ColdFusion MX Developer's Cookbook

Rating:
Summary: A refreshing reference for CFMX
Review: This is the one. I've been looking forward to this book since I heard it was in production as I already owned the mod_perl developer's cookbook and loved the structure. So, being more a ColdFusion developer, I had high expectations for this edition in the cookbook series, and the authors certainly did not disappoint. First of all, I think SAMS has done a great job reviewing what texts are currently available and then finding a niche for this cookbook style reference. So many technical references, ColdFusion and other, tend to focus on model applications. As in, many books will say "ok, here's how you develop an intranet employee management application" or some such. Well, that's great, but what about 98% of readers who don't need that type of application. This is where the developers cookbook takes over - it does not build some app nobody needs and then explain it line by line - instead, it presents a very specific technical task (i.e. "Adding an LDAP entry"), shows the code necessary to complete the task, then explains what happened and why - all in very few pages. Indeed, a breath of fresh air among so many throw away tech books. I was also happy to see that this particular title covers more advanced topics such as the aforementioned LDAP integration, the new in MX ColdFusion Components and user authentication, etc. The authors did a commendable job in covering the basics as well for those who need an introduction to the language. Overall, another fantastic title in a great series.