBuilder/Eclipse to view a given perspective, from command line

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:12:00 -0400

Someone on a list asked an interesting question: how do you switch perspectives in CFBuilder (or FlashBuilder or Eclipse) from the command line? For instance, if one has CFB with FB as a plugin, how might one use the command line to create a shortcut so as to launch to the CFB or FB (or another) perspective? The good news is that there are in fact various command-line switches for launching Eclipse, and these apply just as well to the cfbuilder.exe and FlashBuilder.exe (for instance, some have needed to use the -clean switch to resolve some problems). In this case of specifying the desired perspective, we want to use the -perspective argument. The trick, though, is knowing the right value to provide. It's *not* the perspective name. Rather, it's the perspectiveid, and that's not so easy to determine. I'll explain below how I found them, but to cut to the chase, here they are.

Some key CFB and FB perspectiveids

ColdFusion: com.adobe.ide.coldfusion.perspective.CFML
ColdFusion Debugging: com.adobe.ide.coldfusion.ui.debugPerspective
Flash: com.adobe.flexbuilder.editors.mxml.ui.perspectives.development
Flash Debugging: com.adobe.flexbuilder.debug.ui.perspectives.debug
Flash Profiling: com.adobe.flash.profiler.ui.ProfilingPerspective
Java: org.eclipse.jdt.ui.JavaPerspective
Team Synchronizing: org.eclipse.team.ui.TeamSynchronizingPerspective

Still other perspectiveids

Of course, there are many other perspectives built into Eclipse and added by various tools, and you may want to open one of them (such as those related to SVN, CVS, etc.) Fortunately, at least one person has organized a list of them (though he lists none that are specific to Adobe products). For some of these, you will naturally have to have installed their respective tools/features them for them to open.

Using the Argument

So to wrap things up, the command like to open CFBuilder with the Flash perspective is:


CFBuilder.exe -perspective com.adobe.ide.coldfusion.perspective.CFML

I don't have CFB installed as a plugin on FB, but I do have FB and confirmed that at least the FB values I offered above work for that. I assume the CFB perspectiveids I offered would work in FB as well (again, assuming of course that you have installed CFB as a plug-in to FB.)

How I found the CFB and FB perspectiveids

This was a fun but challenging question. I did quite a bit of searching to find the answer. I followed some leads that were dead-ends (some said they were listed in plugins.xml, but I did not find that to be the case) so I finally just searched the FB and CFB installation directories directly for references to phrase "perpectiveid". In my case, I found them in a few files, but then the only one that had values like those above (I tested org.eclipse.jdt.ui.JavaPerspective, knowing it worked) was here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe ColdFusion Builder\configuration\org.eclipse.core.runtime\ specifically in a file called .mainData.n (where n is a number that will vary per your local configuration). Of course, the path prior to \Adobe may vary on your own system. In FB, it was in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Flash Builder 4\configuration\org.eclipse.core.runtime\.mainData.n (again, where n is a number that will vary per your local configuration) These are both binary files, but opening them I was able to search for perpectiveid and found the various references documented above. Hope it helps someone. If there are any other facets of this that people should understand, feel free to comment.

More reasons to buy ColdFusion Builder

Tue, 25 May 2010 13:33:00 -0400

I wanted to add some more thoughts to Adam Tuttle's helpful recent entry, Why (I Think) You Should Buy ColdFusion Builder. I started to offer them as comments but it got lengthy, so I decided to create this entry instead.

A little background on the question

Adam's entry was his response to an observation I'd made on a private mailing list that I'd not seen any good single resource to point people to when they raised concerns about having to pay for CFBuilder. We who have "seen the light" wonder why people even debate it (as he addresses with observations from others in his entry). While his entry expands on the oft-shared Adobe graphic comparing features among it and the existing CFML editors, there are some more features that may not have been t important enough to be listed on that graphic, but are sometimes a source of concern/contention for some as they consider CFB. Here are a few of them. Most of these are things I also have been pointing out (among several dozen) in my "Hidden Gems in CFBuilder" talk that I've presented over the past year and will offer again at CFUnited.

Some more points to consider

CFB offers something not in DW, HS, etc: its "local history" feature (per its Eclipse heritage) can be likened to a poor man's version control (though of course it offers full integration with "real" version control, which is preferable).
While CFB (and Eclipse CFEclipse) are designed around use of "projects", CFB doesn't *require* use of them. It offers (via its Aptana-inherited features) the ability to work with files directly, and unique compared to Eclipse/CFEclipse, you can even open a file from the file system (like Windows Explorer) and it will open as a new tab, not a whole new workbench.
DW and HS have features to "open include files" by right-clicking on CFINCLUDE, and some miss that in CFB. But it can do that sort of file open, and it's even more powerful. It's just not available on the context menu. Instead, one should hold the ctrl (or mac) key and hover their mouse over any kind of file link, and it will offer to open it. That can be a CFINCLUDE or a CFINVOKE/cfobject/createobject of a CFC, and more. It can even be on the name of a method used in code (script or tag) and it will open that method in the given CFC. It also works on a href and other html tags that refer to files. Very powerful.
Some people lament that DW could do a "split window", showing part of a file in one window and another part in another, editing them simultaneously. Again, though it's not a right-click feature in CFB/Eclipse, it's there. You use Window>New Editor, which creates another tab with the same file, which you can then move to be above/below/side-by-side within another editor/tab.
Some lament a lack of word wrap in CFB. It's there. See Window>Preferences>HTML>Editors (don't expand that) then its Advanced tab.
Some complain that CFB doesn't do code completion (closing tags). It does, but it's not enabled by default. See Preferences>ColdFusion>Editor Profiles>Editor>Typing, and note the options to close (as in DW) either when closing the opening tag, or at the start of typing the opening of the closing tag. I will note, however, that I've found that HTML tags won't close (though they should by default). That problem is that the feature expects that there's an opening/closing HTML tag wrapping the page content. We often skip that in CFML, or may be working with a file that's included/called from another. At least this explains when it doesn't work.
CFB has support for EXT/JS 3.0 (see the CFBuilder help/documentation section on "Import Ajax libraries")
CFB can build AIR apps. See "Developing AIR applications" in the CFBuilder help/documentation.
CFB has built-in support for doing a file compare. Select the files in the navigator and right-click and choose "Compare with".
Some complain that they can't "edit a file on a server via FTP", meaning open it remotely, edit it, and save it on the server. While may will argue that you shouldn't do that (but should edit and test locally then deploy remotely), I'll note that you can in fact do that, if you use the Files (not the Navigator) window to open a remote connection.
Don't miss the available Services Browser, which allows you to browse (within the editor) any CFCs *or* web services, seeing their methods, arguments, and more. I've blogged more about this to walk you through the oft-missed web services feature, which I'll note is similar to what's in DW.
Don't overlook creating a Server connection. Sometimes people complain that some of the asserted "powerful and unique features" of CFB just "don't work" for them. For them, I'll note that you really HAVE to create a Server connection for your projects. That's an optional step when creating a new project, but if you overlook it, many things just won't work. It's this server connection (and the related RDS connection) which allow the IDE to talk to the server to get info on the CFCs on your server, the DBs and their tables/columns, etc., not to mention the features for starting/stopping the server, connecting to its admin, etc. I point to several blog entries that discuss that point about the need for defining servers in my Hidden Gems talk.
For all its features, some complain of performance problems. As Adam noted in his entry, many have been fixed first in the final release and then in the recent updater. Beyond that, though, the CFB docs do have still more addressing this specifically. See the section "Optimizing ColdFusion Builder Performance".
Finally, it should be repeated that because CFB is based on Eclipse, there is a whole world of Eclipse extensions that can and do add still more functionality, generally for free.
Indeed, there is more to CFB in the way of features of Eclipse itself, as well as the Aptana plug-in that's included with it. So it would behoove one to look into those more. I point to some resources for exploring those more in my Hidden Gems talk.

Lots more tips, tricks, and traps

Indeed, that Hidden Gems talk (whose content is available online as both a PDF and a recording) offers still more about some of the features I list above (including doc or blog links), and it offers still more in the way of tips, tricks, and traps in working with CFB. It's not really meant to address the "why buy CFB" question, but instead tries to help those who've used it (or tried) to be more aware of what's possible. It's addressed to both those new to Eclipse-based editors and also to those who've been using them already. This is indeed a challenge for any resource trying to speak about CFB (whether a blog entry or the CFB docs). How much should be presumed? It's that challenge which leads, I think, to the state of things where some feel that their concerns are not addressed.

Lost cause for some?

Finally, when I first asked about whether someone had put together such an entry, I got some feedback (surprisingly staunch) that it seemed pointless to bother trying to "preach to the unconverted", and that if they didn't get it, it was their loss. As I wrote in reply:

I appreciate that sentiment, but I do believe there are some in that "hater" crowd who are just misinformed, and don't really appreciate all that it adds for them. More than a few (still!) accuse it of being just a rip off of CFEclipse. Of course, you and I (and many here) know that's a gross simplification--and not true, anyway. But as long as they think that, or more important as long as they don't fully understand what it can do for them, they will continue to resist. No doubt, there are some for whom no amount of persuasion will cause them to "get up off their wallet", as my wife would say. We can't do much for them, but I do want to "fight that good fight" for those who can be reached.

Tell people about Adam's entry whenever you can

So I hope that Adam's entry, and any others that may exist (and perhaps this one and my talk) will help with that. But also I hope people will bookmark Adam's entry and point it out whenever you see people complain (on lists/forums/in twitter) about "why should I buy/have to pay for CFB"? I think the conversation is an important one to have.

Presenting "CFBuilder Hidden Gems" twice this week

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:41:00 -0400

This week I'll be offering my "Hidden Gems in ColdFusion Builder" talk, which was well-received at the recent CFinNC conference. Besides sharing the date/time/location details, I also want to clarify here what the talk is and IS NOT going to cover.

First a local (longer) in-person then an online worldwide presentation

First, I'll be offering it first in-person at the Atlanta ColdFusion User Group (ACFUG) on the evening of Wednesday Nov 4. The meeting description and details are offered on the ACFUG site. Since food and drink are served, you're asked to please RSVP. This talk will not be recorded, as trying to record an in-person user group talk presents lots of challenges. Second, I'll be offering it on the ColdFusion Meetup (the online ColdFusion user group I run which meets weekly) on the evening of Thursday Nov 5. You can find details and optionally RSVP on the CFMeetup event page. This talk, like all CFMeetup talks, will be recorded.

What the talk is and IS NOT

I want to clarify some things about the talk. First, the talk is NOT a general introduction to CF Builder. It's a tips and tricks talk, sharing lots of things that people seem to miss (or struggle with) about the IDE. By the same token, there are also a lot topics that I simply won't have time to cover, so please don't hold it against me if I don't address some favored topic. :-) Also, please note even these two talks above won't be identical. In the ACFUG talk I've been given both hour-long slots, while on the CFMeetup I'll have just the normal one hour. As such, in the ACFUG talk I'll have much more time and be able to cover more than on the meetup. I've also been asked to take a little of that extra time at the outset to do a quick intro to the editor. So if you're in or near Atlanta, you'll want to attend that talk rather than await the online one. Finally, both talks will be a bit different from the one I gave at CFinNC. I've added some tips while also condensing some others for time (even in the longer ACFUG talk).

So many gems that I need to create a half-day class

Indeed, as happened with my "Hidden Gems in CF 8" talk a couple years ago, I've gathered so many tips that really a user group talk doesn't offer enough time to do much more than just list them, quickly demo only some of them, and point to resources to learn more for each. For those who might like to have a more leisurely presentation, with time to follow along and try things (while raising any concerns), as well as time to see demos of most of the gems and for me to discuss more of them at length, I do plan to create a half-day class which I will announce soon. (I never did get around to that for the CF8 gems, but I may still offer that class even now, as some people are only now moving to it or are skipping it on the way to CF9.)

I'll be speaking at CFinNC, doing "Hidden Gems in CFBuilder"

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:53:00 -0400

For those attending the awesome free CFInNC conference this coming weekend in Raleigh NC, I'll be speaking on "Hidden Gems in CFBuilder". See the description there for more. I mentioned last week that I was starting my "Hidden Gems in CF9" series of blog entries, and I'll eventually do a class based on that. In the meantime, I will also soon start sharing some of these CFBuilder hidden gems here as well. So if you're coming to CFinNC, please look me up and say hello. And if you're not yet planning to attend but live within a few hours driving distance (I'll be driving the 5 hours from Atlanta), you should definitely consider it. There will ba a lot of great speakers and content, as well as community and festivities, all for free. Help spread the word, online or by grabbing a flyer to put up at your workplace. It's not too late!

CFBuilder tip: Browsing web services--did you know you can? and a bug you may hit

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:35:00 -0400

Did you realize that you can browse web services in CFBuilder (just like you could in Dreamweaver or the Adobe ColdFusion 8 Extensions for Eclipse), seeing all the methods, their args, etc.? I'll show you how, but I'll also warn of a bug you may hit in the beta, and give a simple solution. This is another in a series of tips I want to start share for those working with CFBuilder. While oriented mostly to those who had not used (or stuck with) CFEclipse before, this one may surprise even folks who had used it.

How to browse web services in CFBuilder

Just as with the older Adobe Eclipse extensions for CF8, the ability to browse web services in CFBuilder is in the same Services Browser interface that one can use to look at CFCs. It's easy to miss, even if you do know about the Services Browser (Window>Show View>Services Browser). Look in the top right corner of that view, and there's a pair of icons which when you mouse over them allow you to switch between "Show Web Services" and "Show CFCs on RDS Server". Nifty. So just as in DW, you can then add the WSDL URL for any web service, either by clicking the red circled plus sign in the top left of the view, or by right-clicking on whitespace in the view and choosing "add wsdl". It will then retrieve the web service description information and display in a friendly tree view all its services, their methods, and those methods arguments and datatypes, etc. (see the screenshot above). This really can make it so much easier to work with web services, especially ones you don't know or are having trouble with. But wait, there's more. Call now and receive .... (sorry) ... Seriously, though, this is nice if you didn't know about it. The tool can even build code for you to call the web service. As with Dreamweaver, you can right-click on a method and have the editor build for you your choice of either CFINVOKE or creatobject code to call the web service and that method. It will even populate a placeholder for the required arguments for you. Talk about service with a smile. :-) (As a bonus, I'll note that there are also several other tools, free and commercial, some web-based and some downloadable, that can also be used to browse web services. More on that in another entry I've now posted.)

One gotcha, for now: stuck on "contacting server", and easy workaround

The following concern was fixed by the final release.

There IS a gotcha. (There's always a catch, right?) Actually, since CFBuilder is still in beta, we can hope this will be fixed soon. When you first add a web service URL, and you then try to expand it to see its services and methods, sadly it will seem stuck reporting "contacting server" where the service names and methods should be. Grr. Oddly, when I saw that, I moved on thinking it was a problem with that web service, and when I added another WSDL URL, suddenly the one that was hung now worked. I though it odd, till I noticed it did that with EVERY URL I added. So what's the solution when you add one and it hangs like that? Just add another. You could even just add the same one twice (and then delete the dupe you will now have). It also "fixes itself" if you delete one of the listed WSDL URLs. While you might think a restart of CFBuilder (the "workbench", in Eclipse parlance) would also help, actually it hurts. When you restart it, and try to open a web service again, it hangs. You have to repeat the process above. Worse, you need to do it for any web service you try to open. That's an annoyance, for sure. But here's some "good" news. I just confirmed that you don't even need to enter a valid WSDL URL (or even a valid URL). I just added "x" as a new service, and it got the hung services working. One may argue it shouldn't allow that, but for now that's a blessing. :-) I've opened a bug report for the problem of the "hanging" web service feature. If you'd like to vote for it, you can find it as bug id 79321.

More to come, here and in my daylong CFUnited class, "Getting Started with CFBuilder"

If you're looking for more such CFBuilder tips, keep an eye here. More than that, if you'd like to spend a day getting immersed in an introduction to CFBuilder from the perspective of one coming from other editors, that will be the focus of my daylong class being held on-site the day before CFUnited, August 11. It's one of several such daylong classes being organized by (and available for purchase separately from) CFUnited. More on the class in my previous blog entry or at the class detail page.

CFBuilder tip: Opening a file from outside the editor works as you'd expect!

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:51:00 -0400

I want to start sharing some tips for working with CFBuilder. Most will be oriented toward those new to it, who had not used (or stuck with) CFEclipse before, but this one may surprise even those folks.

In Brief:

It's safe now to have CFBuilder set as the default program for all CFM and CFC files. Opening a file from outside the editor (when you already have CFBuilder open) will NOT open an entirely new copy of CFBuilder (as it did with CFEclipse). It will just open a new tab in the editor already open, as you'd expect. (This applies only to the standalone edition of CFBuilder, not the plug-in version.)

Explanation:

One of the annoyances that some had with using CFEclipse (though it was really an Eclipse problem) was that if you already had the editor open, and for some reason chose to open another file from outside the editor (such as from within Windows Explorer), it would launch an entirely new (full) copy of the editor (workbench). Yikes. Folks used to Dreamweaver, HomeSite, CF Studio (and indeed most editors) would have expected instead that it would just open a new tab for the new file. That behavior was annoying enough for some (due to their dominant workflow) to keep them from sticking with CFEclipse (or other Eclipse-based editors). Thankfully, that problem has been (quietly) solved by the CFBuilder team. I've not seen too many make much of this, but it's one of those little things that can make a big difference. To be clear, this is only in the Standalone edition that they've built, which packages an Eclipse base and the plug-in on top of that. Obviously that allowed them to solve this problem in a way that other base eclipse implementations do not.

Not about using Eclipse's File Explorer view

Now, I realize that some readers will be aghast that someone would care about this. Why aren't you using projects? Or why not at least use the available File (or File Explorer) view, if you don't want to use the project-based Navigator? But that's not the point. We're not talking about an alternative to projects, nor about opening the files from within Eclipse/CFBuilder at all. We're talking specifically about opening files from outside the editor. It may not be a workflow you'd ever use, but there were plenty who did use it, for whatever reason. Just nice to see this solved for them.

Thanks, Adobe

In fact, if you haven't noticed, Adobe even offers during the installation of CFBuilder (standalone) to have it mark the operating system to default to opening CFM and CFC files using CFBuilder. That's a nod to this feature now working as expected. So thanks, Adobe, for solving it. And to those who have held this as a knock against Eclipse-based editors, it's just one more reason to reconsider the move to ColdFusion Builder.

More to come, here and in my daylong CFUnited class, "Getting Started with CFBuilder"

If you're looking for more such tips, keep an eye here. More than that, if you'd like to spend a day getting immersed in an introduction to CFBuilder from the perspective of one coming from other editors, come to my daylong class being held on-site the day before CFUnited, August 11. It's one of several such daylong classes being organized by (and available for purchase separately from) CFUnited. More on the class in my previous blog entry or at the class detail page.

I'll be offering a one-day class, "Getting Started with CF Builder", at CFUnited on Aug 11

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:30:00 -0400

Are you interested in learning more about CFBuilder? Let me help, at my day-long class held the day before CFUnited (one of several organized by the conference).

Been challenged by Eclipse-based editors?

If like me you've been using other CFML editors (Dreamweaver, CF Studio, HomeSite+, etc.) for years, you may be a little intimidated by CFBuilder, Adobe's new Eclipse-based CFML editor. Perhaps you've also tried CFEclipse in the past and (like me) were dissuaded. Whether you have or not, I think you'll find CFBuilder addresses a lot of the challenges you may have had. Still, it can still be a little daunting making the switch.

So I created a class for the rest of us

I'd like to help, and I've created a day-long class to help you make the transition, which will be offered at the CFUnited conference on Tuesday 8/11 (the day before the conference) from 9-5:30. Only announced in the past several days, the formal title is "CU250 - Getting Started with CFBuilder, for those coming from Dreamweaver, CFStudio, HomeSite, etc.", and you can learn more (and register) at http://cfunited.com/2009/classes#class-CU250. I created an extensive description, to make it clear to people what they should (and should not) expect from the class. The link above shows just a few paragraphs. The more complete description is at http://cfunited.com/2009/cfbuilderclass. As I clarify in the description, the class is not meant for those who already know Eclipse or CFEclipse. Rather, it's the class "for the rest of us" who may or may have struggled making that transition. If you know such people, please let them know about the class. I really hope to help get them excited.

Please spread the word

Even if you can't attend, if you think others may appreciate it, please spread the word. Since it was only just announced (to replace a class that was dropped), I could use help getting the word out. Check that out the link for details, but in brief there will be three sections:

Part 1: Getting Familiar with Eclipse
Part 2: Getting Familiar with CFBuilder
Part 3: A Brief Look at Some Important Additional Features

Adobe's done a great job making this a desirable and powerful editing environment. If you didn't know, you can join the beta for free now. Let me help guide you into getting into the CFML editor of the future.

Other classes available too

This is one of several day-long classes which can be separately purchased for the day before the conference begins. I've done them in the past and they've always been well-received. (To be clear, these are separate from the 100+ hour-long sessions that will be included in the conference itself, which is shaping up to be awesome.) If you have any questions, fire away. I'll be offering more entries over the next couple of weeks sharing tidbits of what we'll cover, to wet your whistle. :-)

CFBuilder team is blogging

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:55:00 -0400

If you're getting into (or might get into) CFBuilder, the new CFML editor from Adobe, check out the Adobe engineering team that's now blogging about it: http://blogs.adobe.com/cfbuilder/ They've shared a couple of tips and will surely share more. The feed is at http://blogs.adobe.com/cfbuilder/atom.xml. This is in addition to all the other useful CFBuilder getting started resources, that I pointed out in an earlier entry.

Yet another potentially important CFBuilder Getting Started resource

I'll have more to say tomorrow about still another resource I'm creating to help you get started with CFBuilder.

Other older resources for Eclipse-based CFML editors

In the meantime, I might point out an older set of resources I did on the Adobe ColdFusion Extensions for Eclipse and on CFEclipse (both of which might be regarded by some as the predecessors to CFBuilder), some of which have info still useful in CFBuilder:

Switching among source windows in Eclipse/CFEclipse (2006)
Resources for Getting Started with CFEclipse (2006)
Some More Resources for Getting Started with CFEclipse (2007)
Still more CFEclipse Resources (2007)
Come read over 70 CFEclipse bloggers - Part 1 (2007)
Come read over 70 CFEclipse bloggers - Part 2 (2007)
Introducing the Adobe ColdFusion Extensions for Eclipse (2008)

CFBuilder: don't try to wing it! Read/view the many resources to get started

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:38:00 -0400

Great to see Bolt..er..CFBuilder finally released for all the world to enjoy. I'll leave it to all the other bloggers to post their introductions. I'd like to focus on something a bit different. I just posted this as the very first message on the CF Builder support forums, and I thought it worth highlighting here as a blog entry.

As these forums open now, let me be the first to point something out: it's so tempting to just dive into new software and assume/hope you can just "figure it out". Whether you're new to Eclipse or are coming from CFEclipse, it really will pay tremendous dividends (as well as cut down on questions here) if you would check out the many resources to help get you started. First up is the manual/help for CFBuilder (available in both html and pdf form). At least skim them, but if you take the time to look you'll find there's a lot there both for those transitioning other from editors like Dreamweaver, HomeSite, and CF Studio (for whom Eclipse is new), as well as those coming from CFEclipse and/or Flex/FlashBuilder (for whom the Eclipse base is natural). Both audiences can find information to help them become more comfortable (what's familiar, what's different), as well as to learn new features not previously available in the other editor(s). Finally, don't miss that there are also several additional getting started resources, both printed and in video form, offered on the CFBuilder front page on labs. Look closely at both the "Getting Started" and "Community" tabs at the bottom of that page, each of which list different resources suited to getting you started. And the docs, and eventually more articles, will also let you go deeper than just getting started. Don't try to wing it, though. Check out these resources as the best way to get you going with checking out Bolt, regardless of your level of experience with Eclipse-based editors. Hope that's helpful.

Yeah, what he said. :-) BTW, I'll have more to announce soon about another resource for helping you get started with CFBuilder. Watch this space.