Adobe ColdFusion is essentially an application server, along with a software development framework used for building dynamic web sites. ColdFusion is a competing product to Microsoft ASP.NET or Java Enterprise Edition, and may also hence be considered a Framework.

ColdFusion, unlike Microsoft ASP.NET or Java, is a Rapid Application Development Framework, meaning that applications can be created in a much simpler manner using ColdFusion and effectively work can be done much faster.