tracker issue : CF-3370889

This is take from my blog: http://adamcameroncoldfusion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/proposal-for-coldfusion-express.html (where the formatting that was lost here makes it easier to read)

One of the topics mentioned was how unwieldy the ColdFusion install process is, [...]

[...]

    Before one can do anything, one needs to sign-up for an Adobe account. Not necessary. All they use if for is to send an email reminding me my trial will soon be over. This is a waste of time.  The Railo approach is to invite people to register, but it's not enforced: much better.
    Download. Yes, this is required ;-)
    Run an installer. I don't know that this ought to be required. Can the thing not be shipped in a ready-to-run sort of way?  Railo and OpenBD achieve this with their express installs. Surely ColdFusion can have a package like this too?
    OK, so we're installing. The first step is to decide whether it's a licensed version, trial or developer. Not necessary.  Assume developer.  The licence key can be added to CFAdmin later if necessary, which for a lot of installs will never be the case. And it's not needed to get up and running.
    On the next screen we select whether we want a server install (so something that is actually operational and usable), or an archive. Assume a full install. There can be a mechanism in CFAdmin for creating an archive (if it's not already achievable in the Instance Manager? I don't have CF10 in front of me to check).
    Then we select some subcomponents. I'm of two minds as to whether the default should install all of them or none of them. But either way the installer doesn't need to ask: just make a decision and do it. I think "none" is a good option as it creates less clutter, and none of these things are really needed. Again, provided there's a mechanism to install them later (which there should be anyway!) there's no problem with not installing them immediately.
    Secure profile?  Pah. Not necessary or helpful at the best of times, so this can default to "no". Or "no no no no NO" (which is what I think whenever I see it).
    Next... passwords. The passwords are unnecessary on a dev install (and most prod installs), so this step can be omitted. If it's deemed necessary to have a CFAdmin, RDS etc passwords, then just default it to something known. If one's concerned about security here, then simply restrict access to the password-protected components to only be accessible from localhost by default, and yer done. This is more secure than a password anyhow.
    There's no need to specify an install directory. It can simply be the directory the installer is run from, or just default to C:\ColdFusion10\ or the equivalent on *nix.
    The built-in web server is fine to start with. Other web servers can be connected to as is necessary later on. Having a UI to do this in CFAdmin rather than hunting around for WSConfig would be nice, too. Is there any reason why this cannot be done?
    Enable RDS by default. With no password.  Or don't enable it. I dunno... I never use it, do most people? Either way, make a decision and just do it.
    Enable automatic updates by default. Who would not want to do this? If the install is behind a firewall, then the update-checker simply won't work, and that's fine, and no different from giving the optionality.
    Once installation is under way, the installer seems to try to phone home. Or it does something that irritates my firewall anyhow. Whatever this is doing it's not necessary (I don't allow it, and my system has never been any worse for wear), so it should not be done.
    After the file install, one needs to "complete installation in CFAdmin" (or something like that). I've never understood this... why is this necessary? Surely it can all be done as part of the installation script? It should not be necessary anyhow.

[truncated because you only allow 4000chars here for some reason, the rest is on the blog]

----------------------------- Additional Watson Details -----------------------------

Watson Bug ID:	3370889

External Customer Info:
External Company:  
External Customer Name: Adam Cameron.
External Customer Email:  
External Test Config: My Hardware and Environment details:

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