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24 August 2006
When the Obvious is TOO Obvious: A lesson in Troubleshooting

Look at the following code and guess what the output would be:

<cfset strObj = createobject('component','com.makestring').init() />
<cfset newstring = strObj.getString() />
<cfoutput>#newstring#</cfoutput>

 

Oh, here's the cfc...

<CFCOMPONENT>
    <CFFUNCTION NAME="init" ACCESS="public" RETURNTYPE="makestring">
        <CFRETURN this>
    </CFFUNCTION>
    <CFFUNCTION
        NAME="getString"
        ACCESS="public"
        RETURNTYPE="string">
        <CFSET var thisString = "" />
        <CFSAVECONTENT
            VARIABLE="thisString">
            <ul>
                <li>list item 1</li>
                <li>list item 2</li>
                <li>list item 3</li>
            </ul>
        </CFSAVECONTENT>
        <CFRETURN thisString />
    </CFFUNCTION>
</CFCOMPONENT>

 

Choices:

  • A:[empty string]
  • B:
    • list item 1
    • list item 2
    • list item 3
  • C: depends

 

The correct answer is C, and what it depends on is whether or not somewhere else within your application a CFSETTING tag is lurking that has ENABLECFOUTPUTONLY set to 'Yes'. If this attribute is in effect, then your result will be A; if it's not, your result will be B.

The reason I felt the need to post on this is the fact that I spent a few hours yesterday developing a mild headache trying to figure out why my perfectly simple cfc was producing an empty string at one point within my app, but the correct string elsewhere. Through experimentation and noting that when I removed the CFSAVECONTENT tags everything worked as designed, I eventually concluded that I MUST have discovered a bug in the framework I was using, and so notified the keepers of the framework of all the details of my investigation and conclusion, along with code samples. They immediately (and nicely) informed me that more likely it was the fact that I had ENABLECFOUTPUTONLY enabled, and that I hadn't included CFOUTPUT tags within my CFC method. With egg still dripping from my face, I added the CFOUTPUT tags to my method and wouldn't ya know it...it worked.

I still haven't taken the time to find out where within this app the CFSETTING tag is being called, but two lessons gleaned here for me:

  1. Next time I feel excited at the prospect of having discovered a "bug", I'll think again (nobody wants the reputation of being The Boy Who Cried 'Bug!');
  2. Start troubleshooting from 10,000 feet instead of with a magnifying glass.



Posted by dougboude at 11:48 AM | PRINT THIS POST! |Link | 2 comments
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Re: When the Obvious is TOO Obvious: A lesson in Troubleshooting
Would using output="true" in you function make a difference in this instance?
Posted by doug s on September 20, 2006 at 9:18 AM

Re: When the Obvious is TOO Obvious: A lesson in Troubleshooting
I think you could consider this a bug to some degree. It seems a bit odd to me that applications settings would control output for components. What happens if you have a block-boxed component? I feel that it should have it's own settings.

Real world analogy:

You live in a house that has strict rules about adult content (ie. no magazines, no songs with bad lyrics, no adult televsion). But then you get a cable box with 600 channels. The televsion box doesn't automatically block adult content because it is contained within the house? No, it has to have a setting INSIDE of updated (ie. parental control).

Now, maybe that is a stetch of the imagination, to get that over to the world of ColdFusion, but it makes sense in my mind.
Posted by Ben Nadel on September 20, 2006 at 11:27 AM

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