Introducing Adobe ColdFusion (2021 release)

[Saurav_Ghosh]

Adobe ColdFusion (2021 release) is finally here!

The completely reimagined Adobe ColdFusion (2021 release) offers a modular, secure, and containerized approach to building applications that can run across multiple cloud providers or on-premises. You can now switch between cloud service providers without having to rewrite your application.

For more information, see What’s new and changed in ColdFusion (2021 release).

Take your applications to the cloud

Seamlessly manage your infrastructure and reduce downtime by quickly connecting to the Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS) database, storage, messaging, Amazon RDS, and email services. Move services from one cloud service provider to another without having to rewrite your application each time.

• AWS SQS
• AWS SNS
• AWS S3
• Azure Blob
• Azure Service Bus

Modularization

You can now install only the services your application needs, and nothing more. Modularization lets you continuously integrate small pieces of code and deliver applications quickly and seamlessly.

Use the ColdFusion Package Manager to manage, install, uninstall, upgrade, and downgrade packages.

Lightweight installer

Get up and running in minutes with an all-new installer that lets you automate repeatable installations of only the services you need. You have absolute control over what you install at all times.

For more information, see ColdFusion (2021 release) Express Installer.

NoSQL database

Optimize the scale-up architecture offered by AWS DynamoDB and MongoDB to handle large volumes of data with the built-in productive interface to NoSQL databases. Store unstructured, semistructured, or structured data, and enable easy updates to schemas and fields.

• AWS DynamoDB
• MongoDB

SAML

With SAML, all users have a single point of authentication, which gives the enterprise a birds-eye view of user-level access into the ecosystem at all times.

For more information, see Use SAML in ColdFusion.

CFSetup configuration tool

Deploy server settings from one instance to another, manage them through a console, and automate your admin tasks seamlessly with CF Setup. Uniformity of applications across servers is now a given.

For more information, see CFSetup configuration tool.

Language enhancements

CFML has evolved over the years. Developers can now incorporate modern OO programming and functional programming standards when developing applications. The following is a summary of what is new and changed in ColdFusion 2021.

• Support for parallel programming in arrays, structs, and queries
• Immediately invoked function expressions (IIFE)
• Iterable objects, via Spread and Rest operators
• Iterator support for CFCs
• Support for static fields and methods for CFCs
• Identity operator, "=="
• Case-sensitive and ordered structs
• "Destructuring assignment" feature for structs, arrays
• Dynamic switch case
• Create and execute Java within CFML
• Support for implementing/extending Java Interfaces
• …and many more!

For more details, see New and changed functions in ColdFusion (2021 release).

Other enhancements

• Licensing and Activation
• Multi-cloud RDS
• CosmosDB
• ColdFusion Administrator Changes
• Performance Monitoring Toolset changes

Support matrix

• ColdFusion (2021 release) Support Matrix

Bugs fixed and known issues

• Bugs fixed
• Known issues

[Dave Watts]

Great news! I have a customer waiting to upgrade right now!

Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC

[Charlie Arehart]

Indeed, great stuff, Saurav. I had in fact done a similar post overnight, before the release came out this morning to delight of us all. And I'm updating mine to sync with some info in yours, especially the links you offer to the online docs. Again, all that's great. Thanks.

Just a couple of issues, though.

First, the page linked to for "ColdFusion Administrator changes" just goes here, which is not only just the main page for ALL the CF admin but I don't see any mention at all of CF2021 changes (though it does have sections for CF2018 changes). To be clear, I just searched for the phrase "2021".

More specifically, I don't see mention of admin-related things that were discussed in the prerelease "releast notes" doc (as I note in my blog post), such as AWS Elasticache and Azure Redis cache being new options for CF distributed caching, the addition of Azure Redis cache as a CF session storage option, and support for datasource definition of cloud RDS databases.

Did you perhaps mean to point here to some other page that does talks about such admin changes? Or is it that someone just needs to add such a section on 2021 changes to this admin doc? If they do, I hope you will change the link here to that section, because the page currently pointed to is very large, nearly 100 pages if printed. 🙂

Second, the link for the PMT changes goes to the what's new page, but doesn't link to the section on the PMT (like you do for the bugs fixed and known issues that follow it). The correct link for the PMT changes is https://helpx.adobe.com/coldfusion/user-guide.html/coldfusion/using/whats-new.ug.html#PerformanceMon.... 

But again, these are just quibbles, and to help others as much as anything. Thanks very much for the note here.

Hope you may create a blog post for it as well, for those who may be watching the portal for news of the release from Adobe. (I did put a post there on the portal about the new release, and pointing to my post. I then updated it to point to yours here, when I later found it.)

[Saurav_Ghosh]

Thanks a lot Charlie for your feedback. We're working on it and will update this thread.

Thanks,

Saurav

[neochad]

Where can you download the developer edition from? All links that I could find to download it take you to the ColdFusion 2018 download.

[Charlie Arehart]

neochad, you're confusing CF Builder. THAT is what is listed only as a 2018 version. You can no longer get CF2018 anywhere on the Adobe site (unless you have a license and get it from the licensing.adobe.com site)

So when you ask how to get the Dev edition of CF2021, it's the from the same page you can choose to get either the trial or to buy CF, the CF "product family" page. The easiest way to get to it/remember it, use coldfusion.com. There are sections on that page for the various "editions" of CF, and buttons to start the process to download them.

Does that get you going?

[neochad]

That is the first time I have EVER been able to get to the 2021 download page, I spoke with Adobe support (who provided 5 different links that didn't work), I used the links from the emails, even google searching. For people that are eager to get this, that was way to difficult. The real nail in the coffin is that I was directed to submit the forums to get a link for the download, no software should be that hard to download.

I thank you for getting me somewhere that I have spent hours trying to get to.

[ConsoleGenRL]

https://www.adobe.com/support/coldfusion/downloads.html

[carl type3]

Hello Saurav,

Support Matrix does not list support for SQL 2019. When will SQL 2019 be supported?

Thanks, Carl.

[Saurav_Ghosh]

Hi Carl,

SQL 2019 is supported. We shall update the support matrix. Thank you.

[Charlie Arehart]

FWIW, the support matrix has not been updated regarding this, as I write this a month later.

[Priyank Shrivastava.]

Thanks Charlie, let me check this. 

[GuitsBoy]

I see in the FAQ section that Coldfusion 2021 Enterprise costs $9,499 per Two Cores.  Can anyone confirm this?  We recently specced out hardware for a trio of 8 core boxes to run CF enterprise.  How could we possibly justify that $28K in licensing just became $115K?  I'm hoping this is a simple typo, but even at the old pricing, modern server hardware has a high number of cores, and it's getting more and more difficult to find hardware limited to 8.

[Charlie Arehart]

Nope, Enterprise is per 8 cores, while Standard is per two, as stated in the eula and in the faq when I looked last week, after the release, and it had been updated for 2021.

Might you have been looking in the standard part of the faq? If you feel not, please do quote the text and offer a link where you saw it. Thx

[GuitsBoy]

Sure, heres the link:

https://helpx.adobe.com/coldfusion/standard/faq.html#Pricingeditionsandupgrading

What are the editions of Adobe ColdFusion Standard (2021 release) and how are they priced?

Adobe ColdFusion (2021 release) is sold in two editions: Standard Edition costs US$2,499 per two cores, and Enterprise Edition costs US$9,499 per two cores. ColdFusion can also be used for development at no cost with the complimentary Developer Edition, a full-featured server for development use only.

[Charlie Arehart]

Ah, that's indeed a typo. I have reported it to key folks at Adobe. To be clear, it is DEFINITELY "per eight cores" in Enterprise. That's indicated elsewhere, most importantly the EULA, and also in the Enterprise version of that FAQ: 
https://helpx.adobe.com/coldfusion/enterprise/faq.html#Pricingeditionsandupgrading . 

FWIW, I have a post on finding the EULA, on your own machine (once you install CF) or on the web:
https://coldfusion.adobe.com/2018/01/finding-the-eula-end-user-licensing-agreement-for-your-installe... , which I also updated for 2021.

Do these answers now satisfy your concern?

[Dave Watts]

That whole page needs the careful attention of a proofreader. It mentions CF Standard when describing all versions, etc.

Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC

[32132132164654654]

Link to 2021 developer version leads to this

https://www.adobe.com/it/products/coldfusion/download-trial/try.html

which is

1) about 2018 release

2) asking too many questions

3) still not allowing me to directly download CF (2021 or otherwise)

It leads me here

https://www.adobe.com/it/products/coldfusion/download-trial/get-started.html

where there this "Interested in trying our Adobe ColdFusion Express Edition ?"
where I finally get a link to download CF
http://www.adobe.com/go/trycoldfusionexpwin64/

but not 2021

ColdFusion_2018_Express_WWEJ_win64.zip

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'd like a simple, direct link to download what I need.

[Charlie Arehart]

I just followed those links, and I see only CF2021. You may be experiencing browser caching issues. 

Indeed, as for not getting the file downloaded once you DID fill out the form, I have experienced that as well (and yes, I mean even when I DO see the page offering CF2021). It seems to be a cookie issue. As soon as I open a new incognito window (in Chrome, or a private Windows if using Firefox), then it DOES work--each time. Frustrating yes, but doesn't happen to everyone, and at least this is a solution until some better ultimate solution is implemented by Adobe.

And as for that last URL downloading the 2018 "express" edition, indeed it does. That link is NOT offered on the 2021 version of that page. That's a further indication that you are seeing a cached version of the page where you DID see that.

Can you try an incognito or private window, or another browser entirely (than what you are now using), to see if that solves things? Again, I appreciate how frustrating all this is. I don't work for Adobe, so can't do any more than offer help here. (Maybe someone from Adobe will respond with a different answer, of course. Just trying to help you until then.)

[32132132164654654]

After a few more attempts I've been able to get the installer in incognito, thanks 3000!

[Dave Watts]

Yeah, I get the same thing. I'm able to download the CF 2020 lockdown and WAR versions, but not the regular Windows installer.

Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC

[Charlie Arehart]

Dave, did you try the suggestions I offered? They've worked for me, multiple times and on multiple machines (in different networks, which is why I was doing it multiple times--and also to see if the problem was indeed repeating).

[Dave Watts]

Yeah, I've tried from a couple of browsers at the same location, etc. I suspect it has to do with Adobe's edge cache servers not all being updated yet, and I can wait a few days.

Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC

[kishore31]

Hi Dave,

The Web team reported that they have cleared the cache on all the edge servers. Could you please try and let me know?

Thanks,

Kishore

[Dave Watts]

That worked for me. I have it now. Thanks!

Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC