Reality ColdFusion : Intranets and Content Management
Section 3 : Human Resources
v1.1 : 03 September 2002
-----------------------------------------------------

This application is intended to be used as learning material in conjunction with the book
'Reality ColdFusion : Intranets and Content Management'.  This application is NOT recommended
for deployment on a public or insecure/open system.  No liability is accepted for any damage, data loss
or commercial or other impact by such installation.

Please make sure you read section 3 of the book and this readme file before you install the application!


System Requirements
-------------------
This application assumes an installation of ColdFusion MX Professional or Enterprise on the Windows
platform.  It might work on other platforms if you port the database to something other than Microsoft Access,
but it has not been tested in any other configuration.


Installation
------------
	* Unzip 'section3App.zip' directly into your webroot (probably 'C:\CFusionMX\wwwroot\' if you are using
		ColdFusion with the built-in web server on the Windows platform)
	* This will create a new directory 'cfcm' in your webroot
	* In the new 'cfcm' directory you will find all the files and components required for the application
	* Before you use the application, you need to:
		> Create a new datasource called 'forms' in the ColdFusion administrator, pointing to the Access
			database 'cfcm\assets\data.mdb'
		> Create a new custom tag path in the ColdFusion administrator, pointing to
			'C:\CFusionMX\wwwroot\cfcm\assets\'
	* Some parts of the application send email.  You may wish to set up a mail server for testing purposes
		and register it in the ColdFusion Administrator.  You may also wish to set up mail accounts on this
		mail server for the users (usernames/addresses) already provided in the users table in data.mdb


General Notes
-------------
Please remember that this application is designed to highlight certain aspects of developing ColdFusion
applications with ColdFusion MX.  In order to do so clearly, certain elements you would normally expect
in an application of this size and complexity have been excluded.  In particular, note the general lack of
error checking.  This is NOT intended to be an example of best practice coding; the application is intended to be
used in conjunction with section 3 of 'Reality ColdFusion : Intranets and Content Management' to help you
learn key aspects of ColdFusion MX development.


Using the application
---------------------
The best way to get used to the application is to follow the walkthrough given in Chapter 4 of Section 3
of 'Reality ColdFusion : Intranets and Content Management'.  If you really want to just dive in and play,
you need to know that:

	* There are 3 users already set up in the system.  Mark Williams (login as mark:mark) reports to
		Jean Deacon (jane:jane) reports to Sarah Devine (sarah:sarah) who reports to herself.  Sarah
		also happens to be in the purchasing department and so has extra privileges in the purchase
		order section
	* You can set additional users up if you want to by using the form provided at /utils/userCreate.cfm
	* Remember that this application was written for a fictitious BRITISH company -- that means that
		most currency things are in Pounds Sterling (GBP) and most dates are in European format, where the
		day comes before the month comes before the year (so 01/03/2002 is the 1st of March, NOT the 3rd
		of January).  Sorry if this is confusing or annoying; if it gets too annoying you can always change
		the code to suit you nationality! <g>


What to do if you get really stuck
----------------------------------
There are lots of good hints on the Macromedia web site in the designer/developer section
<http://www.macromedia.com/desdev/>
There is also lots of good information on Ben Forta's site <http://www.forta.com/>, including lots of links
to other ColdFusion resource sites.

If something in the application just plain doesn't work, you can let the author know at
<cfcm@ampersand-e.com>.  I won't guarantee a response, but I'll try to get back to you if I can.


Last but not least...
---------------------
I hope you enjoy using and learning from this application!


Andi Hindle
03 September 2002
Oxfordshire, UK