Where to define environment based CF variables

[cfcoder]

I want to set some variables that differ for development environment vs production environment. I notice in the settings.cfm in /config, values for an environment use the set() function, but that just sets values into CFWheels configurations. I'm looking for a place to set global variables that are dependent on the environment I'm running in. I'd also like to know where to set global variables that don't have anything to do with the environment, like a lookup struct of values that don't change and I want them defined and accessible everywhere.

[bpamiri]

@cfcoder Bruce you can set those in the various config files. You can put any code you want in those files in addition to framework settings.

For instance put all common globals in the config > settings.cfm file or set environment based globals in each environment specific file like config > development > settings.cfm or config > production > settings.cfm.

[bpamiri]

That's correct since at the end of the day you are in a CFML environment. The exception to this is variables created in the controller are available to the corresponding view file.

This really depends on what you are trying to do. If you are trying to define lookup data that isn't in a database then a table-less model may work for you.

If you are trying to create some environmental settings that you want to keep out of the code base and source control you may be able to use a .env file.

It really depends on how you intend to use the data.

[cfcoder]

Thanks for your suggestions. Since my environmental need was for some auto-logout settings, session scope will work good. I have a session.cfc controller so I set the values in the session scope in that file, based on the get("environment") value.

[cfcoder]

@bpamiri Doesn't it work to set any shared variables in a controller's config() function? I tried it, but it doesn't seem to work. It's not clear what you can set in the config function of each controller and when it gets run.

[neokoenig]

The config() definition is cached, so if you set request.foo = 1 within config() directly, it will only be run once, when the controller is initialised (so only a ?reload=true / application restart will re-examine it).

What you can do is use a filter to setup things, which, whilst the config() function is cached, will get run.

i.e,

function config(){
  filters(through="setDefaults");
}

private function setDefaults(){
  // I will get executed on each request
  request.foo = 1;
}

[adamcameron]

session.cfc controller so I set the values in the session scope in that file

It's not the job of a controller to be doing stuff like this. A controller should simply be marshalling incoming request values, calling the model layer to do [whatever data processing is needed for the given request], and ensuring the view gets the data it needs. This sort of thing is the job of something in the model tier.

Stuff relating to sessions should be set in /events/onsessionstart.cfm
Env-specific values should be handled in /config/[env]/settings.cfm

In settings.cfm I would init an Environment model with whatever the values are, and when needing to do stuff like set a session variable with a value from that environment, fetch it back out from the Environment model (this fetch / assign being in onsessionstart.cfm).