ColdFusion 10 Shared Hosting FAQ

Q: Are any ColdFusion Tags disabled in the shared environment?

A: Yes, the following tags are disabled for security reasons on our shared hosting platform:

CFExecute:

This tag is disabled due to possible server compromises brought on by executable files. This tag would essentially allow customers to upload executable files (.exe) to the server and run them with no implemented way to ensure that the .exe file is non-malicious.

CFRegistry:

This tag would allow read, write, and delete permissions to the filesystem registry of the shared server. This is not allowed within the shared environment as it could cause issues with how the server is meant to function.

CFSchedule:
This tag would allow tasks to be executed outside of the restricted ColdFusion user. This would enable tasks that are set up by shared hosting customers to run as the system user, which is not permitted due to the possibility of a compromise.

** If you require a scheduled task, please submit a ticket with the required information and we will review and create the task. Tasks cannot be scheduled more frequently than 5 minutes and must be directed to a service hosted with HostMySite.**

Custom CFX Tags:

Custom CFX Tags are not supported on our shared environment.

Note: The CFExecute, CFRegistry, CFSchedule and Custom CFX tags ARE supported with our ColdFusion VPS Plans.

Q: Can I name my ColdFusion Data Source Names (DSNs) anything I want?

A: When creating a DSN within your Control Panel, the DSN is given a prefix to the name you have supplied. This prefix is your Subscription ID, which ties it into your account so that our systems are in sync with one another. You can find the prefix once the DSN is created by clicking on the DSN name itself and viewing the summary. It should resemble the example shown below.

Note: Your DSN Name will be prefaced with the Subscription ID plus an underscore(_).

Example: s1234567_dsntest

Q: What is the proper structure my Application.cfc file?

A: Below you can find information that should help you with structuring your Application.cfc file properly. Proper structure is required to take advantage of specific per-application features. We have also included links directly from Adobe's support pages to assist in properly constructing your ColdFusion applications:  https://learn.adobe.com/wiki/display/coldfusionen/Structuring+an+application

Ensure your Application is properly named:

A properly named application will ensure that ColdFusion applies segregated memory to your variable scopes.

Use per-application settings where possible:

This allows you to specify many ColdFusion settings directly in your Application.cfc file, including CF Mappings, ORM Settings, Error Handling, Client Variable Settings, Caching, Application and Request Timeouts, etc.

Detect and reference relative paths from your root application path:

This will ensure that your application is portable across web server systems if all filesystem paths are not hard coded.

Refrain from using Core Java Classes whenever possible:

Future restrictions of Core Java Classes may be put in place at a later date. Ensure that you are only using supported ColdFusion objects.

Q: Can I use Microsoft Access with ColdFusion?

A: The functionality does still exists, however, Adobe has not updated their support for Access since CFMX 7. It is also well known for being unstable and prone to regular application crashes. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to prevent it from crashing other than not using Access Databases and DSNs. Information is included below that will assist in converting from Access to MySQL or MS SQL:

Convert Access to MSSQL:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/237980

Convert Access to MySQL:

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/connector-odbc/en/connector-odbc-examples-tools-with-access-export.html

Q: My question is not answered here. What do I do?

A: Please feel free to contact our Technical Support team by phone, chat, or email for any other concerns or questions.  Details for contacting Support are here.