Hal's Menu

New Class: Best Practices with ColdFusion and Fusebox	UPDATE Where: Washington, DC When: Apr 23-26 How much: $2500 Taught by: Hal Helms & Adam Churvis w/Steve Nelson as a guest teacher on integrating ColdFusion with Flash 5. This is a 4-day class, intense and hands-on covering wireframes prototyping with DevNotes real-world Fusebox SQL language and stored procedures error-handling state management authentication/security and more... Click here for more information.
New Class: Programming Foundations with ColdFusion	Where: Atlanta, GA When: Apr 2-4 How much: $1200 Taught by: Hal Helms & Adam Churvis This is a 2-1/2 day class intended for people wishing to learn solid foundations in ColdFusion programming and assumes no prior knowledge. Click here for more information.
Don't just sit there--hire me!	If your company or organization needs onsite training or mentoring, or if you have a project you'd like help architecting, please email me hal.helms
Tag Versioning	John Quarto-vonTivadar wrote a custom tag to help out with the problem of multiple versions of a custom tag. This is a very helpful tag for use where applications may need older versions of a custom tag to run. Impeccably Fusedoc'd, the tag is a thing of beauty. Click here.
CF Studio Fusedoc helper script	Erki Esken wrote a script to help people write Fusedocs. Very helpful if you can't remember the exact syntax. Click here.
My talk at CF South	A few people asked to be able to look at the text of the talk I gave at CF South. Click here.
Nested Fusebox Exception Handling	One of the really neat things about nested fuseboxes is their ability to have exceptions "bubble up" from the local fusebox to the home circuit--and any levels between. This zipped file contains a tiny sample application that shows how you can trap exceptions at different levels. Click here.
Wireframes app	Click here for the wireframes app in zipped format. Includes a brief directions on setting up.
Animated online tutorial: Making assertions with ColdFusion	Runtime errors often occur because a parameter passed into a code module is different from what the programmer expected. The antidote to assumptions is assertions. See how to make assertions in ColdFusion with this new type of tutorial. (Thanks to Steve Nelson for introducing me to the concept of animated tutorials.)
Custom tag: Assert.cfm	Used with the tutorial above for making assertions. Click here.
New Occasional Newsletter	This newsletter is my response to a developer who wanted to know what my step-by-step development process was. Lays out my 12-step plan. Click here.
Free online class: Using JavaScript with ColdFusion	This isn't meant as a tutorial to JavaScript, but rather explores ways that JavaScript works with ColdFusion. Click here.
Free online class: Fusebox 101	The first part of a "Mastering Fusebox" course is a lesson on "Fusebox 101". Especially helpful in working with eXit FuseActions and nested fuseboxes. Click here.
Free online class: Fusedocs	The second part of a "Mastering Fusebox" course is a lesson on Fusedocs. Fusedocs has revolutionized the way I write code. I recommend it. Click here.
Guru on Call - Back for a limited time	This is a program for companies who need occasional, ongoing consulting. There are a couple of levels. If you're interested, please email me right away as the slots for this have always filled up quickly.
Book Recommendations	Whether you're in the mood for reference or reflection, there's some great books out there.
My QuerySim tag	The tag I use for simulating queries while in development.
Fusebox PowerPoint 2000 presentation	Nat Papovich "fused" Steve Nelson's and my presentations, added a little of his own magic and poof! a pretty cool Powerpoint presentation!
Devnotes zip file	These are the files needed to create the "Development Notes" mini-app I wrote about in the February issue of "ColdFusion Developer's Journal"
Fusedoc zip file	These files, discussed in the Jan 2000 issue of CFDJ, extract Fusedoc information from files    FuseDocumentor returns the Fusedoc info in a file    GetThisDirectoryFiles passes all the files in a directory through the FuseDocumentor    StripWhiteSpace is Nate Weiss' very handy tag for getting rid of excess whitespace.
The Team Allaire tutorials	Short, focused tutorials on specific topics
A Fusebox primer, part 1
A Fusebox primer, part 2
Quiz	A brief quiz useful for evaluating someone's CF experience and knowledge.
Fusebox exchanges	Redacted version of a lengthy exchange on Fusebox methodology
Action Item Manager	Partial Action Item Manager done in Fusebox style. Shows use of RFAs, Fusebox and frames. Available as zipped file.
Occasional CF Newsletter	A free CF newsletter. Sign up here.
August 1999 newsletter	Archived copy of August Occasional Newsletter now online
Special September 1999 newsletter	Archived copy of special September newsletter on object-based development with ColdFusion
October newsletter	Archived copy of October 1999 newsletter on search engines, CSS, caller prefix, and side-by-side column displays
December 1999 newsletter	Archived copy of December newsletter on nested structures and a lot more on CSS
February 2000 newsletter	Archived copy of February newsletter on test harnesses and arrays
March 2000 newsletter	Archived copy of March newsletter including a puzzler and miscellaneous tips
May 2000 newsletter	Archived copy of May newsletter with some metrics for ColdFusion execution times.
July 2000 newsletter	Archived copy of July newsletter with info on using the BitAnd() function for securing an application and a look at persistent variables (including the CFLOCK issue).
August 2000 newsletter	Archived copy of August newsletter with info on SQL, a new "work at home" plan, and an announcement of training course for Developing Applications with ColdFusion and Fusebox
October/November newsletter	Archived copy of October/November Occasional Newsletter dedicated to data issues and XML.

Just For Fun:

A friend recently sent this to me and I thought you might get a smile out of it:

This quiz consists of four questions that tell you whether or not you are qualified to be a professional. SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWERS. There is no need to cheat. The questions are not that difficult. You just need to think like a professional.

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is:the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door. This question tests whether or not you are doing simple things in a complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Incorrect answer:the refrigerator, put in the elephant and shut the refrigerator.
Correct answer:the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This question tests your foresight.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct answer: The elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator! This tests if you are capable of comprehensive thinking. OK, if you did not answer the last three questions correctly, this one may be your last chance to test your qualifications to be a professional.

4. There is a river noted for its vicious crocodiles. How do you cross it?
Correct Answer: Simply swim through it. All the crocodiles are attending the animal meeting! This question tests your reasoning ability.