User Guide

Using SQL with ColdFusion 35
Writing SQL and CFML statements to interact with a data source
After ColdFusion makes a connection to the data source, you can interact with that database by
using SQL and ColdFusion.
To interact with an established data source, you need to include SQL statements in your CFML
statements; for example:
<cfquery name="queryname" datasource="namedbfile">
SELECT FirstName, LastName, DepartmentID
From Employee
</cfquery>
In the previous example, the first attribute of cfquery is the name of the query. The second
attribute of
cfquery defines the name of the data source. The SELECT statement defines the fields
(columns) to be retrieved from a tabled named
Employee.
CFML tags that interact with a database
The following table lists the CFML tags you can use to interact with a database:
In Part II of this book, you will be introduced to these tags when you use them to interact with
the sample database. For more information about interacting with a database, see Developing
ColdFusion MX Applications or CFML Reference.
Command Description
cfquery To retrieve (query) information in a database.
cfinsert To add records to a database.
cfupdate To update information in a database.