ColdFusion 10 is the new application server offering from Adobe. There's rumours circulating that the product code named "Zeus" is due for release in the Autumn of 2011, although that is yet to be confirmed by Adobe.
So what's new in CF10 and what can we expect?
From the RIACON conference earlier in the year, it seems like some of the important enchancements and features were mentioned. Some of the major points include:
Apache Tomcat - This is something that has been bugging CF developers for years and now Adobe have finally listened! Goodbye and bon voyage to JRUN. The legacy Java engine used by the ColdFusion installer is to be replaced with Apache Tomcat. This is a great imporvement and will definitely be received well in the ColdFusion community. With Tomcat as the underlying Java engine, we may see ColdFusion increase in popularity due to it's support from the Java community. There are also great imporvements to the clustering and mult instance tools.
Scheduled Tasks - The administrator and management has been rebuilt. Improvements include granular controllers such as: ranges, conditionals, triggers and chaining, priority, grouping, and much more! Scheduled tasks can also be application specific.
Solr - In CF10 Solr is the only search engine available. Gone is the old Verity search engine and it's limitations.
Dynamic Java Class Loading - This will allow you to add and utilise java classes quickly and to specific applications without restarting ColdFusion application servers.
Web Services - Now web services in ColdFusion 10 support Apache Axis2. This includes full REST support. Unlike the Java version of Axis, the Adobe team have managed to get Axis2.0 and Axis running side by side for backwards compatability.
Security - Security has been totally overhauled by the new Adobe security team. No longer will youhave to go to the Adobe website for updates, but updates can be installed from within the application server, across a whole cluster!
With Adobe MAX 2011 in Los Angeles around the corner, it will be interesting to see any new developments on "Zeus" or to see whether an official release date will be announced.
UPDATE: Looks like the BETA of Zeus has now been released. Found a posting all about it on Rick Smith's blog.