Did you know there’s a single page that summarizes the key changes across all updates to recent CF versions, one for each:  the release notes for CF2018 and the release notes  for CF2016? They sometimes offer code samples for changes, also. This is not to REPLACE the need to read the technote for each update, but to supplement those. Indeed, I share a bit more on keeping up on CF updates, below.

As some will know, CF tends to get updates every few months. Sometimes there are only (important) bug fixes or security updates, but sometimes there are changes, whether to the language, or to the versions supported for the OS, web servers, or database server, or perhaps updates to Tomcat, etc.

And while the details of such changes are indeed listed in the technote for each update, if you may want a quick overview of  the changes across all the updates, the release notes page for each CF version (above) can be helpful. That said, it is important for folks to read also each technote for any updates they are applying (or skipping), because the release notes does not always list EVERY change in a given update.

Finding all CF update technotes

The technote for each update is the real document of record for that update (though the release note info for that update may well add to it). Did you know you can also easily find a single page listing of all the updates for a given release, which includes a link for each update to its technote (and jar, if needed)? They are here:

• all the updates for CF2018
• all the updates for CF2016
• all the updates for CF11
• all the updates for CF10

Of course, currently only CF2018 and 2016 are still formally supported and still being updated, but I offer the links for CF11 and 10 for those who may somehow still be running those older releases.

You really should read each update’s technote

While we’re on the topic of updates, I’ll note that each update’s technote will offer still more detail, including a link to yet another page for that update if there are security updates (with more detail on that) or if there are bug fixes (to a page listing them, and each with more detail on those).

Sure, the technote for each update is also listed as a “read more” button in the CF Admin UI when viewing/installing an update, but I find that many people don’t notice or take the time to read them.

Don’t miss problems resolved by updates, maybe needing another step

I find that many problems people encounter or report in the community are in fact ones that have been solved by an update. Perhaps they have not applied it, and that’s all the more reason for me to point out the above, to help raise awareness.

But another issue is that sometimes a given update may indicate that another step is required AFTER the update. For instance, about every other couple of updates, there is a need to update the web server connector (the mechanism that connects CF to IIS or Apache). And to help with that, note that the bottom of each update technote (for CF2018 and 2016) also has a table indicating which updates called for an update of the web server connector. As for doing the update, it’s now as easy as clicking the “upgrade” button in the wsconfig UI (or use the equivalent at the command line).

Similarly, a recent CF2018 update called for a need to separately and manually update the PMT (performance monitoring toolset), as I have discussed elsewhere.

What if you apply an update and have trouble?

Finally, if you may apply one of the CF updates and THEN have a problem, I realize how disconcerting that can be. But check out my blog post on how to deal with that, which has nearly always gotten people past the problem.

I offer all this to help folks know about and take full advantage of the various CF updates.

For more blog content from Charlie Arehart, see his posts here as well as his posts at carehart.org. And follow him on Twitter and other social media as carehart.