I've been using Java for the last eight years, that's what has been paying the bills. Most of this has been server side, moving data between application and database, sending email, validating form submissions. I've seen frameworks come and go. I even remember reading about the release of ColdFusion for the JVM a few years ago. I meant to give it a look, I have seen some nice sites done using the application server.
About four months ago I changed jobs and found myself responsible for a site built almost exclusively in ColdFusion. It was written by a man that wasn't trained as a developer, but runs remarkably well. I've been factoring the site over the last few months, separating the display from all of the database interaction. I really appreciate this application server. I have moved some logic to stored procedures where it made sense, but for that layer that sits between the user interface and the data store, this really simplifies the developer's life. Java, ColdFusion, SQL Stored Procedure and HTML code can peacefully coexist in this environment.
The original intent of building data driven web applications is still preserved in the current server (I'm using MX 7, looking toward updating to MX 8). With all of the other features it's a really compelling way to develop a website.
