Hmm..well I had an idea for CFSTudio...that might have to be implemented at the CF
Server level to be effective..or not..but
here it is. Please don't laugh :):
Leverage the power of flash and 3D Virtual Environments to make modular programming a
lot easier.
How about having each 'block' of code being a 3D box..and the input and output of each
piece of code would be represented by
a double/single headed arrow etc. that would link the boxes together.
You could have a 'library' of these code modules that you could 'drag' onto the
programming area. You would be able to view
the raw code and change it as well within each module or 3D block. You hover the mouse
over a block and you might see
pertinent info like a Comment string included by the developer, or if it is a custom
Tag the input and output that the tag
does as well as a comment string etc.
You can also scroll back and forth, or around in a 3D space to watch the 'flow' of the
program as it takes shape, and isolate
various elements such as Variable names, Umm..whether Client variables or Session
variables...track queries and what hits are
made to the database and what information is requested and see the results VISUALLY
between the code block and a 3D
representation of a database so you can think about things like load balancing etc.
right there on the fly to give you a good
gauge as to how your program will perform and the amount of calls that are being made
etc.
Or Isolate a section of the code flow and then check what Session and CLient variables
should be present at this stage and
then quickly back track to see where they should be set so you can easily track errors
and see the program flow. You should
be able to walk through the code by backing up to a Page level and go from page to
page checking variables and output,
databse calls..and then double click to 'zoom' in on a single page and then drill down
further if necessary into a custom tag
to see the raw CF Code.(Call an instance of traditional CF Editor)
We could also take this a step further in terms of debugging, and analysing a program
as opposed to actually creating and
putting together a program like this if that is too radical. So you write the program
normally, and this Virtual Program
Display or CF-VPD would analyse the .cfm files, check what is called in which file and
then construct a 3D Map of these
connections that you can then use to track down errors or spot ways to make your code
more efficient.
The Visual 3D representation would take advantage of the rich media environments that
are quite common in the Entertainment,
world, but haven't quite made it into the mainstream business arena yet. Adobe and
other companies are trying to introduce
the notion of the 3D web. But the limiting factor on the net is bandwidth, on a single
development workstation that isn't a
factor however so there's nothing to hold back a Visual approach in that
sense.Enabling this system over a broadband internet
connection similar to how RPC works now should be included though.
Each 'CFTag' could be represented by some sort of 3D symbol and connected...I'm
thinking something like Visio..but in
3D..where you can roll up or down..back and forth through the program with the mouse.
It may sound confusing..but if you
think about it, it should make development a lot easier, quicker, and more accessible
to a wide variety of people.
Anyways..this is just an idea that has been floating around in my head for a
while..maybe I'm just reading too many Sci Fi
books. :)
-Gel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Structure your ColdFusion code with Fusebox. Get the official book at
http://www.fusionauthority.com/bkinfo.cfm
FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq
Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/cf-talk@houseoffusion.com/
Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
