Domino Interface

Our presentation for CollabSphere 2022. Learn how to quickly add workflow automation into Notes/Nomad applications using No-code tools that can utilize cloud-based services.

Most of the concepts that we have been talking about in our iPhora Journey are neither new nor revolutionary. Collectively, they merely represent the current state of the art in designing web applications. In other (i.e., non-Domino) platforms, you would need an array of services each running on a separate server, and you would have to build the integration between the different components and maintain security between all of those components. With virtualization and containers all of the necessary services can now bundled into a single installation, which is helpful, but the integration of those components can still be fraught with issues, especially compatibility between different versions of those services. With Domino all of this is taken care for you: authentication, directory services, security, web services, and database services are all tightly integrated in a single server,  which is an advantage that no other technology offers. While Domino has its quirks and does not sup...

In our previous articles, we discussed the advantages of using JSON in applications and the importance of being able to effectively process JSON. This leads to the interesting question: what exactly is an application, and the answer to that question may differ depending on who you ask. Most people today would assume you are referring to a phone app, and even then there are wide range of options. A college student might think of apps like Tiktok or WhatsApp, and a person looking for a significant other might automatically think of Hinge or Tinder. All of these people would be able to provide you with multiple examples of apps, and they might be able to list some of the common features of an app, even if they do not understand any of the technical details. In general, a web app today consists of the following four modules, even if the technical details may differ tremendously from app to app: User interface (UI) Database Business Logic Security Now, let's consider what an app is in t...

As often said by Dr. McCoy in the original Star Trek series, he is a doctor, not a ____________ .  However, just like Dr. McCoy, you may sometimes need to work on things that seem very alien to your experience.  One of those things, might be JSON. LotusScript, which was derived from Visual Basic, was written long before JSON existed, and therefore, LotusScript had no built-in capabilities for handling JSON objects. As we mentioned in Part 4, JSON plays a critical role in iPhora.  All data are stored as JSON, and JSON serves as the primary data and communication format between modules, functions and services.  All core components operate using JSON-based configurations.  Therefore, it was extremely important that we are able to fluidity create, read and process JSON.   Creating a JSON string is relatively easy in any programming language. You can create it even using Commodore 64 Basic, and if built sequentially, one line at a time, it is possible to...

  The iPhora Journey - Part 1 - Reimagining Domino The iPhora Journey - Part 2 - Domino, the Little Engine that Could The iPhora Journey - Part 3 - Creating an Integrated UI Framework The iPhora Journey - Part 4 - JSON is King - The Why The iPhora Journey - Part 4 - JSON is King - The How As we mentioned yesterday, in reimagining Domino, we wanted Domino to be a modern web application server, one that utilized a JSON-based NoSQL database and be more secure compared to other JSON-based NoSQL platforms. A Domino document existing within a Domino database is the foundational data record used in iPhora, just as it is with traditional Domino applications. But instead of just storing data into individual fields, we wanted to store and process the JSON in a Domino document.  However, text fields (AKA summary fields) in Domino documents are limited to only 64 KBytes, and that is a serious limitation. 64 KBytes of JSON data does not even touch what the real world typically transfe...

As part of CollabSphere 2022, on Tuesday October 18, 2022. HCL will be running three virtual workshops the day before CollabSphere starts. Each workshop will be 4 hours long with breaks and be limited to 12 attendees only. You will be able to sign up for the workshops as part of the CollabSphere 2022 registration process which start next Monday, August 15, 2022. You will be placed on a waiting list if the workshop is full. Below is a list of workshops that will be provided by HCL Digital Solutions Academy: ========================================= Tuesday - 10/18/2022 - Morning Deploying HCL Sametime Premium 12 on Kubernetes We'll cover setting up your own Kubernetes cluster and deploying Sametime Premium, which includes chat and meeting components. In addition to this, we'll use the time to cover network architecture, configurations, best practices, and troubleshooting. Tuesday - 10/18/2022 - Morning HCL Volt MX Development Jumpstart - Domino Developers Edition! Are you a...

The iPhora Journey - Part 1 - Reimagining Domino The iPhora Journey - Part 2 - Domino, the Little Engine that Could The iPhora Journey - Part 3 - Creating an Integrated UI Framework The iPhora Journey - Part 4 - JSON is King - The Why JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) was defined by Douglas Crockford in early 2000s as a data exchange format that grew out of JavaScript. JavaScript code can in fact be structured as JSON data, and even the HTML DOM can be represented as JSON data (more about that in a future blog). JSON has now become the dominant data exchange format, superseding XML. It provides data exchange between the server and JavaScript-based clients, including web browsers, and it is also used in web services and web hooks. It is not only readable by humans but it is also lightweight. Databases such as MongoDB and RavenDB use JSON as the data storage format, and there are a number of derivatives, such as BJSON, a binary version of JSON used in MongoDB. More and more companies are...

The iPhora Journey - Part 1 - Reimagining Domino The iPhora Journey - Part 2 - Domino, the Little Engine that Could The iPhora Journey - Part 3 - Creating an Integrated UI Framework There are many ways to create the user interface (UI) for a web application. The HTML page could be created on the server and then pushed out. It could be static with the data generated on the page by the server with JavaScript, providing a more dynamic experience, or the server could generate new HTML content to update portions of the web page. XPages or PHP are good examples of this. Another method is to have the web page partially generated by the server and have JavaScript build the rest of the HTML by pulling data from the server via an API. This is the approach used in the Single Page Application (SPA) model. In all cases, it is still dependent on the web server technology being using.  As mentioned previously in this blog, XPages is dependent on complete integration between form and document, whi...

The iPhora Journey - Part I  - Reimagining Domino We have been working with Notes and Domino since 1995, back when it was still called Lotus Notes. The name "Domino" did not come into the picture until a few years later when the Notes server was renamed. Our company, ReCor, provided computer-based training Notes and Domino, and our course offerings included training for application development, administration, and end-users. After the early 2000's, demand for new installations of Notes and Domino began to decline, along with the demand for training.  At this point we decided to start a new company, one that focused on IT Support and application development, but with an emphasis on Domino. This is how Phora Group began. Our initial problem was that all of our customer contacts were for training, and while the ReCor customer base was extensive and included many very large companies, those customers were already supported by either internal staff, IBM, or IBM Business Partne...

Domino, which is currently owned by HCL Technologies, is one of the most enduring application platforms ever built. It owes its existence to Ray Ozzie, who was heavily influenced by his use of the PLATO system, a pioneering interactive/educational network at the University of Illinois. The first version of Domino (then called Lotus Notes) was released in 1989, and Domino applications from 1989 can still run on the newest version (12.01). You can build Domino applications for deployment on the Notes clients, mobile devices, or Web browsers, and for programming and customization, you can use Nodejs, Java, LotusScript, and Formula language, or any combination of them. Regardless of which programming languages are used, a typical application is usually represented by a single Domino database. However, the IT landscape has changed significantly since Domino was a dominant player in the market. The migration to web and mobile applications using cloud-based solutions has led to the steep decl...

  I am please to announce that CollabSphere 2022 will be held October 19-20, 2022. Registration, sponsorship and abstract submission will start the week after next. New for this year is the addition of the CollabSphere Discord channel where the conversation and learning starts before and after the conference. All attendees are invited to join us. We will have online activities on Discord so make sure you join. The conference is about you and your story and we want to hear your story. More about this in the near future. The cost for CollabSphere 2022 will be $150 USD with a discount of $150 USD for the total cost of $ 0 USD. Thanks again to the folks at Prominic.net for hosting our web site. https://collabsphere.org