ColdFusion Server

Because CFML is a server-side scripting language, ColdFusion Server must be installed on a Web server to provide support for ColdFusion applications. The ColdFusion development platform provides a dynamic application environment that is both powerful and easy to use.

ColdFusion Enterprise and Professional Servers

ColdFusion Enterprise and Professional edition Servers:

Deliver a high-performance and scalable architecture.
Integrate with new and legacy technologies.
Provide a foundation for building secure applications.

Note:

To learn about ColdFusion Enterprise and Professional editions, refer to the ColdFusion product pages.

ColdFusion Express Server

The ColdFusion Express Server is a pared down version of ColdFusion Server. It possesses the same engine as ColdFusion Server with fewer bells and whistles.

ColdFusion Express Server supports high performance and throughput through:

Database connection pooling
Just-in-time page compilation and caching

How ColdFusion Server works

Regardless of which ColdFusion Server you have installed, ColdFusion application pages are processed on the server at run-time - each time they are requested by a browser.

When any ColdFusion Server is installed on a Web server:

The Web server passes files to ColdFusion Server if a page request contains a ColdFusion file extension.
ColdFusion Server scans the page and processes all CFML tags.
ColdFusion Server then returns only HTML and other client-side technologies to the Web server and, in turn, the browser.