Tag: domino

Why all the talk about recycle() – how about dispose()?

Let me start by saying that I agree that recycle() could and should be handled by the API and there are numerous ways around it. I however also think that the majority of Notes developers out there will never have the need to call recycle() in their Java agents. There is a lot of talk about recycle() this and recycle() that but let’s face it – it’s not really a problem. If ever there is a problem with the Java API it’s not recycle() it is the fact that it has been left to stagnate and that it’s not keeping up with the Java language as a whole.

All this being said I wonder why so much talk and energy is being spent on recycle() and how come it is constantly being used as a reason not to move to Java and embrace the language. Looking at other API’s there are stuff that needs to be done. In the Java API it’s recycle() (whenever it’s actually needed) and in SWT it’s dispose(). I never see any SWT discussions on the dispose() method and DisposeListeners and using it as a justification for not choosing SWT and Eclipse as the fundation for an application. You judge a framework on what it does for you and not a single method in an API. Every API and language has quirks. Deal with it!

My post from 2006 (!!) has a lot more information on recycle() and why it’s there: Java in Notes/Domino Explained: The story on recycle()

Lotus Domino on Amazon Web Services (AWS)


Via my blog subscriptions I picked this wiki article on getting started with Lotus Domino for Amazon Web Services (IBM Lotus Domino 8.5.1 on Amazon Web Services: A getting started guide) and decided to look into it. The availability of Lotus Domino on AWS was announced at Lotusphere 2010 so this was a good opportunity to look into it.

The setup steps in the wiki article are easy to follow although the Lotus Domino image isn’t available in the Europe region “data center”. I had to choose US East or US West to be able to select the Lotus Domino AMI (read: “image”). For testing that isn’t an issue but for production you need to consider network latency to your server. If you have other existing AWS servers it may also be an issue as data transfer within the same region is free but isn’t among regional centers which can become costly for maintenance operations etc.

Besides that it looks slick and allows you to easily setup test servers based on templates. Also you only pay for servers as long as they are running so it might be a nice way to test big deployment scenarios. As mentioned earlier on this blog there are a lot of other IBM templates as well (for DB2, Tivoli, Websphere etc.).

Note that Amazon is not alone in this space. As you might have seen in the showcase at Lotusphere Group is also promoting their GroupLive platform as a service (PaaS) product. Some European companies might want to partner with a European company than with an American company.

Signing of from 2009 – looking back at a great year

2009 is drawing to a close and in less than 10 hours I’ll be in my tuxedo and drinking champagne. What a year from a personal and a professional perspective.

On the personal front the highlight of 2009, by far, was on 22 August where I got married to my lovely wife. 4 months into our marriage we’re having a blast. Not much have changed in our relationship which I take as a good thing. I’m looking forward to January and once again bringing her along for Lotusphere. I think she’s growing used to staying in the Swan and the fact that return guests get some good deals at the spa… 🙂 Apparently some sun and warm weather (crossing my fingers) in January doesn’t hurt either.

On the professional front it’s been a year of both many changes and new challenges. As previously the year really got kicked of at Lotusphere and it was very nice seeing all of my “collegues” again and hooking up. I’ll remember BALD, being part of the blogger program in those yellow bean bags, frost in Florida in January and the associated state-wide “panic”, giving a session with good reviews though having a high fever and missing 1,5 days due to sickness as the highlights of my Lotusphere 2009. Of couse being in the US for the inauguration also made it special. Being “on location” in Florida bar for Superbowl was also a very nice experience.

The rest of the year has been filled with a lot of consulting on Notes and Domino, Lotus Connections and other related Lotus products. It’s been very nice being able to share experience and consult on a wide variety of subjects. 2009 was also the year where I started doing a lot of teaching and we started doing Notes 8.5 Application Development workshops. I’ve been giving the workshop a number of times across Denmark during 2009 and it has always been a good experience. Of course some workshops has been better than others but I have always felt that I’ve given the attendees what they signed up for and all attendees have gone home amazed at the potential of the new Notes releases. If only more would take the time to learn Java – that’s still the Achilles Heel of IBM Lotus…

Towards the end of 2009 I have also assumed the day to day management of some of the developers in the company. It’s been a big change from billing out 40-50 hours a week to mostly managing and planning. It’s also meant spending far more hours in the office which has been weird. I set a personal record this winter by having lunch in the office 12 days in a row. That’s a first in my 2+ years at IntraVision. The change of role has been fun but also a big change and challenge and something that I’m finding myself enjoying very much. I’m looking forward to the new year and getting more into that role.

In 2009 I have also enjoyed still being part of the Design Partner programme with IBM. It’s fun, educational and inspiring to be part of these conference calls and getting the inside story. The calls are something I look forward to attending and the debate is good and lively. Of course it’s also frustrating sometimes when IBM Lotus do something that we design partners just don’t get but that’s part of the deal. All in all I still find it very positive that IBM Lotus listens and lotusknows it makes a difference! 🙂

On the whole lotusknows thing I find it very positive that IBM Lotus finally got the message and starting being offensive. We still haven’t seen much, if any, of it here in Denmark but hopefully it’s coming at some point. There’s still a big need for air cover.

In November this blog turned 5 years and it was a milestone that were reached. As I wrote on that day, this blog is something I cannot imagine not having today. The blog and way it connects me with the community is amazing. Of course more and more communication moves from blogs to Twitter these days but it’s all good.

2009 was also the year where I finally got to finish LotusScript.doc version 2. It’s been a long time coming and it was very nice finally to get the new version out there. Expect interesting stuff to be coming your way in 2009 when I start leveraging the LotusScript.doc Java API in other contexts.

In three months TwitNotes turns 2 years – wow! Has it already been that long? Besides, of course, being my Twitter client of choice it has also served as a very good example in all of my speaking gigs as one of those new applications that are possible in the “new” Notes client. TwitNotes is an application that builds on the Notes foundation but reads and writes data in the cloud. Showing it as an example always raises some eyebrows until people “get it”. I used it as an example for the big IBM Software Day event here in Denmark this fall.

As 2009 draws to a close I’m doing another sidebar application that I hope will be useful for many of you out there although I’m mainly doing it for myself to increase my productivity. I hope to be able to reveal it by Lotusphere. It’s again a cloud-based application that integrates into the Notes experience to showcase just what’s possible with the “new” platform. Stay tuned…

Before I write too much I’ll wrap it up by wishing you all a very happy new year – see you on the other side. For those of you going to Lotusphere – see you there!

Bye, bye 2009…

Do not run both the CA process and ID Vault at the same time

Be aware of running both CA process and ID Vault at the same time as the ID stored in the vault hasn’t been certified yet. The limitation is understandable but why it’s possible (i.e. the checkbox is available in the UI) to store a newly registered ID when using CA process can be confusing.

For more info see technote 1367969: ID Vault upload during registration fails when using Certificate Authority

Configuring SSO between Lotus Domino and Lotus Connections

This morning I configured single-sign-on (SSO) between Lotus Connections and Lotus Domino and was again surprised by how easy it is. The steps are simple:

  1. Open the WAS server administration interface and go to Security > Secure administration, applications, and infrastructure > Authentication mechanisms and expiration.
  2. Select “Authentication mechanisms and expiration” in the “Authentication” section on the right hand side.
  3. Now in the “Cross-cell single sign-on” section specify a set of passwords and export the keys to a file on the file system.
  4. Move the file to your local file system.
  5. Now follow the guidelines in the Domino Administrator help for importing the keys into Domino LTPA configuration.

Is the lack of Java adoption *still* the Achilles’ heel of IBM?


In March of 2006 I wrote a lengthy post (see below for links) on how I considered the lack of Java adoption by Notes/Domino developers the Achilles’ heel of IBM. The post was picked up by Ed Brill and made quite a stir in the blogosphere.

Sitting here developing a Notes 8 plug-in in SWT (the Java widget toolkit of Eclipse/Expeditor/Notes 8) I got to thinking if the state of affairs has changed and if yes, how it has changed. As a strong Java proponent I’m afraid I don’t like the answer… My perception is that the percentage of Notes/Domino developers having adopted Java hasn’t changed since then. We’re exactly in the same place we were in March of 2006.

Why haven’t IBM done anything? Why wasn’t Java everywhere at Lotusphere 2007? Will it be a major focus area at Lotusphere 2008?


Not to sound too sour and/or disappointed but I fear there is somewhat of a connection between none of the 4 sessions on Java development I submitted for Lotusphere 2008 was accepted and the state of affairs. It could of cause also be that the sessions just wasn’t interesting enough.

Very few of the Lotusphere attendees will be looking for sessions on Java I’m afraid. A stark contrast to what the platform demands.

I understand that there is a learning curve to the language but we need to seriously address this lack of adoption. If we don’t we, as business partners, will not be able to fulfill customer demand for development resources. The platform as a whole will be the one that suffers. Of cause Java is *the* standard enterprise language so there’s an abundance of Java developers out there, but developers need a solid understanding of Notes/Domino as well as Java to be productive and bring value to customers.

My understanding of the current state of affairs is this:

  • Most of the Notes/Domino developers are older – very few straight out of school jump onboard. It’s all about learning an old dog new tricks…
  • Very few get into Notes/Domino development unless they work for a company running Notes. Could it be that the platform still have a monolithic feel to it even though it is anything but?
  • Very few existing Notes/Domino developers have started adopting Java due to lack of pressure from IBM. Certainly the Java API and IDE not evolving haven’t helped.
  • Many who have adopted Java in Notes/Domino use it as a procedural language as a LotusScript language substitute with threading or network connectivity. While this is a start there is a major leap in the level of abstraction needed for composite application development. If we had gotten started earlier we might be further ahead now.
  • Very few, if not none, of the guys and girls leaving school know that the Notes client of today is built on the same platform they have been using to learn the Java language (yes – that would be Eclipse).
  • Very few, if not none, of the guys and girls leaving school know that Lotus is all about the social and building software to support collaboration.

Please tell me I’m wrong!

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