AI-Assisted ColdFusion Code Migration

Why AI for Code Migration?

Traditional code migration relies on manual code review, Adobe's Code Analyzer, and extensive testing. While these remain essential, AI augments the process by:

• Speed: Analyze thousands of files in minutes instead of weeks
• Comprehensiveness: Identify issues human reviewers might miss across large codebases
• Context Awareness: Understand code patterns and suggest context-appropriate fixes
• Learning: Adapt to your specific coding patterns and conventions
• Documentation: Generate migration guides specific to your codebase

Traditional vs AI-Augmented Migration Workflow

Traditional Approach

1. Run Adobe Code Analyzer (identifies ~60% of issues)
2. Manually review 100% of code for deprecated functions
3. Search documentation for each deprecated function
4. Manually identify custom tags and UDFs that need updates
5. Create spreadsheet of all required changes
6. Manually fix each issue
7. Test extensively

Timeline: 6-12 months for medium-sized applications

AI-Augmented Approach

1. Run Adobe Code Analyzer for baseline
2. AI scans entire codebase in parallel (identifies ~90% of issues)
3. AI generates detailed migration report with specific line numbers
4. AI suggests modern alternatives for deprecated functions
5. AI identifies security vulnerabilities introduced in older versions
6. AI generates code diffs for review
7. Manual review and approval of AI suggestions
8. Automated testing with AI-generated test cases

Timeline: 2-4 months for medium-sized applications (50-70% time reduction)

AI Migration Workflow: Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Initial Analysis

Step 1: Inventory Your Codebase

Use AI to generate a comprehensive inventory:

Step 2: Compatibility Scan

AI analyzes code for version-specific issues:

# Example: Scanning for CF 11 to CF 2025 issues
# Share sanitized code snippets with AI

Prompt: "This ColdFusion code was written for CF 11.
Identify all functions, tags, and features that are deprecated
or changed in ColdFusion 2025. For each issue, provide:
- Line number
- Current code
- Why it's problematic
- Recommended replacement
- Estimated effort (low/medium/high)

Code:
[paste file content]"

Step 3: Security Vulnerability Scan

Older CF code often has security issues that modern versions can fix:

Phase 2: Modernization Opportunities

Convert CFScript to Modern Syntax

AI can modernize tag-based code to cfscript:

Prompt: "Convert this tag-based ColdFusion code to modern
cfscript syntax for ColdFusion 2025. Maintain exact functionality
but use modern patterns like implicit getters/setters, arrow functions
where appropriate, and null-safe operators.

<cffunction name="getUser" returntype="struct">
  <cfargument name="userID" type="numeric" required="true">
  <cfquery name="qUser" datasource="#dsn#">
    SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = <cfqueryparam value="#arguments.userID#" cfsqltype="cf_sql_integer">
  </cfquery>
  <cfreturn queryGetRow(qUser, 1)>
</cffunction>"

Identify Refactoring Opportunities

Prompt: "Analyze this ColdFusion component for code smells and
refactoring opportunities:
- Functions longer than 50 lines
- Duplicate code blocks
- Hard-coded configuration
- Missing error handling
- Performance anti-patterns
- Opportunities to use modern CF 2025 features

[paste component code]"

Phase 3: Automated Code Generation

Generate Test Cases

AI creates comprehensive test coverage:

Prompt: "Generate TestBox test cases for this ColdFusion component.
Include:
- Happy path tests
- Edge case tests
- Error condition tests
- Mock external dependencies
- Test data setup/teardown

Component code:
[paste component]"

Generate Migration Documentation

Prompt: "Create a migration guide document for upgrading
this application from CF 11 to CF 2025. Include:
- Summary of changes required
- Risk assessment for each change
- Recommended migration order
- Testing strategy
- Rollback procedures

Based on this analysis:
[paste AI analysis results]"

Local AI Setup for Code Migration

Code migration requires analyzing proprietary business logic. You must use local AI models to keep code secure.

Recommended Local Models

# Install via Ollama
ollama pull deepseek-coder:33b

# Use for migration analysis
ollama run deepseek-coder:33b

# Or use smaller version for faster analysis
ollama pull deepseek-coder:6.7b

# Install via Ollama
ollama pull codellama:13b-code

# Good for code generation and completion
ollama run codellama:13b-code

IDE Integration

Integrate local AI into your development workflow:

# Install Continue.dev extension in VS Code
# Configure to use local Ollama

# .continuerc.json configuration:
{
  "models": [{
    "title": "DeepSeek Coder",
    "provider": "ollama",
    "model": "deepseek-coder:33b",
    "contextLength": 16384
  }],
  "slashCommands": [
    {
      "name": "migrate",
      "description": "Analyze code for CF migration",
      "prompt": "Analyze this for ColdFusion 2025 migration issues"
    }
  ]
}

Specific Migration Scenarios

CF 11 → CF 2025 Migration

Common issues AI can identify:

• Deprecated tags: <cfobjectcache>, <cfservlet>, <cfajaximport>
• Removed functions: GetK2ServerDocCount(), GetK2ServerDocCountLimit()
• Security changes: Session fixation protection, secure cookies
• JVM changes: Java 8 → Java 17 compatibility
• Syntax modernization: elvis operator, null-safe navigation, member functions

Monolith → Microservices

AI helps identify service boundaries:

Prompt: "Analyze this ColdFusion monolith and suggest microservice
boundaries based on:
- Business capability boundaries
- Data ownership patterns
- Change frequency
- Team organization
- Deployment independence needs

For each suggested service:
- List included components
- Identify dependencies on other services
- Suggest API contracts
- Flag circular dependencies

Application structure:
[paste directory tree and component relationships]"

Windows → Linux Migration

Platform-specific issues AI can catch:

• Case-sensitive file paths
• Backslash vs forward slash in paths
• Line ending differences (CRLF vs LF)
• COM object usage (won't work on Linux)
• Windows-specific registry access
• File permission differences

AI Migration Best Practices

Code Sanitization for AI Analysis

Even with local AI, practice good security hygiene:

• Remove credentials: Replace database passwords, API keys with placeholders
• Anonymize data: Replace customer names, emails with generic values
• Abstract business logic: Replace proprietary algorithm names with generic descriptions
• Keep structure: Maintain code structure and patterns for accurate analysis

Validation Process

Never blindly accept AI suggestions:

1. Review every change: AI can make mistakes or miss context
2. Test extensively: Run full test suite after each AI-suggested change
3. Compare with Adobe docs: Verify AI suggestions against official documentation
4. Use Adobe Code Analyzer: Run after AI changes to catch any new issues
5. Peer review: Have experienced developers review AI-generated code

Iterative Approach

Break migration into manageable chunks:

• Migrate one component/module at a time
• Use AI to analyze → Generate fixes → Test → Validate → Commit
• Build confidence with small, low-risk changes first
• Create rollback points after each successful iteration
• Document learnings to improve AI prompts for next iteration

Advanced AI Migration Techniques

Custom AI Training (Advanced)

For large migrations, consider fine-tuning models on your codebase:

• Train model on your coding conventions
• Include your custom tag library patterns
• Teach model your application-specific patterns
• Requires ML expertise but can improve accuracy significantly

Automated Testing Generation

Use AI to create comprehensive test coverage before migration:

Prompt: "Generate comprehensive TestBox tests for this component
that will validate behavior remains identical after migration. Include:
- Tests for all public methods
- Tests for all edge cases
- Tests for error conditions
- Integration tests for database calls
- Performance benchmarks to compare pre/post migration

Component: [paste component code]"

Dependency Graph Generation

Prompt: "Analyze this ColdFusion application and create a dependency
graph showing:
- Which components depend on which others
- Circular dependencies (these need fixing)
- External library dependencies
- Database table dependencies
- Suggested migration order (least dependent first)

Application structure:
[paste directory tree and createObject/new statements]"