Cannot locate component from cfinvoke statement

Question

I had some ColdFusion code handed to me due to someone leaving the company that I was tasked to maintain. The problem is the last time I looked at some ColdFusion code was around 10 years ago so I'm completely lost and I'm starting from scratch.

My issue is I'm trying to locate the component or code and whatever is being called in the code shown below.

<cfinvoke component="_admin_tools_kms" method="listKMSUsers" returnVariable="getKMSUsers">
    <cfinvokeargument name="argFullAccount" value="1" />
</cfinvoke>

I know this is returning a list of users for the system but I cannot locate the exact code making that call. Should that component name, "_admin_tools_kms", be the name of a cfm file somewhere or can that be just a reference name created somehow?

Answer 1

Let's break this down:

<cfinvoke 
    component="someComponent" 
    method="someFunction" 
    returnVariable="someVariable">
    <cfinvokeargument name="someArgument" value="foo" />
</cfinvoke>

The attribute component is either name of a file with a .cfc extension or a variable containing an instance of that component. If it was a variable, it would be referenced as #someComponent#.

If there's just a simple value in there, odds are there's a file named someComponent.cfc in the same folder.

If there's a dot-separated value in there, like cfc.services.someComponent,

• look for a folder at the web root named /cfc/ that contains another folder /services/ in which you'll find the file someComponent.cfc.
• If you don't see that folder, look for a ColdFusion mapping in the root Application.cfc file that creates the alias cfc and maps it to the folders you want.
• and if THAT's not there, then check your web server for folder aliases or mappings to see what the heck some psychopath did to hide where that code exists.

BUT, I prefer doing a simple text search for the method referenced instead of the component. That function could exist in another component or file than the one referenced.

Since a CFC can extend another CFC, there could be a parentComponent.cfc that someComponent extends which actually contains the method in question. Worse, the file someComponent.cfc could have other files included where one contains the method. The only downside is if the function is named something common like create.