Version 3.0 - p.s. I'm not dead.
No I'm not dead, yes I'm still maintaining the framework. :)
Long story short, I had a really rotten year and couldn't afford my dedicated server and had to let it go. A friend of mine parked the domain for me, which is why it looks like it's been "re-purposed". It hasn't, I'm just not using it right now. I plan to put something back up there sooner or later. Although I'll probably continue to host the svn repository, etc. here once the domain is back up.
I just recently realized that Ray set up RIAForge for all the OS projects on Adobe platforms, so while I was reticent before about putting it on SourceForge or Tigris I'm happy to have the project hosted here. (And honestly I think although certainly there may still be some areas that could use improvement, the interface on this site is a phenomenal improvement over those other sites. Kudos Ray.) :)
I've just committed the latest build of framework version 3.0 which I've been working a lot on in the past couple months, cleaning up, removing outdated items, adding support for CF8 features. I've had to lose all the version history from version 2.0 up to now because I didn't want to nag Ray into letting me email him a 6MB subversion dump to import into the RIAForge repository, so that's why the new repository starts at svn version 1 with verision 3.0 of the framework core. I'm also planning to set up the Plugin Manager and the Members onTap plugin here and may create a separate project for the framework sample application. I had at one time created a blog (Blogs onTap) as a sample application, however, due to features unrelated to the framework it became far too complicated to serve well as a "sample" application. Too much complexity in the non-framework parts. So I'm thinking I can convince myself to avoid that trap with a Wiki. :)
The new features in CF8 have resolved some long-standing issues which I think may have been barriers to entry for some people. For example, now that the framework can set up its own default custom tag paths, I've replaced all the instances of <cfmodule template="#request.tapi.xhtml()#"><xml ... /></cfmodule> with <cf_html>. I think a lot of folks saw the original request.tapi.xhtml() tag call bandied about in my code and became overwhelmed.
Thing is, the onTap framework is chocked full of all sorts of things you don't really need to understand in order to leverage the framework. It's just like you don't need to be a Java expert to leverage ColdFusion. It might be interesting to know how Java handles email, but at the end of the day, you send an email with the <cfmail> tag (or your preferred wrapper). And the same thing applies here.
It's just that my wrappers *looked* complicated (even though they were simple to use), because I always refused to make people do anything that required access to the CF Administrator to install the framework. And although I didn't realize it at the time, that's even a "great minds think alike" moment with the folks from your favorite editor (not mine), Eclipse. Installation instructions for eclipse: step 1 unzip. Installation instructions for the onTap framework: step 1 unzip. But ColdFusion 8 removed the only limitations that were keeping me from using standard custom tag syntax, which imo is a big plus for this new version.
Longer Story:
Honestly losing the old server may be the best thing. Truth is, I was paying through the nose for a server that essentially couldn't run a game of Solitaire without herniating under the load. It wasn't even half as robust as the notebook I use for development at home, which does a pretty decent job of running the framework honestly except that I don't have enough RAM and so it's constantly garbage collecting, which slows it to a crawl half the time. But I know why that is, and it's not even because of the framework's memory consumption -- it's because the combined basic memory consumption from ColdFusion 8 (and I used to tandem 7 and/or 6), SQL 2005, Dreamweaver1 and honestly Firefox2 bring me up to 50% of the 1GB RAM I have at home, which is more than twice what was available on my dedicated server at CrystalTech (which incidentally also had no L2 cache due to being an older Celeron).
It wasn't until after I had to give up the server that I started researching Autism and have come to discover that there's a very good chance that I am autistic (Asperger Syndrome or something similar). Aside from the anecdotal evidence of having had a lot of similar experiences and having been described by acquaintances as being this way, I score in the average range for people with AS on this online survey.
This is actually good news for me because I've lost a lot of jobs over the years and usually for political reasons. The Wikipedia article mentions the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which lists the diagnostic criteria psychologists use for making official diagnosis. Among the criteria for AS is that people who have it can't keep jobs. Well autism was virtually unknown when I was a child -- heck, it's *barely* understood even now. So at the age of 33, I finally understand why the social / political aspects of work have always been such a challenge for me in spite of how effortless it seems for other people around me.
It has a lot to do with behaviors that you normally don't think about, like eye-contact. For the average person, eye-contact is an instinctual behavior, you don't have to think about when and how to make it, but it's not built-in like that for people with AS. For us we have to learn it the same way you might learn to play the piano. And since we're just learning from scratch whereas you basically had it built-in to your BIOS from day-1, that makes it a real challenge for us to keep up... So for the last 7 years since I split up with my ex, I accrued $10k/yr in child support debt (based on an annual amount that I've never earned and apparently was never likely to earn), which means, unless something changes I'll die in debt3, possibly on the street.
There isn't any medication for AS or Autism (that I know of) and honestly, I'm not certain I would want any... The problem is that while it has its drawbacks, AS is also a good part of the reason why I'm as talented a programmer as I am. It's a good part of the reason why I with only a GED routinely write application code that makes people with 4-year degrees scratch their heads. Honestly I think I just need to find the right non-autistic sales guy to help me sell my own software4 and I'll be okay . I'm not out to be the next internet billionaire, just as long as I can pay my bills and get out of debt and some day retire, I'll be happy. And maybe if I have an official diagnosis I can convince the state to have a realistic expectation of my income (even though a local attorney advocate for autistics here in Portland recently told me that was impossible).
p.s. I'm now in Portland OR. Give me a shout if you're in the area, I'll buy you a beer sometime. :)
Footnotes:
- Yes, I use CFEclipse at the office + Aptana + VSS plugin
- Yes, I'm trying to convince them to let me migrate their VSS repository to SVN - I remind them of the hoops it makes us jump through on an almost daily basis
- I still haven't found anything to like about Eclipse -- the search-and-replace features alone make me want to scream -- okay I take it back, I like the installation instructions for Eclipse - after that point however, it's just constantly getting in my way and making it a challenge to do my job
- Firefox - I'm not kidding, check its memory consumption some time -- but it's worth it for the countless hours Firebug saves me in testing CSS alone
- roughly $160,000 by the time the kids all turn 18 and assuming I don't die first - accurate figure - (and with no benefit / nothing to show for the debt)
- so that I have multiple income sources
Oh and nice one on talking about AS. More people should.
I'll also second your comment on Firefox. I'm on 2.0.0.11 at the moment and it crashes, without fail, after a while, every time I use it. I kid you not! Ah crap, I'm typing this in FF, I'd better be qui...
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The other issues that you mentioned are connected with Asperger and may take longer to resolve satisfactorily: reading between the lines and ascertaining hidden agendas; trusting others too much and; difficulty cultivating business relationships.
The first issue can, I think, really only come with experience via "doing it". I have become more adept at identifying hidden agendas through experience: this has taught me that, ultimately, people will always look after themselves. I personally always look at people and ask what their motives are on a continual basis. This usually gives a reasonable steer!
Trusting others is something I have found harder to overcome, as it is innate for someone with Asperger syndrome. I think that this is a really hard issue to address because we [people with AS] are not programmed to want to be distrustful; its totally against out nature.
This impacts upon issue No.3: forming business relationships. These have got to be objective and devoid of altruism. As we are not pre-disposed towards doing this, this can be even harder.
For this reason, I think that we are largely unsuited to cut-throat types of business operation and may never be able to deliver that ruthless cutting edge that is required for ultimate success.