Using component packages

Components stored in the same directory are members of a component package. Component packages help prevent naming conflicts, and facilitate easy component deployment; for example:

• ColdFusion searches the current directory first for a CFC. If you put two components in a single directory as a package, and one component refers to the other with only the component name, not a qualified path, ColdFusion always searches the package directory first for the component. As a result, if you structure each application's components into a package, your applications can use the same component names without sharing the component code.
• If you use the access="package" attribute in a method's cffunction tag, access to the method is limited to components in the same package. Components in other packages cannot use this method, even if they specify it with a fully qualified component name. For more information on access security, see Using access security.

To invoke a packaged component method using the cfinvoke tag:

1. In your web root directory, create a directory named appResources.
2. In the appResources directory, create a directory named components.
3. Copy the tellTime2.cfc file you created in Invoking methods of a CFC instance and the getUTCTime.cfm file that you created in Putting executable code in a separate file to the components directory.
4. Create the timeDisplay.cfm file with the following content and save it in your web root directory:

   <!--- Create the component instance. --->
   <cfobject component="appResources.components.tellTime2" name="tellTimeObj">
   <!--- Invoke the methods. --->
   <cfinvoke component="#tellTimeObj#" method="getLocalTime"
   	returnvariable="localTime" >
   <cfinvoke component="#tellTimeObj#" method="getUTCTime"
   	returnvariable="UTCTime" >
   <!--- Display the results. --->
   <h3>Time Display Page</h3>
   <cfoutput>
   	Server's Local Time: #localTime#<br>
   	Calculated UTC Time: #UTCTime#
   </cfoutput>
   

   You use dot syntax to navigate directory structures. Place the directory name before the component name.

5. Browse the timeDisplay.cfm file in your browser.

The following example shows a CFScript invocation:

<cfscript>
helloCFC = createObject("component", "appResources.components.catQuery");
helloCFC.getSaleItems();
</cfscript>

The following example shows a URL invocation:

http://localhost/appResources/components/catQuery.cfc?method=getSalesItems

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