Adobe ColdFusion 8 Developer Certification Examination Specification

These guidelines can be found in PDF format on the Adobe website.

1. Programming Fundamentals

Given a type of variable, explain how to create and use that variable by using implicit and explicit syntax
Control the flow of a program by using conditionals and boolean expressions
Manage program iteration by using tags
Given a task, select and use the appropriate built-in function to perform that task
Create a user-defined function by using tags
2. Working with the Application framework

Given an Application.cfc method identify the use of that method
List and describe the differences between application scope variables and Application.cfc variables
3. Handling exceptions

Handle exceptions by using <cftry/>, <cfcatch/>, <cfthrow/>, and <cfrethrow/>
Handle exceptions by using the onError method of Application.cfc
Handle exceptions by using <cferror/>
Handle exceptions by using the site wide error handler server setting
4. Interacting with databases

Create, read, update, and delete data by using <cfquery/>
Create dynamic queries by using conditional clauses, variables, the like operator, and wildcards
Return data by performing a Query of Queries
List and describe the properties of the RESULT structure of a query object
Manage access to data by using <cfldap/>
List and describe the information returned by the <cfdbinfo> tag
Implement database transactions by using <cftransaction/>
Use <cfqueryparam/> in SQL statements
Use <cfstoredproc/>, <cfprocparam/>, and <cfprocresult/> to interact with database stored procedures
5. Working with XML

List and describe the differences between an XML document and an XML object
Parse XML data by using <cfxml/> or xmlParse()
Extract an XML document from an XML object by using the toString() method
6. Reusing code

Include one page of code into another page of code by using the <cfinclude/> tag
Given an approach, reuse code by using a custom tag. (Approaches include: using the <cf_.../>, or <cfmodule/> tags
Reuse code by creating user-defined functions. (User-defined functions written with either <cffunction/> or within a <cfscript/> block
Resuse code by creating ColdFusion Components (CFCs)
Control public or private access to CFC properties and methods by using scope prefixes for properties and the access attribute for methods
Understand the options available for instantiating CFCs and invoking CFC methods
7. Managing client state

List and describe the available variable scopes
Enable an application to use application and/or session scoped variables
Explain when you should lock variables by using <cflock/>
8. Interacting with remote systems

Given a scenario, create a Web service proxy and interact with that Web service
Explain how to expose a CFC method as a Web service
Create and read Atom and RSS feeds by using <cffeed/>
Programmatically retrieve information from a remote server by using <cfhttp/>
9. Managing files

Upload, read, write, and delete files by using <cffile/> and file functions
Create directories on an application server by using <cfdirectory/>
10. Tuning application performance

Manage application performance by using query caching
Use the <cfcache/> tag to cache static content
List and describe the use of the <cfthread/> tag and the associated actions: join, run, sleep, and terminate
11. Delivering and presenting information

Create and manipulate PDF documents by using <cfdocument/> and <cfpdf/>
Create and manipulate images by using <cfimage/>
Expose a Rich Text editor by using <cftextarea richText="true"/>