Chapter 23. Calling External Objects
If
you had to choose a single word to describe ColdFusion, it just might
be connectivity. So far, we’ve talked about using ColdFusion to
talk to databases, LDAP servers, FTP servers, HTTP servers, SMTP
servers, POP servers, custom tags, and the local filesystem. Well,
you’ll be happy to know that the list doesn’t stop there.
ColdFusion can also communicate with a number of other technologies
including command-line programs, COM/DCOM objects, CORBA objects,
Java classes, Enterprise JavaBeans, and Java servlets. All this
connectivity is handled via three tags, CFOBJECT,
CFEXECUTE, and CFSERVLET. This
chapter discusses how to use these tags to communicate with several
types of external objects and programs to expand the functionality of
ColdFusion to unlimited heights.
Connecting to External Objects
ColdFusion can connect to various types of
external objects via the CFOBJECT tag.
CFOBJECT allows you to use ColdFusion to access
third-party components or back-end systems written in other languages
without having to deal with the underlying code or complexity of the
object. The types of external objects supported by
CFOBJECT include:
- COM
The Component Object Model (COM) is a Microsoft-sponsored specification for creating distributed software components. There are a large number of third-party COM objects, most of which can be used by ColdFusion. COM is currently supported only in the Windows version of ColdFusion.
- CORBA
The Common Object Request ...
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