This is a release of news that finally all of our ColdBox repositories have been migrated to github.  You can now follow us on github and really contribute "git style".  This move was done to promote community collaboration and exposure.  So if you are interested in getting your hands dirty and kicking some ColdBox tires, then we invite you to start collaborating.

A bug was discovered that does not allow for all reap operations to occur on JVM reaped/collected references when using the ConcurrentSoftReferenceStore in CacheBox and ColdBox.  This patch is a small fix to correct the reaping/cleanup procedures.  Please download and install the patch.

To install just extract and copy over the file in the structures provided.

I thought I would take a moment and explain some of the different ways you can use the BaseORMService and VirtualEntityService extras that are included in Coldbox 3.0 M5 and above.

Before I get into the different uses for each, lets define them both and hopefully that will help clarify the differences

Base ORM Service:

The BaseORMService is an amazing service layer tool that can be used in any project. The idea behind this support class is to provide a very good base service layer that can interact with hibernate and entities inspired by Spring's Hibernate Template support. It provides tons of methods for query executions, paging, transactions, session metadata, caching and much more. You can either use the class on its own or create more concrete service layers by inheriting from this class. We also have a virtual service layer that can be mapped to specific entities and create entity driven service layers virtually. ColdBox also offers several integrations to this class via plugins and the autowire DSL.

Virtual Entity Service:

The virtual entity service is another support class that can help you create virtual service layers that are bounded to a specific entity for convenience. This class inherits from our Base ORM Service and allows you to do everything the base class provides, except you do not need to specific which entityName you are working with. You can also use this class as a base class and template out its methods to more concrete usages.

BaseORMService/ORMService Plugin

So first, how might you use the Base ORM Service extra

First, you could use it to create a concrete service that has all the BaseORMService methods in it.  For example. UserService.cfc might look like this

 

Then you can call things like this

function list(event){
    var rc = event.getCollection();
    var UserService = getModel("UserService");

    //get a listing of all users with paging
    rc.users = UserService.list(entityName="User",sortBy="fname",offset=event.getValue("startrow",1),max=20);

    event.setView("user/list");
  }

 

Or any of the other available methods in the BaseORMSerivce.  Now with our UserService, we are free to add any of our own business logic to that service that is needed, but have a ton of really cool methods already available to us.

Another way to use the BaseORMService, and I think a simpler way if via the ORMService Plugin.  This plugin gives you access to all the methods in the BaseORMService.

Mainly, I don’t directly use the BaseORMService cfc.  I either create services based of the VirtualEntityService, via the AutowireDSL (which I will explain shortly), or use these features via the ORMService Plugin.

To use the ORMService plugin, we can modify our code above slightly and are ready to go.

function list(event){
    var rc = event.getCollection();

    //get a listing of all users with paging
    rc.users = getPlugin("ORMService").list(entityName="User",sortBy="fname",offset=event.getValue("startrow",1),max=20);

    event.setView("user/list");
  }

 

I find myself using the ORMService Plugin extensively, so I also always autowire it to my handler, making the code above even simpler.

// A handler
component{
  property name="ORMService" inject="coldbox:plugin:ORMService";

  function list(event){
    var rc = event.getCollection();

    //get a listing of all users with paging
    rc.users = ORMService.list(entityName="User",sortBy="fname",offset=event.getValue("startrow",1),max=20);

    event.setView("user/list");
  }
}

 

How easy is that.   Tons of functionality right at your fingertips.

VirtualEntityService /Autowire Entity DSL

Generally when creating a concrete service I want to base off of the BaseORMService, I extend the VirtualEntityService and initialize it using the name of the entity that the service concerns. 

Basically, the VirtualEntityService inherits from the BaseORMService and allows you to template out its methods to a specific entity for more concrete uses.  This eliminates the need to type entityName=”someEntity” in your calls, and anything that saves me typing, saves me time and is a GOOD thing.

So, if I was creating that same UserService from above using the VirtualEntityService, it would look like this.

import coldbox.system.orm.hibernate.*;
component extends="VirtualEntityService"{

  public any function init(){
      super.init( "User", true, "user.query.cache" );
      return this;
  }

  // Override or add methods as you see fit now.
}

 

Pretty cool huh?  Now my list function looks like this

function list(event){
    var rc = event.getCollection();
    var UserService = getModel("UserService");

    //get a listing of all users with paging
    rc.users = UserService .list(sortBy="fname",offset=event.getValue("startrow",1),max=20);

    event.setView("user/list");
  }

So, removing the entityName=”User” from the call, but if you had to call the service even 10 times, that’s a lot of typing saved.

 

Autowiring

There is also an autowiring DSL to quickly create services based on a specific entity that you can use if don’t need any additional methods or need to override any methods in your service layer.

Per the documentation

Type	Description
entityService	Inject a BaseORMService object for usage as a generic service layer
entityService:{entity}	Inject a VirtualEntityService object for usage as a service layer based off the name of the entity passed in.

 

// Generic ORM service layer
property name="genericService" inject="entityService";
// Virtual service layer based on the User entity
property name="userService" inject="entityService:User";

 

So, to implement our UserService and list function we have had in our examples we could have a handler like this

// A handler
component{
  property name="UserService" inject="entityService:User";

  function list(event){
    var rc = event.getCollection();

    //get a listing of all users with paging
    rc.users = UserService.list(sortBy="fname",offset=event.getValue("startrow",1),max=20);

    event.setView("user/list");
  }
}

 

For more information on the BaseORMService and VirtualEntityService, here are some links to the complete documentation.

http://wiki.coldbox.org/wiki/Extras:BaseORMService.cfm

http://wiki.coldbox.org/wiki/Extras:VirtualEntityService.cfm

Hopefully this post helps you understand how you can use these AWESOME extras in your environment.

 

Read more...

After several months of planning I am starting to slowly move all of our open source coldbox related repositories to github.  This does not mean we are moving from Assembla, it means our source code is moving.  Github is great for social coding and collaboration that every open source project needs.  Not only that, git is really really fun to use than SVN and I am really digging it, especially for open source work.

Not everything yet is moved, but here are what’s out there.

• My github space
• The ColdBox organization space
• ColdBox Dashboard : An awesome tool for ColdBox applications
  • Assembla Development Space
  • Github Repository
• ColdBox Samples : The samples that are distributed with the ColdBox bundle download
  • Github Repository
• ColdBox Demos : A Collection of demos at conferences, presentations, etc.
  • Github Repository
• ColdBox Platform Utilities : An Adobe ColdFusion Builder Extension for ColdBox Applications
  • Assembla Development Space
  • Github Repository

So stay tuned as more and more projects are moved there.  So now the entire community has no excuse on forking and submitting patches and collaborating more.

Just a reminder that the ColdBox Book is now available for kindle in the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002ZG8S0G

Hope you enjoy it!

My friend Brett send me a request for a job posting and it has been added to the ColdBox Jobs section but I am also posting it here (http://eliteopensourcejobs.com/jobs/view/4c6e9e74-8354-48e0-bfe3-752e45591f8c)

                                                                                                                                                    
[Web/ColdFusion/ColdBox Developer, NYC/Telecommute]

Pro Bono Net, a New York based not-for-profit company dedicated to improving access to legal assistance for those who cannot typically afford it, is looking for an experienced ColdFusion developer on a full time contract basis to work on a major new release of a highly visible, content oriented web site.  The minimum contract length will be 4 months, with the term likely to be extended.  Preference will be given to local candidates.

We are looking for a developer with all or most of the following qualifications:

[REQUIRED]

+ Ability to pick up a new project and contribute immediately.

+ Experience developing ColdFusion 9 applications and an in-depth knowledge of prior ColdFusion releases.

+ Familiarity with web MVC frameworks.  Experience with ColdBox 3.0 preferred.

+ Comfortable with client side code, HTML5, Javascript (jQuery), and CSS.

+ Extensive knowledge of SQL and MSSSQL Server.

[DESIRED]

+ Hibernate familiarity and experience.

+ Knowledge of web standards and usability best practices.

+ Solr Search Server experience a plus

+ Experience scaling/clustering ColdFusion for high availability.

If you are interested in joining our team please send us a resume, rates, and a cover letter or email describing your experience to jobs@probono.net 

This is a small update to our M6 milestone to counter a critical fix discovered after launch.  This fix is targeted towards the cache in compatibility mode, meaning it is NOT using cachebox.  This affects event caching only.  The release bits have been updated but if you just want the patch, you can download it from here, as it is only one file.

This is a small update to our M6 milestone to counter for some critical fixes discovered after launch. Below are the issues updated:

• Goodies: Some sample applications already updated to 3.0.0 standards
• ORM announceInterception() causing lots of overhead when in debug mode if ORM Event Handler was enabled
• Fix on ORM delete functions missing comma on throw statement
• Fix on Application templates for default CacheBox configuration when getting missing configuration option
  
• Fix on CacheBox missing element provider cleaner

That's it folks, quick fixes.  Also, check out our CacheBox documentation as it is getting developed.