The new updates are 1.8.0_311, (aka 8u311), 11.0.13, and 17.0.1, respectively).

For more on them, including information on the security fixes and bug fixes they each contain, see the Oracle resources I list below, as well as some additional info I offer for if you may be skipping to this from a JVM update from before Apr 2021, as well as info for Adobe ColdFusion users on where to find the updated Java versions, what JVM versions Adobe CF supports, and more.

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I've seen the problem raised often enough that when I saw someone raising it this weekend, I decided to solve it by creating a new folder in the cfmlrepo.com site, at least for CF2021 and CF2018 (for now), offering there the initial versions of all the neo-*.xml files for those two editions.

For more information, see what I shared (including more background on the issue, where I got the files, where I put the files, and more) in my reply about all this to the CF Community thread where the user raised the need this weekend.

And for the sake of those who may "just want the files" without any need of explanation or warnings:

• cfmlrepo folder of neo-*.xml files for CF2021
• cfmlrepo folder of neo-*.xml files for CF2018

I welcome thoughts, feedback, or suggestions.

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This post is about finding and understanding the new, more standard alternatives.

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ColdFusion at 25: not the kid most have stuck in their minds

As ColdFusion turns 26 next month, many seem stuck remembering it only as the "teen" they knew or even the "child", when instead it's grown up to be a capable "adult", impressive in many ways, and even more so recently. In this session, we'll look back at how CF has indeed evolved into a very capable platform, with quite modern features that seem to surprise many--including people working with it currently. If you struggle "finding CF people" or "getting buy-in", perhaps these observations could help you with both challenges. If nothing else, they're things designed simply to help you get your job done, while keeping up with modern practices.

We'll start with many modern coding techniques--which will be familiar to those using more "modern" languages but that many don't realize CF supports, and may have for years. We'll then look at ways that things such as CF installation/deployment, configuration/administration, monitoring, security, and more have improved over the years. And we'll look not only at CF itself but the community surrounding it, ranging from resources for help and learning to tools and services that others have created, making CF a far more complete ecosystem than most give it credit. Put another way: it's not your father's CF!

I look forward to presenting this topic and hope you'll come check it out.

Note: This blog post is from 2021. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

That may sound like a boring or simplistic topic to some. "Doesn't everyone already know how to install CF?" Trust me, they do not. :-) I help people do it every week, whether CF2021 or earlier versions. There are various tips I can and will share, and of course some about CF2021 in particular. But much will benefit you even if still using an older CF version.

For more on the talk, including a description (and my bio) see the meetup event page, which offers details like the URL for attending, the date and time (Thursday at 12p Eastern), and more.

I have just realized that I've been derelict in announcing here on my blog when I'm giving such talks. I did 3 meetup sessions last year, as well as a couple of AMA ("ask me anything") sessions with Dan Wilson, who has been helping me in running the group the past year, with my sincere thanks! :-)

Note: This blog post is from 2021. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

For most, you should read on, especially about an important change regarding TLS support (and calling out to servers not yet running TLS 1.2 or above). I cover that and other important topics:

• What's in the JVM update, do you need to update to it?
• A key change in this Java update: calls out to TLS 1.1 or 1.0 no longer allowed, by default
• Re-enabling support for calling out to old TLS versions
• Groundhog day: you'll need do make this java.security file change on any later JVM updates
• Should you update to the new JVM version?
• The importance of testing such updates/changes
• More questions you may surely have, and finding answers to them
• Obtaining the updated Java installers

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Note: This blog post is from 2021. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

Some good news is that ColdFusion offers simple ways/variables that can show you each of these, via the admin or via CFML code. In this post, I discuss both approaches, including a simple single variable which works in CF2018 and above, a variation for those on CF2016 and earlier, as well as variations for Lucee.

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Note: This blog post is from 2021. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

In this post, I offer a rundown of what seem the most significant libraries and their versions, as deployed in the first release of ColdFusion (2021 Release).

[Update: I have started updating this post to identify the versions as of update 4, released in May 2022. Rather than wait until I have found ALL the new values, I will just update the list below, clarifying when I have noted the updated value.]

This is something I have been doing in my "hidden gems" talks for the past several releases. I also explain here how I find these version numbers, which isn't always obvious, in case that may help anyone (and also because some libraries may change with future updates to CF2021). I also offer some commentary on why this matter of library versions is important to some, as well as some counterpoints to the demands some have that every library should always be the absolute latest version (and why that's just not practicable).

If you just want the version numbers without the "waffle", look for the bulleted list of them below. :-)

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Note: This blog post is from 2020. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

Or you can change your CFML code to get around the problem, as I also discuss below.

[Update: As of Mar 2021, Adobe now offers this "hotfix" as of CF2021 Update 1. You still need to add the JVM arg discussed, if you want to do that:

Again, while no longer need to obtain and implement the hotfix jar file itself, the update does NOT change the DEFAULT behavior, which is why that JVM arg is still necessary. The rest of the information below applies.]

Read on for additional details.

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