Tag: notes

March Lotus Technical Information and Education (LTIE) community meeting

If you’re interested in plugin development and the recently published RedWiki on plugin development for Lotus Notes, Sametime and Symphony (easy url is http://bit.ly/pluginredwiki) be sure to join us for the March March Lotus Technical Information and Education (LTIE) community meeting. The conference call will be on 22 March at 10am Central Time (10am Eastern, 3pm CET).

For more info head over to the Lotus Technical Information and Education wiki on Lotus Greenhouse (look under “When we meet” at the bottom of the page).

jWidgets to make it easier to develop Eclipse based components for composite applications

Perusing the the Composite Application Wiki I discovered a technology IBM calls jWidgets. Basically they are for Composite Application Java component development what iWidgets are to websites that is a widget framework for easily and more quickly doing stuff. Developing Java components for composite applications is a little hard as you have to manage wires etc. yourself. A framework would make that a lot easier and that’s exactly what jWidgets are.

Having the technology available to Lotus Notes (and not just Lotus Expeditor) would be really cool. From an IBM’er I however learned that they haven’t been formally tested in Notes, but the technical capability is there. They have only been tested formally in Lotus Expeditor 6.2.2.

jWidgets – Easy Creation of Java Composite Application Components

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()

New functionality was added in Notes 8.5.1 to make MyWidgets more dynamic

In Lotus Notes 8.5.1 a small, but very useful, addition was made made to the MyWidgets funtionality. From Notes 8.5.1 the preferences that you specify for your widgets may be computed by the platform instead of being mapped to something you specify via LiveText or text selection. Below is a small snippet from an extension.ml file showing how a value is normally mapped to a parameter (in this case “Mikkel Flindt Heisterberg” is mapped to the “name” parameter).

<preference name="name">
<value>Mikkel Flindt Heisterberg</value>
<displayName>name</displayName>
<enumValues/>
<enumDisplayValues/>
<datatype></datatype>
<isEnum>false</isEnum>
<isRequired>true</isRequired>
<isHidden>false</isHidden>
</preference>

So what if you want to use the current username or the current date? Well up to now you were at a loss or you had to incorporate the functionality into the service you linked to. But since this isn’t always possible IBM added the option of specifying it in the widget itself.

The way to do it is by using a “name” or “date” command in place of the static text (“Mikkel Flindt Heisterberg” in the example above). The syntax is as follows:

${command:parameter}

The following two commands are available:

  • name
  • date

As you might be to format the date or specify the part of the username you need (common name, organization etc.) you use “parameter” part to further instruct the command. Below is some documentation on each of the commands.

  • ${name:nameType}
    For example: ${name:cn}/${name:ou}/${name:o} will resolve to “CommonName/OrganizationlUnit/Organization.” For example: ${name:dn} will resolve to the user’s full distinguished name.
  • ${date:dateformat}
    For example: ${date:yyyy MM DD} will resolve to the current date (in this example “2009 03 20”). The “dateFormat” should be a valid Java date format string.

Using the “name” command the above XML snippet becomes:

<preference name="name">
<value>${name:cn}</value>
<displayName>name</displayName>
<enumValues/>
<enumDisplayValues/>
<datatype></datatype>
<isEnum>false</isEnum>
<isRequired>true</isRequired>
<isHidden>false</isHidden>
</preference>

Information is available in the infocenter (Using a widget property to filter a current user name or date)

Google saves the day for Notes plugin developers

Alan Cooke (member of the Redbooks team) just pinged me on Sametime and pointed me to a greate piece of news. As you might remember Google acquired Instantiations a while back. Instantiations developed a couple of developer tools for GUI building, code analysis and UI testing. Today all our prayers had been heard and Google is making all the tools from Instantiations free!!!. How sweet is that?!

The article referenced above describes the different tools and screenshots.

The reason this is important to you as a Lotus guy or gal is that WindowBuilder Pro for SWT makes it very easy to quickly mock up or build the GUI for your SWT based plugins. You simply drag’n’drop components onto the screen to build the UI. Think of the XPages UI but for SWT components. Very nice.

So how do you get the tools? Simply head over to the respective Google page to learn more and/or install. The direct links are:

Did I mention that all the tools are now free?!?

Once you go the tool page you’ll see a link to the “Download” page in the menu on the left. The page has links to update sites for easy installation. The tools work with Eclipse 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6.

P.S.: There is also a GWT designer tool (Google Web Toolkit) available (tool page is here). The tool is very nice if you develop GWT applications.

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…

Lotus Knows how much geography matters

I was very excited when I read the announcements by IBM Lotus at the IamLUG event last week about the Lotus Knows marketing initiative being kicked off soon (late summer). I have been outright about the lack of initiatives from IBM previously (Lotus: We’ll give you the air cover you need! Humbug, I say! Humbug!) so I’m going to hold my breath and see what actually comes out of the campaign and what the message is going to be. The announcement mentioned it was going to be a global campaign which us here in non-USA would love to see. Besides living in non-USA I’m unfortunately also in a small market if you take Denmark alone. The Nordics is probably easier to spot on a map but hopefully by addressing Europe some of it will affect us here. I’m for sure going to do what I can to make sure the campaigns stops by Northern Europe as well.

Will IBM and Lotus ever turn into stealth bombers flying in perfect formation? I’m not sure and I’m not even sure that’s the desired goal. I would however love to see more awareness brought to the Lotus brand and maybe make sure the analogy is a Hercules transport plane rather than the Hindenburg. It may not be lean and advanced and maybe we don’t have an full fighter wing but we know we can trust it and it’s there to help us with air cover and at least call in some guys that can help us win the battle.

If you do not get the reference check this post out: LMAO – Air cover as provided by leading software companies