The Xpage guy

A sticky GUI mess

2010-11-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a project at the moment, migrating a large Domino customer from AIX to Linux. While I won't bore you with gritty details, I will say that I am actually *really* enjoying the switch from the usual wintel deployments to Linux.

Now, like most self-confessed geeks - I'm a hard-core Linux user (*disclaimer - hardcore and Linux may also be referreed to as casual and with Ubuntu -- well its so easy isnt it?), I often compile my own Kernel (errrm... booting from the Live CD is kinda compiling... isnt it?), and generally revel in the power that comes from a weilding a black console and blinking cursor as if i'd just executed the Zerg Rush manouvre in the original version of Star Craft . However beneath my newfound, self-professed l33t status - there's really is only one reason why I was able to feel so at home (n00b) on a new O/S. The GUI.

For those not in the know, most Liunx distro's use either KDE or Gnome to handle the GUI portion of the O/S, with some distro's like Ubuntu having done such a good job of implementing the GUI, that even the most basic of Windows users (Hi Mum) are able to get around, surf the net and use word processing with no training what-so-ever.

Which brings me to the point of my post.

Before I started this project, I hadnt realised that as an IT professional, with some 10 years in the industry - just *how* GUI-dependant I was. I mean, im more than happy to splash out to a console in Windows for the standard ping, netstat amd the occasional nslookup. And even on my home Ubuntu install, was more than cool with sudo'ing to change passwords for users in the system. However, the client I am currently working for has chosen not use a GUI with the RedHat install for Domino - leaving me to need brush up rather quickly on my console skills. Which remarkably, happened in the space of 2-3 days. I now, *feel* i know enough to impress (and scare) most windows engineers into thinking I am Linus Torvalds (well almost).

So, given my new found respect for the console, and the power that comes with it -- a little humour for you all below.

Also, stay tuned for a 3 part install guide to getting Domino up and running on Redhat.

Looking for Domino Developers in Sydney Australia

2010-11-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

My company is looking for new Senior Domino Developer to join our team in Sydney. We have tonnes of work in the pipeline and looking for new blood to help us deliver it.

"Officially", were looking for:

Application development in Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5;
Administration of Domino 8.5 and associated technologies such as Sametime, Quickr and Traveler;
Highly skilled in Notes Formula, LotusScript, JavaScript, HTML, XML and CSS;
Experience with XPages and Web 2.0 principles;
Perform business analysis and requirements gathering;
Conduct workshops and other customer facing engagements;
Understanding of the software development lifecycle and project management framework;
A minimum of seven years Lotus Notes / Domino development and administration experience.

However id say that if you're keen to learn and use Xpages and have some Domino Web development - get in touch with me! Id be keen to have a chat with you.

:)

The move towards Server-Side JavaScript

2010-09-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

With the advent of Server Side Javascript in Domino 8, a whole raft of new development toys was given us long-sufferring Domino developer. We can now do things like use Java classes directly in Server Side JavaScript, create and use Managed Beans and create rich web UI's thanks to dojo.

So it seems that Domino is not the only platform getting jiggy with the server-side movement. This post follows the momentum that seems to be gathering towards Server-Side development general, allowing developers to quickly string (pun intended) together loosely defined applications that run entirely on SSJS.

An interesting read.

2 shiny new certifications - Connections, and Domino 8.5

2010-08-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is post is a tad self-indulgent, so please bear with me. This month I passed not one, but two new IBM certs! *pats self on back*. They are:

The selection and difficulty of the questions asked in the 8.5 update exam were fairly reasonable, with the notable the exception of the questions on composite apps. (Side note: I cant help but wonder if composite apps are the NSFDB2 of the development world). If you've been using Xpages for a few projects, and you're pretty confident about the "terms" and "wording" used (ie. "Controls Pallete") then you should be fine. One issue I did find was one question that had the same answer listed twice in the radio options! I even called one of the exam-center staff to make sure i was suffering from exam nerves!

So that now makes me an IBM Certified Advanced Application Developer. Shame that title doesn't fit well onto business cards.

If you're looking to get certified, check out the IBM certification paths page.

Alistair Rennie Executive Breakfast in Sydney

2010-08-12T01:25:00.001-07:00

Industry events. You either love them, or you hate them.

We get all get invited to them. Some of us go, some of go to some lengths not to go. So imagine my *excitement* when i was invited to hear Alistair Rennie (General Manager of Lotus® Software and WebSphere® Portal), give his Executive Breakfast presentation in Sydney on Advanced Collaboration and Exceptional Web Experiences.

*cough*.

My mouth dried up too.

However, they _were_ offering a free breakfast, and it _was_ at the Ivy. Pro's and Con's weighed, I decide to attend. So after braving the chilly conditions here in Sydney this morning, I rocked up to the George Street venue and once I was over the usual "are you sure you registered" debacle - I was pleasantly rewarded with fresh coffee, a hot breakfast -- and wait for it.... a really great presentation!

Introduced by Matt Tredinnick, Alistair moved quickly into outlining the collaborative vision that IBM has been pulling together for some time now (after recounting the unexpected landing in Noumea his A380 made on the way to Sydney). As he paints it, IBM are seeing that world of email isn't really going to go away, but that something *does* need to change. People need to be able to work more in context of what they are doing, but to be able to do that from within a single platform. As Alistair pointed out, Gartner last year recommended that email needs some kind of plug-in architecture for it to continue to be successful. IBM sees Notes with its new open archiecture as the vehicle to drive that change. He also discussed Project Northstar, an IBM initiative focused on delivering exception web experiences to your customers. Remarking on a recent study done by IBM that more the time your customer spent on your site the more "engaged" with you they become. However, this can often be a double edged sword - as customer spending too long on a site can mean theyre not finding what that need - and actually create a "negative" customer experience. Northstar aims to help you change that experience.

A key factor in driving that change is of course telecommunication, and IBM's newly released Sametime Unified Telephony aims to provide businesses with real-time telephony control and integration based on your personal online presence. Youve probably heard this before, but being able to intelligently divert your calls to voice mail through using routing rules is pretty cool, but with its integration into the Notes client, its made even cooler by its ability to do so by automatically checking your Notes Calendar to see where you are right now. It seems you can even selectively divert or manage calls based on caller id etc - handy for when your boss calls as was suggested by one of the IBM Staffers. The demo we saw of SUT definitely delivers on the "Unified Telephony" moniker, showcasing the ability to be able to hold a three way phone conference right from your desktop (Notes and Sametime), and then seamlessly transfer your participation in the call from your desk phone at work to your mobile phone. Impressive stuff! A feat that most current PABX systems would require some "tinkering" to facilitate.

After SUT, Lotus Connections 3.0 was brought out from the workshop and taken for a spin. Sporting a new landing page, and redesigned navigation menus, it seems that some work has gone into simplifying and helping you manage your personal networks within the product. The ability to now "follow" someone in Connections seems to be a new and useful feature, along with the ability see who's following you. IBM have recently rolled out version 3.0 to its Lotus green house site.

Despite Google officially pulling the plug on Google Wave, IBM have been quietly developing an application that allows you to co-author documents in real-time under the banner of Project Concord. You could for example, assign the introduction paragraph to Joe from Marketing, the second paragraph to HR and sit back and watch as both quite happy edit, and make changes to their respective areas. IBM have even though to include little "business card-like" icons at the footer of the screen so you can see who else is editing the document right. All up, Concord seems quite user-focused, with a very clean crisp user-interface. Definitely a project to keep an eye on

Moving into the "r-next" arena, Alistair segued from the impressive social analytics engine sitting behind Connections, to IBMs project Vulcan - the "next collaboration client" . In a nutshell, Project Vulcan aims bring together a bunch of feeds from many differents sources, and organise them into some semblance of order - allowing you to performs tasks that you would otherwise need to "switch" contexts for. The example was given, of being to move *that* email thread thats been going on for too long, out of your inbox and into the public arena by simply draggin-and-dropping. You could then invite other people to collaborate with on that thread -- and hopefully put it to rest. He also showed Vulcans capabilities a super file/document/information viewer, displaying Status updates from Connections, information from email attachments, and even PowerPoint Presntations all being being rendered inline, one screen -- kind of like a huge "status" update thread on Facebook. Also demod was the role that the analytics component plays, with Vulcan being smart enough to know that if you're creating a meeting invite as a response to an email about "Project A" - then you'll most likely be wanting to include the people working on "Project A" in the meeting, and so will pre-fill or suggest most of the information for you. Nice. Apparently Vulcan APIs are due out toward the end of this year - so watch out for these.

All up, IBM seem to have really "understood" the benefit of working socially and really have some first class tools in the pipeline. Whether or not it can translate this into actual business adoption is another thing entirely. However the future does looks bright Alistairs point of view. Especially from the tarmac in Noumea.

If you get the chance to attend the seminar, go along. Its worth a look.

What makes a real developer?

2010-07-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

I recently had a meeting with another business partner, where the topic of what makes a "real notes developer" was discussed. The conversation went like this.

Partner: Notes development has changed alot and moved forward

Me: Yes theres alot of new tools to play with

Partner: Well, you're not a real developer unless you can program in Java

Me: *cough*. Errm, I'd like to point out that I don't program in Java

Partner: *silence*

Awkward much? While there have been situations that have seen me implement someone elses Java code - I've actually never written my own from scratch. Combinations of LotusScripts, COM and now JavaScript have gotten me through so far.

But it got me thinking. What makes a "real notes developer"? Are there are any set of skills that together make a "good" notes developer? Or is the delivery of a great end product the mark of someone truly good. Its my feeling however that the R.A.D. architecture and multiple programming language support (@Formula, LotusScript, Java, JavaScript) that there is no "one" type of real notes developer?

This segues nicely to Peter Presnells post on "real notes programmers". The first line reads:

"Real Notes Programmers... don't program with java. If God had wanted us to program in java he never would have given us @formula and LotusScript."

What do you think?

Getting social

2010-07-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'm spending more and more time espousing the benefits of social software to both my colleagues and clients. To me, working socially just makes sense. I am always online, I have push messages from Facebook sent to my iPhone, my IM know where I am and updates my status' according. I now hardly check my email. To me -- email is a bit redundant. Why spend hours inside a single communication medium, worst of all one in which all your hard work is locked up tightly in a only other to get the benefit of your knowledge if you communication with them directly? For me -- its such a time waster.

Whether you use facebook, twitter, read blogs, or run your own website -- you cant escape the immediacy that comes with having done some form of communication within a social context. So then, imagine how much faster and more effectively you could get your work done using a social networking tool? The times they-are-a-changing, check out this video called Social Revolution 2010 - if you're not working socially, it's time you started.

Got a speeding fine? Try an SQL injection....

2010-03-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

A driver from Europe is hoping an "SQL Injection License Plate" will foil the traffic cameras in his home town. Who knows if this little bit of database wizardry would actually cause the traffic camera's picture-parsing computer to drop a table? Even if it doesn't it's covered up his actual license plate.

From Gizmodo

Friday Funny: In a galaxy far, far away......

2010-03-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

So the postings have been few and far between of late, thanks mainly to a hectic project schedule at work. I plan on using some upcoming free time to post a series of new articles Ive been working on born from a recent project. Heres a teaser - Binding Xpage Data Table to SQL (or other non-domino) data sources. Its amazes me how flexible Xpage can be the deeper I delve into them.

In th meantime, let me show you a post i found today that has provided me (and the boys in the office) with some light relief. I'm probably waaaay behind the eight-ball here but Ascii art Star Wars is a winner in my book.

May the distraction be with with you.

Watch fully animated Star Wars in command prompt, just follow the simple steps:

Press Windows Key + R to launch Run window (or Goto Start > Run).
Type cmd and press enter.
Type - telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl and press enter. (or Copy and Paste in command prompt)
Enjoy !

Wire frames and mockups

2010-02-14T17:07:00.000-08:00

For a while now, Ive been using a tool called Balsamiq Mockups. Its an Adobe RIA, and allows you to quickly and simply create visual mockups of almost any web/mobile application. It even features user-contributed "extensions", that provide you with even more UI's from which to base your design. No point in starting scratch methinks.

I recently used Balsmiq for an XPages app and created a base mockups using the IBM's oneui theme. To that end, I've posted an Xpage mockup at mockupstogo (the online user-contrubutions site for Balsamiq) for you to download and use in the Balsamiq tool. For those of you that dont have a license to use to full tool, you can still try the demo version online, and import the mockup into the demo. Simply, launch the demo online (click try it now from the home page) , then go the Mockup Menu, choose Import Mockup, and then paste the contents of the text/xml file below into the dialog box. Enjoy!

You can download the XML file to import here.

Augmented reality

2010-02-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

This short video excites me over the possibilities of whats to come. There are already slew of augmented reaity iPhone apps to help you measure distances, find your car in a car park, even one to help you manage your office relationships.

Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.

Creating documents in Xpages without a Notes Form

2010-01-25T04:27:00.000-08:00

While researching for an up-coming project that uses Xpages, I came across this article posted on the IBM developerworks site. My first reaction was that the post was an Xpages intro piece aimed squarely at IBM's expectant hordes given that the Designer client had been recently made free. However after reading through the first few paragraphs - I came across a some information that smashed a pre-conception i had about Xpages: You don't need to have a create a Notes Form in order to create data from an Xpage to. Huh. Fancy that!

For some mis-guided reason, I had thought that you needed to have an underlying Notes Form with which you would bind each input element on the Xpage to so that the database would know how to create a document. While its true that you can do that - in fact its a way of Xpage enabling an existing Notes application - you don't actually need to do that. With a smidgin' of Server Side JavaScript (SSJS) it turns out you can create a document from an Xpage without legacy Notes Design resources.

An Xpage Quick Start

In the steps below, Im going to walk through how to create a simple Xpage, with a single input field and allow you to create documents in the underlying NSF. This is similar to the IBM example, only i focus on one component -- creating a document.

Ok, lets get started.

Create a new blank application on your local machine, call it "Test1.nsf".
Go to the Xpages list in the Application navigator and create new blank Xpage. Call it "Main".
Next from the Controls Palette drag and drop an Edit Box control, and a Button control onto your Xpage.
Place the cursor in front of the Edit box, and type "Keyword"
Place the cursor on the button, click the "Properties" Tab in the bottom pane, and change the label text, to "Submit".

Your basic, cut down, no-frills Xpage should look like this.

So now that you've got a form that accepts a single input field, how do you "wire" or connect that field to a notes document? In this Xpage example, we will do this by creating a Request Scoped Variable - which means is a variable that exists on the Server Side once the form is posted to the server -- only, its Scope or the time for which it exist programmatically is limited to the life of the request - in this case the form post to the server - hence s Request Scope Variable. To do this:

Click on the Edit box control on the Xpage, then click the Events tab in the bottom Pane of designer.
Next select Data under Properties. Select Advanced. From the drop-down list, select Scoped Variable. In the Parameter field, select Request Scope from the list. Finally,enter a variable name, lets call this variable keyword.

Now comes the SSJS magic. And it deceptively simple, especially if you are already familiar with LotusScript as it shares nearly all of the same class names.

Click the "submit" button, then click the Events Tab in the bottom pane of designer.

Make sure that the onclick is selected (it highlighted by default). Then select Script Editor and make sure that the Server tab is selected (it is by default).

Paste the following code into the box.

var doc = database.createDocument();

doc.replaceItemValue("keyword", requestScope.keyword);

doc.save();

requestScope.keyword= null;

Now, save and preview the form - remembering that you need to add the Anonymous ACL entry in order to preview your application locally.

You should see a simple web form like the one below. Enter a value in the Keyword field, and click submit.

The Xpage is creating a new document everytime you press submit! Nice. Whats that I hear you say? You want proof it is creating documents? Ok then, lets add a document counter to the page.

From the Controls Palette, drag across a Computed field control.
Add the following Javascript under the Properties tab > Value > Javascript:
return "Number of documents in database: " + database.getAllDocuments().getCount().toFixed()

This JavaScript will return the value of all the documents in the database (note the Javascript dot notation, but the LotusScript like Class names).

Again, save a preview your Xpage and watch the document count increment each time you create a new keyword. Head over to the Developer works article where they extend a similar example to this and include, editing, deletion and viewing actions - again, all in JavaScript.

Live long and prosper!

2010-01-20T03:05:00.000-08:00

So the Lotus community is at its vibrant best right now, with Lotusphere '10 being well underway in Orlando. Doing my best to put aside my FOMO at not being there (yes hello Craig - i know you're *actually* over there), I've been reading through the chatter and i happened across this post regarding IBM's project Vulcan. Most interesting.

IBM is giving its researchers a new pipeline to show off early versions of net-based Lotus collaboration tools.

As part of its annual Lotusphere conference on Monday, the company also provided a peek at what it sees as the future of the business collaboration suite, a thing called "Project Vulcan."

Taking a page from Google Labs, Big Blue's new LotusLive Labs website is designed to spur public feedback (and hype) on LotusLive cloud collaboration technologies while they're still cooking in pre-production.

The project is a joint effort from IBM's Research unit and its Lotus software team. Scheduled to make a beta appearance on the LotusLive Labs in the second half of 2010, Project Vulcan looks to be the most ambitious of the Lotus previews debuting on the website this year.

According to Ed Brill, IBM chief of product management for Lotus software, Project Vulcan represents the future direction for Lotus Notes. It's described as combining email, profiles, calendars, and social analytics in one spot, and it will use analytics engines and business-specific scenarios to make collaboration more relevant and focused.

It also promises to include developer-friendly services and APIs.

Shades of Google Wave, with a bit of IBM's analytics oomph behind it. But user interface-wise, it's all Facebook - judging by the "conceptual representation" graphic Mills supplied:

"One of the key evolutionary thoughts in IBM Project Vulcan is to move from what we currently refer to as 'linked value' across the IBM portfolio to the notion of 'loosely-coupled' services," Brill wrote in his blog. "This makes sense in an increasingly-expected hybrid environment, and will simplify deployment and adoption of collaboration and productivity within your organization. Web services, xPages, HTML5, RESTful APIs, will all be tools in pushing Project Vulcan forward."

Other LotusLive previews in the pipeline include Slide Library, a collaborative way to share presentation resources; Event Maps, an interactive way to organize and browse conference schedules; Collaborative Recorded Meetings, a service that records and transcribes meeting presentations; and Composer, which lets users create new applications by mashing up existing services from the web, email, and collaboration tools.

The four can be previewed now by signing up for IBM's LotusLive Labs website. ®

Blogging: Epic Fail

2010-01-20T02:46:00.000-08:00

So, admittedly my first attempt and getting this blog up and running was an *epic fail*. Although to be fair, I did start a new role in early December (after 7 weeks of swanning around and generally unplugging from the yellow-bubble) and then there was the whole Christmas period to contend with.

Thankfully both my Liver and my desire to continue this blog emerged intact from the festive season, and so without further ado -- I bring you my first post of 2010. An epic fail of sorts.... (sniggers behind IBM's back)

Thats one small [server-side] step for man.....

2009-10-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

Lesson 1: Server Side JavasScript (SSJS). Where to begin?

One of the first things I do when trying to skill up on a new product is turn to the products documentation or help files. Give me and API and ill show you some code. The very next thing i do is deny step 1 ;)

For me, browsing the help doco in a new tool is kind of like looking at the scale legend on a map - it gives me a frame of reference as to how big an undertaking its going to be to get my head across the new stuff. It also gives me a sense of how "featured a prodcut" is by the help doco. So imagine my initial reaction (and sense of confidence) when reading the help doco in 8.5.1 i find a typo on the first page i read....

Ok, maybe im being too harsh, lets try another page.

Seems not. Now i *know* that reading the JSDT help files *isnt* learning about SSJS, but the point is that im not filled with confidence already. Dont get me wrong -- im keen to learn and start using SSJS. I just need to know *where* to start.

First post: The Guy, the Journey and those Xpages

2009-10-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

*taps microphone*

"Welcome. Welcome. My name is Dan Lowden and ill be your blogger this afternoon...."

OK. Jokes aside. Welcome to my new blog on Notes/Domino Application Development. For a while now I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog but not really had a good enough subject to blog (or ive been waaaay too busy with work). Recently that situation has changed for me and I now have both the time and topic: Xpages.

So my goal with this blog is gonna be simple. Document my trials and tribulations in learning Xpages. See i told you. Simple. I just hope that learning Xpages proves that way too. Hopefully I'll learn (and retain) a bit more info by blogging about my efforts and also there's the odd chance that I could help you out too.

About me.

I'm a Notes/Domino developer and have been in the Domino space for nearly 9 years now. I first started in R5, and am now an Advance App. Developer in R8 (thats PCLP in ye-olde' speak).

I live in Sydney, Australia and currently work for an listed Australian Multi-national as the Messaging and Collaboration Manager.

Why Xpages?

Like most Domino developers i've managed to assemble a nifty arsenal of tricks in order to hack Domino to do anything remotely current when it comes to web development and applications. However, with the advent of Xpages in Domino 8.5.x, i find that my little bag of tricks upong which i relied so much has quickly become obselete -- so it's time to return to school. Xpages school.

Please join me on this journey, i welcome all comments, clarifications and questions on anything I post.

Dan (aka. The Xpage Guy -- at least i will be soon)