Confused? You're just starting down the rabbit hole.
Wait till you talk to the salesperson who asks if this "virtual server" is "in the cloud?" If so, then they'll assert that the EULA that Carl helpfully pointed you to "doesn't apply", and that you must instead pay an annual *virtual core"subscription price--which will be more than that Cf Standard "perpetual" license you priced--though you will at least get cf enterprise instead in the bargain.
Where is the page on their site that tells you all this, and the details? Oh, it doesn't exist. Whether you hear of it will indeed depend on "who you talk to".
Or you may be pointed also to the Amazon and Azure VM images for CF2023 or cf2021, where you can license cf on a per hour basis. Or there's the option to deploy your cfml app on a cf hosting service, who can put you "in the cloud" but by way of their own cf hosting license, which differs from the above.
Welcome to the world of cf licensing. It's simple on the surface, but the devil's in the details.... and in what lies beneath that surface. Most info shared is just that surface info, as that's what's readily sharable. I've done the same. For many, it's sufficient.
Should Adobe be seen as "nothing but con men"? Well, no. Adobe is a HUGE organization and most people there don't even know how to spell cf. What about the cf team then? Again, no. Most of them have nothing to do with licensing and are truly unaware of these matters. It's a rather small cadre, most of whom we cf people will never interact with.
Does all this push some away from cf? Sure. Does everyone who faces it leave? No. Some see it as typical of other enterprise software, and they accept it for it is--even if grudginglly. Or they find one of the options above to be economically in their interest.
But there's no question that some face what you've seen and find it all, who either accelerate their leaving cf and cfml, or who start considering the "cost" of moving to the free Lucee cfml engine. (It's not always the obvious alternative some would assert, but it's the solution for many.)
Fortunately, there is a continued (and by some asserted Adobe measures, growing) market of people buying CF. I can attest that I am no less busy in my CF troubleshooting consulting (and serve the same number of new and old clients) as I have for over 15 years--and most of those are now running cf2021 or higher. I realize that many others will portray CF as a shrinking market. Again, it's just not as simple as some make it out to be.
Anyway, there are some more details and options for you. Let us know if any end up helping.
/Charlie (troubleshooter, carehart.org)
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