Top five best lotus notes web sites
June 12th, 2007
There are hundreds of Lotus Notes-related sites out there and a seemingly endless supply of Lotus Notes--related blogs. Today we'll look at the best of the best, the must-read sites and the most valuable resources.
1. www.lotus.com
- the grand-daddy of them all.
2. www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus
- the starting point for all your Louts Notes technical information.
3. www.openNTF.org
- OpenNTF is an open-source community site loaded with free fully-functional Lotus Notes and Domino applications.
4. www.redbooks.ibm.com/lotus
- your source for free IBM published books and many aspects of Lotus Notes and Domino
5. www.dominopower.com
- DominoPower is and on-line magazine that lists a daily summary if news items relevant to the Lotus Notes and Domino community.
Lotus Greenhouse
June 7th, 2007
Lotus Greenhouse is a site where you can test out the latest Lotus software. Currently they have Lotus Connections and Quickr on-line.
There seems to be a waiting list to join but it's worth the wait to be able to try the exciting new Lotus products.
Lotus Greenhouse web site
Is my Lotus Notes database being used on the web or the Lotus Notes client?
June 7th, 2007
Have you ever wanted to determine whether you code or design element was running on the web or in the Lotus Notes client?
One way of achieving this was to test for the server name. If we new that our ISP's Domino server was names WebServer/MyISP then we could easily check this name, for example using @DbName, and then take the appropriate action. Of course this didn't work if our application on the server was accessed by both Notes clients and web browsers. An of course hard-coding the Domino server name is considered very bad practice because if the Lotus Notes application was ever moved to another Domino server someone would have to go through the application and change all the hard-coded references to the old Domino server.
Thankfully Lotus added a new feature as an easy way to determine if the current context is the web browser of the Lotus Notes client. Lotus added a new role called $$WebClient. This role is automatically added to the application user's list of roles if the current context is a web browser. This make it very easy to determine if the current context is a web browser or the Lotus Notes client.
@UserRoles has been a part of the Lotus Notes Formula language for a long time. It returns a list of the roles assigned to the current user.
So, for example, if we want to hide something on the web, all we need to do is use the following hide-when formula:
@Contains(@UserRoles; "$$WebClient")
and if course if we want to hid something from the Lotus Notes client then we only have to "not" the formula:
@Contains(@UserRoles; "$$WebClient")
This formula is great because it works in so many places, documents, forms, view columns and more.
Good hidings to you!
How much does it cost to launch a web 2.0 site?
June 6th, 2007
I read an interesting article on Guy Kawasaki's blog today about how much it cost him to start his web 2.0 business. Guy was one of the original Apple guys (excuse the pun) and has written several cool books including The Art of The Start (highly recommended)
According to Guy's blog, he recenlty created Truemors for just $12,100. That's pretty amazing when compared to the start-up costs during the tech boom. If you want to see further evidence of just how cheaply you can get a web site developed for then check out sites like a RentACoder or GetAFreelacer. Do a search on "clone" and see how cheaply you can get a clone of a major site (eg Ebay) developed for. You may be very surprised!
Understanding Lotus plans for 2007 and beyond
June 5th, 2007
There's been a lot of change within Lotus lately. Sametime and Quickplace have been renamed to... err, Sametime and Quickplace. Lotus Workplace has almost completely disappeared (although parts of the technology have been re-deployed into several other offerings). Notes 8 is just around the corner with it's Eclipse/Expeditor-based client and there's also the new offerings; Quickr and Connections.
If this is all too much for you, If you would like some clarification on the Lotus product range and it's plans for the future, then there are two great resources available:
1. The Burton Group has produced a very good summary of this which is available for free from their web site (registration required)
http://www.burtongroup.com/understandingibmlotus
2. IBM is hosting a live combined eMeeting/TeleConference to discuss and expand on the content in the Burton report. This event is taking place 11am EST on June 5. I would guess that some sort of replay will be available although if you look at the some of their past events the only form of reply is by calling a US number. If you take the live teleconference then there are toll-free numbers in many countries. Plus there's the emeeting format.
https://www-926.ibm.com/events/swgp/swgpus.nsf/agenda?openform&seminar=kwo9CDRU6ES&lang=en
The value of Lotus product certifications
May 31st, 2007
With the release of Notes 8 around the corner, it's perhaps pertinent to consider getting your R7 certification.
I have started to question the value of certification. Does being certified actually mean that you know more, or are more skilled, than someone without certification. My experience would tell me a loud NO. Some of the best Lotus Notes developers I've worked with didn't have certification, and some of the worst did have certification. In fact I remember working with a guy who had passed an R5 web exam but didn't know the first thing about developing a web site. I think the value is lessened ever further by practice exam software. It's so easy just to pay your money, practice on the software for a couple of hours and then pass the exam.
So why get certified then? Perhaps as a sign of commitment to Lotus/IBM? It would be nice if IBM/Lotus would compensate or subsidise Business Partners for their Lotus Notes certification costs. It's not a huge cost but at approx. $1200 it's a annoying amount to pay for something that seems to have little benefit.
($1200 = 2 x practise test + 2 x exams fees + the cost of my time to study and the go and take the exam)
Do you ever feel behind the times?
August 26th, 2006
Most days I receive an email containing local jobs for Lotus Notes and Domino. It's an easy way to keep tabs on the market.
I've done my fair share of work on Internet and Intranet sites over the years. But I was surprised to see this position for an INFRAnet developer.
Title: Infranet Developer
Location: Auckland
Advertiser: Robert Walters
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2006
Description: Infranet Developers/Specialists with Telco background required for Global Corporate based in central city.
Those Kiwis are normally well ahead of the game so I can only assume that this is another technology that I'm not up to date with. I can only guess that maybe it's some sort of high-speed infra-red network. It's just so hard to keep up with the latest developments.
Virus distribution in action
August 25th, 2006
I received a typical spam email a few days ago. The type that has a subject of you've received a postcard from SomeOneYouDont Know.
For some reason I decided to have a look at the email. It has a link with a title suggesting that it went to Postcards.com. Of course the link went to another site and pointed to a file called postcard.exe file (a file that will run on the computer). I downloaded the file and it is actually a zip file containing a bunch of files.
In the zip file there was a virus file (rundll.exe) that Norton AntiVirus detected as IRC.Backdoor.Trojan virus and deleted immediately. the file also contained several files containing first names, last names, and IP addresses. I can only assume that the virus uses these other files to spread itself around and tries to send email using combinations of the bogus first and last names. Furthermore I would guess that it uses the IP addresses to relay the mail. These are all guesses but it would work something like that.
I followed the link (http://www.esva.net/~sydney/) and found an ftp directory containing the file. Then I checked out www.esva.net which is a legitimate looking site based in Hungary. I emailed the owner of the site and told them that they were hosting viruses. I didn't receive any reply and I checked again today and now the site has 4 extra virus file. Perhaps I reminded them to upload them?
I posted the web site url to a few blacklists including www.stopbadware.org but I couldn't find a central repository of bad sites. I guess there are a couple of problems here. Firstly the spammers and virus writers can easily create a new web site in a matter of seconds. Thousands of hosts all over the world offer free hosting and there are potentially millions of sites that are not secured properly and allow uploading of malicious files. Secondly any attempt at creating a central blacklist is prone to abuse as people can easily report valid sites to the blacklist.
The solution is probably to just make sure that you have good AntiVirus software and make sure that your subscription is up to date. This problem is going to continue for a long time.
Caliton Template Analyzer goes gold
August 17th, 2006
After many months I've very pleased to announce that our first commercial product, Caliton Template Analyzer, has been released. This is our first product that we are selling rather than giving away! This is a big step for me personally but also just a small step towards my larger vision.
In case you missed it, here is the official press release. (I'll be very interested in the response to the "whipping" theme>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Caliton Template Analyzer whips Lotus Notes templates into shape
BRISBANE, Australia, August 15, 2006 – Caliton Innovations Pty Ltd. (http://www.caliton.com), has released a new Lotus Notes tool: Caliton Template Analyzer. Lotus Notes developers and administrators can now whip their Lotus Notes templates into shape by identifying exactly where their templates are being used and misused within their organisation.
Lotus Notes templates allow developers to share code and database design amongst multiple applications. This design sharing and reuse are the cornerstones of an efficient software development process.
Caliton Template Analyzer determines exactly which Lotus Notes databases inherit from a particular design element or template. So developers can now be 100% sure about the effect of changing or deleting a design element in a template.
Design templates often become misused or forgotten about, and the design of an application can become disconnected from the original design templates.
Caliton Template Analyzer identifies all the serious problems related to design template misuse, such as missing design elements, orphaned design elements, design elements that are set to inherit from the wrong template and so on.
“The idea for Caliton Template Analyzer was born when we wanted to delete a subform from one of our internal templates. We had to be 100% sure that the subform wasn’t being used anywhere.” said Ethann Castell, Caliton Innovations General Manager. “We had several hundred application databases to manually search through, and that would have taken many hours. With Caliton Template Analyzer now the whole process will take a few minutes. That equals big savings in terms of time and money.”
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
Caliton Template Analyzer is immediately available at only $US 595. Discounts are available for bulk purchases and for IBM/Lotus business partners. Caliton Template Analyzer can be downloaded for free (feature limited) from http://www.caliton.com and a free (fully featured) trial license is available on request.
ABOUT CALITON INNOVATIONS
Caliton Innovations Pty Ltd is an IBM Business Partner based in Brisbane, Australia, and a leading developer of tools for Lotus Notes/Domino developers and administrators. Their mission is to transform the way you work with Lotus Notes and Domino
To learn more about Caliton Innovation’s unique tools for Lotus Notes and Domino developers and administrators, please visit their web site at http://www.caliton.com where you will find free downloads, product information and much more.
CONTACT
Mr. Ethann Castell
Caliton Innovations Pty Ltd
Telephone:+61 2 8011 4102
Email: ethann.castell@caliton.com
Web Site: http://www.caliton.com
How to get a value from an MFC dialog box
May 23rd, 2006
This may cause experience MFC developers to laugh but for a part-time MFC dabbler like me, it was quite frustrating to simple get a value entered into a dialog box..
To recap, once you have created a dialog box you the display it by using the stock-standard doModal call:
CMyDialogClass myDialog;
int nResponse = myDialog.DoModal();
if (nResponse == IDOK)
{
// TODO: Place code here to handle when the dialog is dismissed with OK
}
else if (nResponse =IDCANCEL)
{
// TODO: Place code here to handle when the dialog is dismissed with Cancel
}
This is all well and dandy but how do I now get the value of an edit control from the dialog box? Remember that once DoModal has finished, the dialog window no longer exists and we can't get values from the Window. I found some really complicated stuff about sending and intercepting Windows messages but the answer, or at least my answer, was very simple.
Yes the dialog window has gone but the dialog class remains ! So we simply get the dialog save the value of the edit box to a Public member variable and then get the value from that variable after the dialog has closed.
This is the code for the dialog box containing the Edit Control. This code is tied to the button click event of the Ok button.
void CMyDialog::OnOK()
{
m_Edit_Control.GetWindowText(g_csEditValue);
CDialog::OnOK();
}
So all we do here is get the value of the edit control and save it to a global var.
Then the code to call the dialog box becomes:
CMyDialogClass myDialog;
int nResponse = myDialog.DoModal();
if (nResponse == IDOK){
CString csTemp = MyDialog.g_csEditValue // store the value from the edit control
}else if (nResponse =IDCANCEL){
}
This is so simple when you look at it but I still couldn't find an example out there on the web. Enjoy !
Looping through a view with the Lotus Notes C++ API
May 22nd, 2006
Although this might seem like a pretty simple thing to do, you can end up going down quite a few dead end streets. The documentation show lots of examples of getting the first entry in a View but does not have any example of looping through all the entries in a view. A bit slack on the documenters part but hey the C++ API really is the poor cousin of the C API. Anyway, here's the code you need to use.
// vf is an LNViewFolder object that holds the view we want to process
// This code also assumes that there will be at least one entry in the view
LNVFNavigator nav;
LNText lntColumnValue;
vf.GetEntries(&nav);
do{
nav.GetEntry(&entry);
lntColumnValue = entry["Column Name"]; // Where "Column Name" is the title of the column you want to access
}while(nav.GotoNext() != LNWARN_NOT_FOUND);
IBM set to bite with Viper ?
February 1st, 2006
Viper is the code name for IBM's free version of DB2 to be known as DB2 Express-C, IBM has joined Microsoft and Oracle by announcing free entry-level versions of their respective database products.
Link to ZDNet article.
Obviously IBM needs to join the party with MS and Oracle, both of whom have made this strategic move to combat the growth and popularity of Open Source databases, most notably MySQL.
It is interesting to note how Open Source is forcing established vendors to provide free offerings. Just how far up the value chain the free software movement can climb will only be revealed in due time. However my feeling is that open source and free software will own the entry-level space within a few years time. While there have been some notable exceptions already, on the whole I predict that larger organisations will continue to purchase enterprise-level and lob applications from large and trusted vendors, in lieu of Open Source offerings. There are several factors which I believe will contribute to organisations making this decision, including
- established relationships with current vendors
- existing investment in hardware, software and training
- support service and accountability from vendors
- senior management's view of Open Source in general
- vendors sales and marketing capability
I've never been a big fan of Open Source so perhaps I'm somewhat biased.
The Go Daddy ad version 10
January 19th, 2006
Just in case you haven't already seen it, Go Daddy ( a company who sells web site hosting, domains etc) ran this ad last year at the 2005 Super Bowl. The Ad is a pretty sexy ad for sure and a strong parody on Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction from the 2004 Super bowl. However the ad was supposed to appear twice during the 2004 Super Bowl but the second airing was canned due to the NFL complaining to FOX about the content. According to Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons, Pepsi, who have their own chequered advertising past, complained about the ad as well.
So this year Go Daddy has been trying to get another ad shown during the Super Bowl, once again featuring Candice Michelle the fitness model, part time WWE girl etc. In an unprecedented move the ABC has so far rejected 10 versions of the Ad. Furhtermore, the NFL wants final approval before any GO Daddy ad is shown. Of course you can view the ad here on the go Daddy web site.
So whatever happened to that icon of Americanism known as Free Speech ?
AJAX - yawn.
January 18th, 2006
SearchDomino ran an article today which highlights potential security and scalability problems with Ajax. It had to come. This is just part of the normal technology hype-cycle. A new technology is released, takes a while to get popular, then it becomes the best thing since sliced bread. Then all the horror stories start to emerge. This is the point we are at now. Soon Ajax will settle down to being a useful way of solving some problems but it will not reveal the meaning the life, the universe and everything.
Why the yawn ? Two reasons. Firstly the technology-hype cycle becomes monotonous after you have seen it repeat so many times. Secondly I was personally achieving the similar results as Ajax pre-2000 using a pinpoint Java Applet. JavaScript would call a public method of the applet, the applet would retrieve the data from the server via a Domino url and then insert the data into the page/form using the JavaScript api. Simple ! Ok maybe not as elegant as the Ajax solution but still pretty good.
Notes 6 Certifications
January 18th, 2006
I updated my Lotus Notes certifications before Christmas by taking the R6 update exams. The update exams were only available until the end of December (effectively Dec 24th with holidays) and I left it right until the end by taking the Admin exam on Thursday 23rd. I have since noticed that the deadline has been extended until the end of Janauary and this may be to allow LotusSphere attendees to update to R6. Nevertheless it is good to have it out of the way and another example of how having a deadline can force you to achieve a goal.
I found the exams to be a little too easy. Perhaps I'm too smart, I don't know. The only study guides I used were the product help files, Cert FX practice tests and Self Test Software practice exams. These practice exams are at very low prices at the moment. In the past I have used Self Test Software but I have to say that Cert FX was a lot closer to the actual exam. In fact the Admin Cert FX practice test was so close to the actual exam that it was a little scary. CertFX oalso ffers a money back guarentee on their product if you fail the exam, so if you are still aiming for the upgrade exams the CertFX is probably the way to go.