CF_Debug Documentation v3.0
by Dan G. Switzer, II

CF_Debug was the first debugging tool written for ColdFusion. The first version was released about the same time that Allaire release ColdFusion v3.0. The goal of CF_Debug is to allow you to easily monitor execution times and values of variables within your scripts. The output is displayed within a pop-up window created using JavaScript, so the output of the original template is not altered.

This tag is released as un-encrypted freeware, so feel free to look at the code to see what's going on behind the scenes. If you modify the code, please send me a copy. I'll try and incorporate any changes you make into future versions of the tag. There's no money involved, but hey, you'll get listed as a contributor!

Sincerely,
Dan G. Switzer, II
dswitzer@pengoworks.com

CF_Debug requires the following:

• A licensed copy of the ColdFusion Application Server (version 3.0 or higher)

To install CF_Debug, do the following:

• Copy the file Debug.cfm to either your custom tags directory (i.e. C:\Cfusion\CustomTags\) or to the directory in which you plan on using CF_Debug.

Using CF_Debug couldn't be easier. At any point in your template that you'd like to monitor the what the server is doing, simply insert the following code:

<CF_Debug>

Placing the <CF_Debug> command multiple times throughout your template will cause a seperate pop-up window to appear for each occurance of the tag. This will allow you to easily compare the values of your variables throughout the scripts execution.

NOTE: With the introduction of Allaire's ColdFusion v4 product line, they've included debugging tools built in to the ColdFusion Studio interface. This is also a useful debugging tool and is worth reading about.

Below is a listing of each attribute and an indepth description of what the attribute is.

ATTRIBUTE	DESCRIPTION
TURNON:	Specify a comma-delimited list of scopes to watch. For example, if you only care about the VARIABLES scope, addding the attribute TURNON="VARIABLES" will only monitor the VARIABLES scope. (Defaults to all scopes.)
VARIABLES:	Specify a comma-delimited list of variables in the VARIABLES scope to watch. This will check to see if the variable exists, if it does, the value will be displayed, otherwise the fact that it's undeclared is displayed. By default, CF_Debug reads in the contents of the calling script and parses out any variables being intialized via the <CFSET> tag.
COOKIE:	Specify a comma-delimited list of variables in the COOKIE scope to watch. This will check to see if the variable exists, if it does, the value will be displayed, otherwise the fact that it's undeclared is displayed.
APPLICATION:	Specify a comma-delimited list of variables in the APPLICATION scope to watch. This will check to see if the variable exists, if it does, the value will be displayed, otherwise the fact that it's undeclared is displayed. By default, CF_Debug will check to see if your using CF4 (or higher.) If you are, it will loop through the application structure pulling out the variables automatically.
SERVER:	Specify a comma-delimited list of variables in the SERVER scope to watch. This will check to see if the variable exists, if it does, the value will be displayed, otherwise the fact that it's undeclared is displayed.
SESSION:	Specify a comma-delimited list of variables in the SESSION scope to watch. This will check to see if the variable exists, if it does, the value will be displayed, otherwise the fact that it's undeclared is displayed. By default, CF_Debug will check to see if your using CF4 (or higher.) If you are, it will loop through the session structure pulling out the variables automatically.

• Try placing multiple instances of CF_Debug throughout your templates. A different window will be opened for each occurance. This is a great debugging tool.
• CF_Debug intializes a variable called "cfDebug.ExeTime". This variable is used to determine the time expired since the last time the variable was set. Use this variable to determine the processing time between lines of code. You can intialize the variable anywhere in your document to determine the total execution of certain lines of code, or CF_Debug does it automatically upon each call to the tag. If you're using CF v3, you can initialize the variable by calling <CFSET cfDebug.ExeTime = Now()>. If you're using CF v4 (or higher,) you can initialize the variable by calling <CFSET cfDebug.ExeTime = GetTickCount()>.

  NOTE: Due to limitations within ColdFusion v3, the execution time is limited to seconds. However, CF4 will produce the results to the milliseconds.

Listed below is the revision history for CF_Debug. Please make sure to read this thoroughly before replacing older version of CF_Debug.

v3.0
•	Change code to optimize it for ColdFusion v4.0 and take advantage of newer functions not available in older version of ColdFusion.
•	Now reports execution time in milliseconds (CF4 or higher only)
•	Automatically detects session variables (CF4 or higher only)
•	Automatically detects application variables (CF4 or higher only)
•	Fixed bug which incorrectly reported the version number of the current ColdFusion Application Server
•	Added extended comments throughout source code—which should make it easier to follow what's going on behind the scenes
•	Each pop-up window pops up in a cascading fashion
•	Fixed bug which caused automatic detection of CLIENT variables to throw an error
v2.0
•	Changed name from "CF_GetVariables" to "CF_Debug"
•	Complete re-write of original version
•	Added the ability to automatically read in variables set through the <CFSET> statement located in the calling template.
•	Added support for all valid ColdFusion default scopes.
v1.0
•	First public release. Released as "CF_GetVariables."

Contributers

The following people have made suggestions or contribution that have helped shape CF_Debug to the great tool it is today:
      • James Smith
      • Jonathan Doklovic

CF_Debug is not guarenteed to work with every server. I have taken every precaution to make sure that CF_Debug works with every version of ColdFusion (version 3+ and higher) on the NT platform.

Before using CF_Debug for the first time, be sure that you read the below agreement. Use of CF_Debug implies that you have read and agreed to the below statments.