Model-Glue 2.0: Unity Public Beta 1 is Available

Joe just released Unity Beta 1 to the public; this is your chance to jump into the hottest ColdFusion technology! It is really impressive and I would definitely consider using it for my future projects. Here's an extract from Joe's blog with what you can expect from this beta.

I'm proud to announce that I've applied the "Public Beta 1" label to revision 161 of Model-Glue:Unity. It is available for download at http://www.model-glue.com/downloads.cfm. This version introduces automatically generated Models, codeless data access, and scaffolding. It is still very easy to learn and use.

Documentation

The longest delay in releasing the framework publicly has been documentation. The XML and CFC APIs of the framework are now fully documented, the Quickstart has been rewritten, and a series of friendly "How-To" guides for common tasks are underway. The new, souped-up documentation is available at http://docs.model-glue.com/.

Keeping with tradition, they still start with "Don't Panic!" Seriously, don't. The new stuff is super easy to learn.

Bug Reporting

There is now an official site at which to report framework issues. Please report any and all problems to http://trac.model-glue.com - even installation issues. If something is hard, I want to hear about it. Model-Glue is the ColdFusion framework for everyday ColdFusion programmers, and it should be easy to use.

Upgrading

One goal of the beta is to insure that upgrades are seamless. You should be able to run an existing 1.x application without modification, simply by changing your Model-Glue mapping to the new version (or overwriting your old copy of Model-Glue).

However, I'm sure something is broken, somewhere - it's just that none of the alpha testers or myself are able to find it.

Naming

Up to this point, "Unity" has been the code name for "2.0," but the term has stuck. The term "Model-Glue:Unity" will refer to the 2.0 core that incorporates ColdSpring and native object-relational mapping capabilities.

Reactor

As is, Reactor is bundled with the download, and is the default Object Relational Mapping framework for Model-Glue:Unity. It is possible to support others, but would require creating a custom adapter, DataController, and scaffold .XSL files.

Next Steps

In between presenting (I have seven presentations in the next two weeks, four of them on Model-Glue:Unity), I'll be working on a new Model-Glue.com, finding bugs, and fixing them as soon as they pop up.