| | Storage Analysis |
| Scope | Original Source | Where Stored Between Requests | Where Stored At Runtime |
| Server | CF Server/CFML | Shared Memory | Shared Memory |
| Application | CFML | Shared Memory | Shared Memory |
| Session | CFML | Shared Memory | Shared Memory |
| Client | CFML | DB or Registry | Request Memory |
| Cookie | CFML/HTTP Header | Browser | Request Memory |
| Request | CFML | (Source) | Request Memory |
| Variables | CFML | (Source) | Module Memory |
| Attributes | CFML | (Source) | Module Memory |
| Caller | CFML | (Source) | Module Memory |
| Form | HTML/HTTP Request | (Source) | Request Memory |
| URL | HTML/HTTP Request | (Source) | Request Memory |
| CGI | Web Server | (Source) | Request Memory |
| | Characteristics |
| Scope | Shared Memory (Lock!) | Persistant Across Requests | Available In CFMODULE | Can Handle Complex Data | Read Only | Available Across Cluster |
| Server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | |
| Application | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | |
| Session | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | |
| Client | | Yes | Yes | | | Yes |
| Cookie | | Yes | Yes | | | Yes |
| Request | | | Yes | Yes | | Yes |
| Variables | | | | Yes | | Yes |
| Attributes | | | | Yes | | Yes |
| Caller | | | | Yes | | Yes |
| Form | | | Yes | | <4.5 | Yes |
| URL | | | Yes | | <4.5 | Yes |
| CGI | | | Yes | | Yes | Yes |
* Inside <CFMODULE>, the parent template's VARIABLES variables can be accessed with the CALLER scope. It is intended to be used as a method for reading and setting local variables in the parent template directly from inside the <CFMODULE>. While it is not commonly used as a local scope, it truly is a local scope, since it is a COPY of the parent template VARIABLES scope. CALLER variables get copied back to the parent template VARIABLES when the <CFMODULE> call ends, and then die.