Programming instructions

8 Chapter 1 Introducing ColdFusion MX
Web application servers process code in a page that a browser and web server cannot
interpret. The web server recognizes these requested pages by the file extension and
forwards it to the web application server for action. The web application server interprets
the programming instructions in the page and generates output that a web browser can
interpret. Then the web server returns the output to the browser.
By using a web application server, web developers can build highly interactive and
data-rich sites, such as the following:
• Create shopping carts and e-commerce sites.
• Query other database applications for data.
• Dynamically populate form elements.
• Respond with e-mail immediately after a user submits a form.
What is ColdFusion MX?
ColdFusion MX is a powerful web application server that lets you create robust sites and
applications without a long learning curve. ColdFusion MX does not require coding in
traditional programming languages (for example, C/C++, Java, XML), although it
supports these traditional programming languages.
ColdFusion MX consists of the following core components:
• ColdFusion application server
• ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML)
• ColdFusion Administrator
The following sections describe these core components in more detail.