Question

In a ColdFusion Component (CFC), is it necessary to use fully qualified names for variables-scoped variables?

Am I going to get myself into trouble if I change this:

<cfcomponent>     <cfset variables.foo = 'a private instance variable'>      <cffunction name = 'doSomething'>         <cfset var bar = 'a function local variable'>         <cfreturn 'I have #variables.foo# and #bar#.'>     </cffunction> </cfcomponent> 

to this?

<cfcomponent>     <cfset foo = 'a private instance variable'>      <cffunction name = 'doSomething'>         <cfset var bar = 'a function local variable'>         <cfreturn 'I have #foo# and #bar#.'>     </cffunction> </cfcomponent> 

Answer 1

It won’t matter to specify ‘variables’ when you create the variable, because foo will be placed in the variables scope by default; but it will matter when you access the variable.

<cfcomponent>     <cfset foo = 'a private instance variable'>      <cffunction name='doSomething'>         <cfargument name='foo' required='yes'/>         <cfset var bar = 'a function local variable'>         <cfreturn 'I have #foo# and #bar#.'>     </cffunction>      <cffunction name='doAnotherThing'>         <cfargument name='foo' required='yes'/>         <cfset var bar = 'a function local variable'>         <cfreturn 'I have #variables.foo# and #bar#.'>     </cffunction>  </cfcomponent> 

doSomething(‘args’) returns ‘I have args and a function local variable‘

doAnotherThing(‘args’) returns ‘I have a private instance of a variable and a function local variable.’