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CFML tags

CFML looks similar to HTML--it includes starting and, in most cases, ending tags, and each tag is enclosed in angle brackets. All ending tags are preceded with a forward slash (/) and all tag names are preceded with cf; for example:

<cftagname> 
   tag body text and CFML
</cftagname>

CFML increases productivity by providing a layer of abstraction that hides many low-level details involved with Internet application programming. At the same time, CFML is extremely powerful and flexible. ColdFusion lets you easily build applications that integrate files, databases, legacy systems, mail servers, FTP servers, objects, and components.

CFML includes approximately one hundred tags. ColdFusion tags serve many functions. They provide programming constructs, such as conditional processing and loop structures. They also provide services, such as charting and graphing, full-text search, access to protocols such as FTP, SMTP/POP, and HTTP, and much more. The following table lists a few examples of commonly used ColdFusion tags:

Tag

Purpose

 
cfquery

Establishes a connection to a database (if one does not exist), executes a query, and returns results to the ColdFusion environment.

 
cfoutput

Displays output that can contain the results of processing ColdFusion functions, variables, and expressions.

 
cfset

Sets the value of a ColdFusion variable.

 
cfmail

Lets an application send SMTP mail messages using application variables, query results, or server files. (Another tag, cfpop, gets mail.)

 
cfchart

Converts application data or query results into graphs, such as bar charts or pie charts, in Flash, JPG, or PNG format.

 
cfobject

Invokes objects written in other programming languages, including COM (Component Object Model) components, Java objects such as Enterprise JavaBeans, or Common CORBA (Object Request Broker Architecture) objects.

CFML Reference describes the CFML tags in detail.
Contents > Developing ColdFusion MX Applications > Introduction to ColdFusion MX > About ColdFusion MX > ColdFusion Markup Language CFML tags PreviousNext

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