Fusebox (programming)
Fusebox is a popular web development framework for ColdFusion and other web development languages. Fusebox shows non-programmers (of whom there are many who develop in ColdFusion) a standard, structured way of getting things done in an easy and methodical way. Any methodology would work in that respect, however Fusebox (probably because of the great community that supports it and its long history) seems to be the most popular one for ColdFusion. Also the methodology itself has been ported and used in ASP, JSP and PHP as well.
The biggest benefits are not technical. Rather they result from the standardization of coding practices, everyone speaks the same language, and everyone can read the same code and understand it. It makes for easier transitions with and for programmers. A programmer who knows Fusebox going into a Fusebox shop is going to be a lot more productive much more quickly because they don't need to learn how that shop does its architecture. Both sides benefit.
Key features of Fusebox include:
- Splitting code into small fuses by type (HTML, SQL, CF) helps organize programs for better maintenance.
- Having all the flow control one place (fbx_switch.cfm) makes the site?s page flow self-documenting.
- Softcoding fuse exit points with XFAs in the fbx_switch.cfm file makes moving code between apps for reuse easier
- Nested layouts are good for working with designers as their files mainly contain HTML and don?t have complex CFML code to confuse them.
- XML format Fusedocs improve program communication and allow for auto test page generation.
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