Javascript code assist

do I download Aptana plugin?

OMG please NO! Aptana is a bloated pig, and is what made CFBuilder 2 so slow.

I would suggest putting your JavaScript code in a separate file from your ColdFusion page, and using the <script> tag to load it in.  If you need to pass ColdFusion variables into JavaScript, put a small <script> block on the CFML page wrapped in <cfoutput> just to create and populate the JavaScript variables, then add a second <script> tag to load your external JavaScript file.

By keeping your JavaScript separate from CFML code you achieve multiple benefits:

1. The built-in JavaScript parser/syntax highlighter will actually work, as those CF Builder features are somewhat dependent on recognizing the file extension to know which parser to use.
2. Maintenance of your application will be easier, because you don't have a mixture of CFML and JS code in the same file, and thus the files will be smaller and more targeted.
3. You can run your JavaScript file through "linters" to validate syntax.
4. You can minify your external JavaScript code files for better performance.
5. If you use build tools such as Grunt or Gulp, you can automate 3 and 4 without potentially breaking any CFML code in the process.
6. Probably additional benefits I'm not thinking of at the moment (someone will chime in I'm sure).

HTH,

-Carl V.