1 / 21

Spectra Tips and Tricks

Spectra Tips and Tricks. Tips for Spectra First Contact Coding Tips Q&A. Spectra Pre-Requisites. Structures: Everything’s a structure Custom Tags Passing data in/out Modular code Conceptual understanding of WDDX Request Scope (thread safe). Request Scope. What is Spectra?.

etana
Download Presentation

Spectra Tips and Tricks

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Spectra Tips and Tricks • Tips for Spectra First Contact • Coding Tips • Q&A

  2. Spectra Pre-Requisites • Structures: Everything’s a structure • Custom Tags • Passing data in/out • Modular code • Conceptual understanding of WDDX • Request Scope (thread safe)

  3. Request Scope

  4. What is Spectra? • Content Object Database (CODB): An object-based data storage built in relational tables. • Tags to interact with CODB • 200+ Tags in about 20 groupings • Webtop: A fancy Spectra application • Admin interface • User interface

  5. Three Parts of Spectra

  6. ContentObject Database

  7. Spectra: the same but different • DB Design and Spectra Object Design are similar enough to be familiar but different enough to be potentially confusing • Gains • Fast for getting complete objects • Linking data with methods • Losses • Flexible relational access

  8. Spectra vs ColdFusion • Spectra IS ColdFusion • ALL of ColdFusion functionality is available within Spectra applications • CF Tags • Functions • Database connections

  9. Spectra: All or Nothing? • Spectra is not right for all applications • Highly relational data should not be moved into Spectra Content Object database • Spectra is not right for all parts of an application. • Spectra and ColdFusion together • HR.com Resource Center

  10. Spectra: More Planning • Spectra apps require more up front planning than straight CF apps because: • Spectra apps are (usually) bigger • Spectra apps live in an existing set of services

  11. Chicken and the Egg • To competently plan a Spectra app, you need to have built a Spectra app • Two solutions: • Find someone who has been through it to help get up to speed • Iterate over the design and construction of your first Spectra application

  12. Security is a problem • Allow time to configure and test (2 - 3 weeks) • Don’t turn on security caching in development • Use a workaround instead • Spectra 2 will likely address this issue

  13. Minimize CFLocking (CF Tip) • Server, application and session scope variables need to be locked (read and write) • Use the new duplicate() function • <cflock name="AppName" type=”readonly"> • <cfset request.app = duplicate(application)> • </cflock>

  14. Use the Application Scope • Put needed items in Application Scope (and transfer to Request scope) such as: • Lookup values • User-defined TypeIDs • Property names • Application-specific translation data • HR.com HRID and nodeIDs

  15. Plan MetaData Carefully • Spectra 1.01 provides minimal tools for changing Metadata once used • Use possible alternatives to Metadata carefully as Metadata will be important for future Personalization upgrades

  16. SQL Searching Strategies • cfa_contentObjectFind is slow for SQL lookups with medium size datasets • Uniquely name all SQL searchable properties • Use a Custom Tag to directly search Properties table • Spectra 2 MAY address this

  17. Searching

  18. Spectra Debug Tag • <cfset request.cfa.mode.debug = true><cfif request.cfa.mode.debug> <cfa_tagDebugBegin></cfif><cfif request.cfa.mode.debug> <cfa_tagDebugEnd></cfif> • <cfa_tagDebugOutput>

  19. Debug Output • Number of iterations:cfa_contentobject: 2cfa_contentobjectget: 2 cfa_contentobjectgetmultiple: 1 cfa_contentobjectinvokemethod: 2 cfa_objecttypeget: 2 • Tag tree: • cfa_contentobject / time: 250 ms / vars: labels='Blackman, Samuel G.'; oids='3E8004F7-5DA0-11D4-94FE00D0B7752E0A'; • cfa_contentobjectinvokemethod / time: 234 ms • cfa_contentobjectget / time: 15 ms • cfa_objecttypeget / time: 15 ms • cfa_contentobjectgetmultiple / time: 47 ms

  20. Wrap Up • Spectra is a ColdFusion Application that is great for Content Management and related services • Use it as one of several available tools • Plan for the time to get through the initial learning curve

  21. FREE . . . . . FREE . . . . . FREE • Spectra Consultation- By phone- In your office • www.wwstudios.com

More Related