OK, time to take some time, and reply in public...  [My God, he speaks! <g>]

I didn't see the original post on this thread as I am in Index mode these
days, so if this reply is a little "off the mark" - please forgive,
otherwise, please allow me to expound on Sunday's seminar...

The seminar on Sunday was one day - which could have easily stretched into a
full week if we included every other technology out there.

The reason we focused on Apache (and COBOL CGI, for which some source was
provided, and the full source is to be posted shortly), Cold Fusion and
Active Server Pages - is because these are the areas that many HPe3000 seem
to be going.  If using CF or ASP, then they're going to be using ODBC.
Getting into the alphabet soup would have complicated things to an audience
that for the most part (there were some exceptions, the minority), were not
ready for this yet.

To clear something else up - which came to me privately:  We DID use CF
"Studio" to develop HTML, and in some cases (when talking about CF), CFML.
We also brought up Visual Interdev - didn't use it because to do so would
have really confused people.  The intention here, as explained in the
seminar, was that one could use NOTEPAD on their Windows workstation if they
so desired, but that many designers are using Interactive Development
Environments (IDEs) for their development work as it makes quick work out of
a process that can be tedious.  My choice of IDE is CF Studio, even if
writing pure HTML.  A list of other alternatives was given as well - but we
couldn't have them all running on this laptop.

One tries to do the best they can in the time allocated.  I always take an
initial poll to find out just where the audience is.  This audience was an
HPe3000 audience, and not too many people had an HTML background, let alone
a CFML or ASP background.  We had to start with the basics, and explain why
certain technologies are used.  When one has an audience that is "all over
the map" from a technology base, some are going to be bored in the
beginning, some will be paying attention.  Most people were paying
attention - because they needed the basics.  We got as far as JavaScript -
but Java Servlets or Applets -- would definately have muddied the waters.

(Additional reading material was suggested)

As Michael said (for himself and I would presume EDIT), our preferred method
of constructing projects from scratch is CF.  It does not mean that we
haven't assisted people with Apache implementations with COBOL (especially
existing COBOL programs that can be retooled for the web as CGI programs).
We've also handled some ASP, although it's not our preferred method.  As
also pointed out by Michael, constructing data-driven sites from scratch is
much faster and easier with CF than with any other tool out there, including
the stuff from Microsoft.  If there's a fast deadline, we will go with no
other in most cases - we will walk away from a project as it has virtually
no chance to suceed.

No, CF does not run on an HPe3000 - it does run on HP-UX, but getting to
Image/SQL or Allbase data would be a little difficult (but not impossible).
It also runs on NT (by far, the easiest installation) as well as Solaris.

In Summary:  I tried to balance both Apache and IIS/CF - IIS/ASP as much as
possible.  Yes, I used my IDE of choice (CF Studio), which as stated before,
can be used for all sorts of projects, and one does not need CF Server to
use it.  It's companion "HTML Only" - HomeSite - looks just like it, without
the CFML extensions - I could have used that too.  Overall though, I tried
to balance the various technologies available, without confusing the hell
out of everyone with the "alphabet soup" that's out there.

I hope that this clears up some things.... and now I guess I should get back
into regular mail or at least digest mode, so I can read the "fan mail" that
will undoubtedly come through.  :-)

Regards,
Joe

PS:  It was great to see everyone in Philly and hope that you had a great
time here.  If you did not have a chance to have a "real Philly Soft
Pretzel" (the one in the convention center were NOT "real" -- you go to the
street vendors for real ones) or a genuine Philly Cheesesteak - you missed
some real treats.  Noticed that Tastykakes were being scarfed down a lot
too - if you have not yet left Philly - go to the nearest 7-11 or "Wawa" (a
convienience store, who is headquartered in Wawa, PA - in BSEPA) and get a
box to take home!