Frameworks

There is also a wealth of information in the presentations and talks at the conference on Coldfusion frameworks.

Using Frameworks

I'm a fan of using a frameworks in web application development and do/would advise CF developers to explore the available frameworks and select one that works for you. In general, I find that the use of a framework reduces the amount of time I spend developing a site, makes it easier to work on projects with multiple team members, eases maintenance issues, and more.

Learning

This can be tough. I recall laboring through Fusebox projects back when I got started (and I had a Fusebox 3 book to use!). While frameworks greatly simplify your development and maintenance tasks as a web developer, in my opinion, you do need a solid understanding of how both the server-side language (i.e., CFML) and the framework work in order to take full advantage of what they offer. That isn't meant to discourage you from using a framework; quite the opposite, really. I note this because it's worth being patient and really learning a framework so you can take advantage of it in your applications.

I think the best way to learn a framework is by doing. After you pick one or two frameworks to research or use or what-have-you, grab some of the sample applications and pour through the code as you peruse the online documents. See what and how they connect the various parts of the application. I know you expressed (understandable) frustration with the documentation (see below) but all of 'bigger' frameworks have overviews and sample applications that you can use to get started.

Documentation

Some frameworks are definitely better than others in terms of documentation but you need to keep in mind these frameworks are open-source projects (and free!) written and maintained by members of our CF community. They have jobs, lives (well, as much as any of us in this business have lives ), and writing tutorials and documentation can be tough to fit in. I think ColdBox has the best online documentation and it's been gaining a lot of momentum over the last year or so (I switched from Fusebox to ColdBox last year) but Fusebox has been around for ages and has several publications (http://www.fusebox.org/go/fusebox-community/community-resources/books).

Which Framework

The 'big' CF frameworks tend to be Fusebox (currently at v5.5), Model-Glue (currently at v2 with a v3 in an open alpha, maybe beta), Mach-II (currently at v 1.6), and ColdBox (currently at 2.6.3 with a v3 in alpha). There's several 'lesser' players (and I mean lesser not in terms of quality; rather, the install/usage base) like CFWheels and PureMVC, and more. You asked in the OP why there are so many frameworks for CF. I think if you take a spin around the PHP world, you'll find there are as many (if not more) there. Plus, choice is good!!

Info on CF Frameworks in general:

CFFrameworks.com

http://www.cfframeworks.com/

ADC Article on CF Frameworks by Mark Mandel, creator of the Transfer (ORM) framework:

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/coldfusion/articles/frameworks_intro.html

Mark's article is particularly excellent because he breaks down the various types of frameworks (application, ORM, IoC, etc.) as well as MVC concepts in general. It's a nice starting point when you're just getting into this world.

In terms of a selection, I would not feel right telling anyone which framework to use. That isn't intended to be unhelpful, it's just that frameworks become personal the more you use them (IMO). As a result, I tend to be biased towards the two CF application frameworks I use and think that wouldn't be 'fair' to the others because the ones I chose/use are not better (or worse) than the others, just the ones I like!

I know it can be tough moving into the framework world but stay with it, I think it's greatly worth the pain as you get going !