ColdFusion MX 7 builds SMS apps for mobile phones

Macromedia this week announced the newest version of its ColdFusion MX web application server, adding support for apps that interact with mobile phones via SMS text messaging.

Formerly known by the code name "Blackstone," ColdFusion MX 7 runs either as a standalone application server or atop J2EE app servers like Macromedia's own JRun, IBM's WebSphere, and BEA's WebLogic. It's tightly integrated with the developer's own DreamWeaver web designer.

Developers can use ColdFusion to create mobile phone applications that connect via SMS, or through the instant messaging clients deployed by some mobile services, said Macromedia.

Also new to MX 7 are tools for creating web-based forms faster, and turning on-the-page content into printable documents in either Macromedia's FlashPaper or Adobe's PDF format.

Macromedia touted the release with scads of quotes from users who had been testing ColdFusion MX 7 prior to its official release. Several cited the document generation feature as the one with the most immediate payback.

"PDF output is the first ColdFusion MX 7 feature that will be rolled out in our applications, so we can deliver press releases, municipal code, police activity logs, and city council and commission agendas to our citizens using the new document generation feature," said Seth Duffey, the web master of the city of Davis, California.