An Into The Box 2026 Session for developers who've avoided frameworks since the Bush administration.
Still keeping a
utils.cfm alive in 2026?
If your routing strategy is
index.cfm?do=something&please=work, if your
"architecture" is best described as archaeological,
and if the word "framework" makes you reach for the door...
this session is for you.
I've been writing ColdFusion since 1999. I spent years as a
card-carrying ColdBox skeptic. I've shipped apps held together with
<cfinclude>, prayer, and a config block at the top
of Application.cfm that nobody is allowed to touch. And
then, somewhere along the way, I became a reformed ColdBox-hesitant developer.
This is the talk I wish someone had given me before I finally caved.
What this session is really about
Most "framework talks" pitch you a rewrite. This one doesn't. You don't have to burn your app down to build something better.
We're going to walk through:
- Why chaos is already a framework - every app has structure, the only question is whether it's intentional.
- What ColdBox actually gives you out of the box - WireBox, LogBox, CBSecurity, TestBox, cbValidation, CBWire — entire categories of code you never have to write again.
-
How to adopt it incrementally - coexistence with
your existing
.cfmfiles, route-by-route migration, the strangler pattern, and module isolation for new features. - Why CommandBox alone might change your workflow - even if you never adopt ColdBox itself.
- A practical playbook - both the technical strategy (start with routing, add WireBox for one service, build the next feature as a module) and the team strategy (don't announce a "migration"… just improve).
What this session is not
- ❌ Not a rewrite mandate
- ❌ Not a rigid cage
- ❌ Not all-or-nothing
- ❌ Not a magic wand
ColdBox is a power tool. You still have to use it well. But it won't judge your legacy code. (I might. ColdBox won't.)
The rebel's payoff
More control over your codebase, not less. Cleaner code that doesn't require archaeology to understand. New devs shipping in days instead of months. Fewer 2 AM surprises. A codebase the next developer doesn't cry over.
ColdBox doesn't ask you to stop being a rebel. It just gives you better tools to rebel with.
Come for the war stories
Bring your migration fears, your "but our app is different" objections, and your favorite legacy horror stories. Q&A is open season - war stories welcome, experimentation encouraged.
If you hate it, you've lost an hour. If you don't… welcome to the rebellion.
See you at Into The Box 2026.
