Lotus Domino Release 5.0 A Developer’s Handbook phần 1 pps

Object Store Documents in a Domino database can contain any number of objects anddata types, including text, rich text, numerical data, structured data, images,graphics, sound, video, fi

Printed in the U.S.A.

SG24-5331-01

Part No CC7EDNA

xii Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer’s Handbook

SG24-5331-01International Technical Support Organization

Lotus Domino Release 5.0:

A Developer’s Handbook

September 1999

Take Note!

Before using this information and the product it supports, be sure to read the general information in the Special Notices section at the back of this book

Second Edition (September 1999)

This edition applies to Lotus Domino Release 5.0.1

Comments may be addressed to: IBM Corporation, International Technical Support Organization

Dept JN9B Building 045 Internal Zip 2834

11400 Burnet RoadAustin, Texas 78758-3493When you send information to IBM, you grant IBM a non-exclusive right to use or distribute the

information in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you

© International Business Machines Corporation 1999 All rights reserved.

Note to U.S Government Users: Documentation related to restricted rights Use, duplication or disclosure

is subject to restrictions set forth in GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp

16Fields

16Views

15Subforms

15Forms

15The Domino Database

15Domino Design Elements

14The Script Area

14The Reference View

13The Objects View

13The Programmer’s Pane

12The Launch Buttons

12The Window Tabs

11The Design Pane

10Managing Your Workspace

9

2 Lotus Domino Designer:

An Overview

8Summary

6Domino Administrator R5.0

4Notes R5.0

4Clients for Domino R5.0

2Services Offered by Domino Servers

2Domino Enterprise Server

1Domino Application Server

1Domino Mail Server

1Domino R5.0 Server

1

1 What is Lotus Domino?

xvComments Welcome

xiiiThe Team That Wrote This Redbook

xiii

Preface

60Sharing and Reusing a Field

57Performing a Test Run

56Creating a Field

53Objects View

52Giving the Form a Title

43Specifying Form Properties

43Forms

43

4 Forms

42Summary

40Using Design Synopsis

33Changing the Database Properties

27Creating a Database

27Domino Databases

24Multi-Client Applications Support

23Industry Standards Support

23

New Rapid Development Capabilities

in IDE

22Domino User Interface Applets

22Page Designer

21Frameset Designer

20Outline Designer

17New Features of Domino Designer

16Action Buttons

16Tables

16Shared Fields

Contents iii

Contents

102Importing Pictures

102Copying Images

102Images Within Forms

99

Buttons, Action Bar Buttons,

and Hotspots

97Computed Text

97Horizontal Rules

97Other Features of Forms

96Embedded File Upload Control

94Embedded Folder Pane

94

Embedded Group Scheduling

Control

93Embedded View

93Embedded Outline Control

93Embedded Date Picker

93Embedded Navigators

92Embedded Elements

86Table Properties

84Merge and Split Cells

84Create Tables Within Tables

82Using Tables

82Creating a Collapsible Section

82Working With Collapsible Sections

80Creating a Layout Region

80Working With Layout Regions

79

Displaying a Different Form to Web

Users and Notes Users

78Computed Subforms

77Removing Subforms

77Subform Properties

75Sharing Design Elements With Subforms

74Field Events

70Using the $$Return Field

68Rich Text Field (RTF) Applet

63Field Properties

138Presenting Views to Users

137Creating an All by Category View

136Using Categories in Views

136Identifying Unread Documents

133Overview of Styles

132Naming Views

132Hints and Tips on Designing Views

128Using HTML Formatting for Views

127Using Java Applets for Display

125Using the Default Display

125Views and the Web

123Working With Views as a Developer

121Creating a Button on the Action Bar

121Personal Views

120Shared, Personal-on-First-Use Views

120Shared Views

120Shared and Private Views

118Summary

117Creating Calendar Views

114Editing View Columns

111Working With View Properties

107Creating Views

107What is a Navigator?

107What is a Folder?

107What is a View?

107

5 Views, Folders, and Navigators

106Summary

106

Using a LotusScript Agent to Capture CGIVariables

105Using a Field to Capture CGI Variables

103

Table of CGI Variables Supported byDomino

103Using CGI Variables

103Alternate Text

103Using Image Resource

iv Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer’s Handbook

173Resources

170Embedded Outline

169Creating a New Outline

167Outlines

166Changing the Layout of a Frameset

163Creating a Frameset

163Framesets

162Launching Pages

161Using Pages

159Specifying Page Properties

158Creating a New Page

157Pages

157

6 New R5.0 Design Elements

156Summary

155Including a Navigator in the View Menu

154Testing a Navigator

154

Adding an Action Using @Functions or

LotusScript

154Adding an Action to a Navigator Object

152Creating a Navigator

151Navigator Actions

151Navigator Objects

150Using Navigators

150Creating a Write Access List

149Creating a Read Access List

149Managing Access to Views and Folders

148Designing a Folder

145Exporting and Importing Views

143Sorting Documents in Views

142Indenting Response Documents

142Formatting Numbers in Columns

141Formatting Date and Time Columns

140Hiding Views

138Embedding Views

192Agents and the Web

189Troubleshooting Agents

188Debugging Agents

188Checking the Agent Log

187

Testing an Agent Before Copying it to aLive Database

187Testing an Agent During Development

187Testing an Agent

186Displaying the Agent Pop-up Menu

183Specifying What the Agent Should Do

182Selecting Documents to be Processed

180Scheduling the Agent

179Naming the Agent

179Creating an Agent

178Restricted and Unrestricted Agents

177Access Control

177About Agents

177

7 Agents

176Summary

176Other

176Script Libraries

175Shared Fields

175Applets

173Images

Contents v

230When to Use Internet Security

230Domino and SSL

228Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

227HTTP Basic Authentication

227Authentication on the Web

225Using Encryption for Field Security

225Use of Hide-When Formulas

224Controlled Access Sections

223Combining Readers and Authors Fields

222Editor Access

220Read Access

219Controlling Access to Documents

219

Preventing Printing, Forwarding, and

Copying of Documents

216Controlling Access to Forms

215Controlling Access to Views

215Controlling Access to Views and Forms

212

Maximum Internet Name and Password

Access

211Enforce Consistent ACL

210Roles in the ACL

206Setting Up and Refining the ACL

201

8 Securing Your Application

199Summary

197Using Agents — Advanced Topics

195Creating a Web Page Counter

261

How Users Search Using a Search SiteDatabase

260Multi-Database Full Text Indexes

258Creating a Search Site Database

258Search Site Databases

256Customizing Search Result Forms

252Creating a TeamRoom Search

251Customizing Search and Result Forms

249Full Text Indexing

249Search Site URLs

248Search View URLs

248Search-Related URLs

247Adding Search Capabilities to Your Web Site

247

9 Searching

245Summary

244Distinguishing True Security Features

242Key Design Issues

240

Developing a Plan for Securing YourApplication

240Backup and Restore

239

APIs for Customized Authentication,Encryption, and Signing

237Access Control for HTML and Other Files

234Using Signatures for Security

234Other Security Options and Considerations

234Hiding the Design of a Database

234

Controlling if Users Paste Documents intoDatabase

234Password Field

233Using @UserNameList

233Using @ClientType

232Using @UserName

232Using @UserRoles

232Programming Considerations

231Defining Web Users

vi Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer’s Handbook

301Making Field Value Changes Effective

300

Using the Evaluate Function to Combine

LotusScript and Formulas

298When to Use Formulas and LotusScript

297Improving Form Performance

297Catching Errors at Compile Time

295Using a Template Database

293Using Script Libraries

292Reserved Fields

291Use Consistent Variable Names

290General Suggestions

290

LotusScript Programming Tips and

Considerations

285How Scripts and Formulas Are Executed

285Using LotusScript in Web Applications

284Action Object

280Event Type and Sequence

278The Event Model

278Programming With LotusScript

278Using Domino Objects From Java

276

Understanding Front-end and Back-end

Classes

274Using Domino Objects from LotusScript

273Object Hierarchy

270Domino Back-End Objects

270Domino Front-End UI Objects

269The Domino Object Model

267LotusScript

264Formula Language

263Simple Actions

263Programming in Notes

263

10 Programming for Domino

262Summary

261Customizing Search Site Result Forms

349Runtime Requirements

348Compiling and Running a Java Program

347How and When to Use CORBA

347Benefits of Using CORBA

346Adding CORBA to the Picture

342Summary

341The API for Domino and Notes

341External Tools

338

Accessing Java/CORBA Applets viaLiveConnect

337Accessing an Applet From JavaScript

337

LiveConnect — JavaScript Access to theDomino Classes

334Cookies and Domino

328Examples of Adding JavaScript to Forms

318Tracing Programs Without a Debugger

314How to Enable the Debugger

313Using the Debugger

312Error Handling

306New Domino Objects in Domino R5.0

396Using the LSX Wizard

396The LSX Development Process

395Creating an LSX

393What the LSX Toolkit Contains

392Overview

392Using the LSX Toolkit

392Using an LSX

391What Is an LSX?

391The LSX Toolkit

390

Considerations Before Using OLE

Embedding/Automation

387Troubleshooting

385

Using OLE Automation Without

Embedding

380Embedding OLE Objects

378

LotusScript Functions and Methods to Use

for OLE Applications

377Classes of OLE Objects

376

Accessing Other Applications From Notes

Using OLE Automation

374Runtime Errors and Debugging

372More Examples

361Coding the CORBA Applet

359CORBA and Domino

358Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP)

358CORBA Architecture

357Benefits of Using CORBA

357CORBA/IIOP

353Creating a Java Agent

351Applet Calls to lotus.domino Package

349Remote Calls to lotus.domino Package

431Lesson 4 - Comment Your Code

431Creating Your Application

430Lesson 7 - Project Scope Creep

430Lesson 6 - Even Domino Has Limitations

430Lesson 5 - Planning Your Application

430Lesson 4 - Understanding the Deliverables

429

Lesson 3 - Ensure That There is a RealBusiness Need

429Lesson 2 - Communication

429Lesson 1 - Getting a Business Sponsor

429Before You Write a Single Line of Code

429

12 Development Dos and Don’ts

428Summary

427Accessing LSX Class Property Arguments

425Accessing LSX Class Method Arguments

423LSX Design Decisions

419

Understanding the C++ LSX ClassFramework

416Architecture and Advanced Design

415LSX Registration

415LSX Installation

414The LSX Runtime Environment

414Deploying an LSX

414The LSXRUN Tool

413The LSXTEST Tool

413Testing an LSX

409Using LotusScript System Services

408Using Data Type Descriptions

406Using LSX Data Types

406Compiling the LSX

viii Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer’s Handbook

Populating the Lotus Notes Database With

Key Data

446Creating the Activity Document

444Creating the Lotus Notes Database

443

Creating a Simple RealTime DB2

Connection

442The DECS Administrator Navigator

441Using the Connection Server Administrator

441Configuring DECS

440Running LCTEST

440Testing Connections With LCTEST

439Setting Up Connectivity to DB2

438Supported Data Sources

437Installing and Running DECS

437

13 Introducing DECS and

Database Connectivity

436Summary

435Lesson 2 - Get Feedback From Your Users

435Lesson 1 - Define a Maintenance Server

432

Lesson 7 - Provide Meaningful Error

Messages

432

Lesson 6 - Use the Appropriate Design

Elements and Events

431Lesson 5 - Try to Avoid Hard Coding

490View Column Definitions

489Using Notes Views as Indexes

488Column, Index, Table, and View Names

486

Using SQL Tables from Derived Formsand Views

485The Universal Relation

485Mapping Notes Names to SQL Names

484Connecting to a Data Source

480Adding a Lotus Notes Data Source

479Installing NotesSQL

478Hardware and Software Requirements

478When to Use NotesSQL

477Technical Advantages

473

SQL Grammar Conformance Level ofNotesSQL

472What is ODBC?

471NotesSQL

471

14 Using Other Database Connectivity Tools

470Summary

467Multi-Value Data

448Running the DECS Activity

Contents ix

554Running Multiple Instances of an Agent

551Digging Deeper

550How Does This Work?

546Server Side Processing for Web Applications

533LS:DO Class Library

529How to Trace and Debug LS:DO

529

Mapping Data Types Between RDB

and Notes DB

528USELSX Statement to Enable LS:DO

527Registering ODBC Data Sources

526Software Requirements

525Performance

525Functionality

524Programming Environment

524Differences Between LS:DO and ODBC

524When to Use LS:DO

523Architecture

522Concepts

521What Is LS:DO?

521LotusScript:DataObject (LS:DO)

519What is ODBC?

518Database Access Facilities

518Data Resource Access

518LotusScript Data Objects and ODBC

516

To Configure and Run Domino Driver for

JDBC Using IBM WebSphere

516Using IBM WebSphere Application Server

516Using IBM VisualAge for Java Version 1.0

509Creating a Connection

507Domino Driver for JDBC Data Types

506What is JDBC?

506Domino Driver for JDBC

502

Example: Using NotesSQL With Microsoft

Active Server Pages (ASP)

599Hide-When Formulas

599Use Formulas Instead of Simple Actions

598Temporary Variables

597Use Aliases

586Translation

584Preparing the Glossary for Translation

565The Synchronizer

564The Standalone Tagger

564The WorkBench

563What is Tagging?

563Domino Global WorkBench Databases

555When to Use

635Domino URL Command Syntax

635

Appendix A Domino URLs

634Summary

633Denying a Request

631Approving a Request

626Submitting a New Form for Approval

624Creating a New Request

624The Major Fields

619Approval Cycle Database: Design

618Working With the Request

617Using the Workflow Document

613

Creating a Database Using the Approval

Cycle Template

612Workflow Design Considerations

611What is Workflow?

611

16 Domino Ad Hoc Workflow

610Summary

607Create a Design Synopsis

607Make a Backup

607Preparing an Existing Database

606Keep Translators Informed

605LotusScript

604Pay Attention to Length Limitations

604Fonts

602Keywords

602Handling Translatable Lists

600Concatenated Sentences

600

Avoid Shared/Personal on First Use

Folders or Views

599

Exclude Paragraphs From Translation

Using the DO_NOT_TAG Style

667

How to Get ITSO Redbooks

665Redbooks on CD-ROMs

664Other Lotus-Related ITSO Publications

648Function Keys

647Workspace Keys

642Opening an Anchor Link

Contents xi

xii Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer’s Handbook

This document describes how to develop applications using Lotus DominoRelease 5.0

The earlier chapters in the book introduce some of the basic design elements

of a Domino database such as the database itself, forms, views, folders, andnavigators Those readers that are familiar with developing applicationsusing earlier releases of Lotus Domino may want to move straight to thechapters that introduce the new features in Domino 5.0, such as framesets,pages, outlines, resources and headlines

The book then describes how to use the programming languages available inDomino Designer; the formula language, LotusScript, JavaScript, Java, IIOPand CORBA, C++ API and the LSX toolkit Some good practical advice onDomino development do’s and don’ts is then outlined before discussing theDomino Enterprise Connectors (DECS) which are used to access data fromexternal data sources, along with chapters describing how to use NotesSQL,ODBC, and the LotusScript Data Object (LSDO)

The book then explains how to create multilingual international applicationsfor Domino and the Web using the Global Workbench tool

Finally, the topic of creating workflow applications with the Approval Cycletemplate is covered with an in-depth look at the LotusScript in the

ApprovalLogic subform

This redbook was written for Domino technical specialists andprogrammers, customers, IBM Business Partners, and the IBM and Lotuscommunity who need a good technical understanding of how to developapplications using Lotus Domino R5.0

The Team That Wrote This Redbook

This redbook was produced by a team of specialists from around the worldworking at the International Technical Support Organization Center at Lotus

in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Fiona Collins is an International Technical Support Specialist for Notes and

Domino at the International Technical Support Organization Center at LotusDevelopment, Cambridge, Massachusetts She manages projects whoseobjective it is to produce redbooks on all areas of Domino Before joining the

Preface

xiii

ITSO in 1996, she provided technical support for Lotus Notes/Domino andthe AS/400, for Lotus and IBM in the UK.

David Morrisonis a senior Lotus Notes consultant working for IBMe-business services in the United Kingdom David specializes in designingand developing large scale Internet and data integration applications based

on Lotus Notes and Domino technology David has over 10 years experienceworking in the IT industry, with five of these spent working with LotusNotes and Domino

Søren Peter Nielsen works as an IT Architect for IBM Global Services in

Denmark with Domino development and Domino infrastructure During hismore than 15 years at IBM, Søren has worked with solutions for industrieslike Small and Medium Business, Banking, Insurance, News & Media,Manufacturing, Public Sector, Travel & Transportation, and Petroleum.Søren is a Certified Lotus Professional at the Principal level in ApplicationDevelopment and System Administration

Sami Serpola works in IBM e-business Services in Finland as a Lotus Notes

and Domino Application Development Consultant, designing anddeveloping Lotus Notes and Domino solutions for IBM customers

Reinhold Strobl works for the IBM Product Support Services Department in

Vienna, Austria, where he provides specialist support to customers for LotusDomino and support for other aspects of application development Beforejoining the IBM support organization, Reinhold was a software designer anddeveloper working out of an IBM software development laboratory

A number of people have provided support and guidance In particular, we

would like to thank Chris Reckling, Product Manager for Domino Designer.

In addition, we would like to thank the following people from LotusCambridge (unless otherwise noted):

Comments Welcome

Your comments are important to us!

We want our redbooks to be as helpful as possible Please send us yourcomments about this or other redbooks in one of the following ways:

shown on the form

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/

Send your comments in an Internet note to

redbook@us.ibm.com

Preface xv

The Domino™ Server family is an integrated messaging and Webapplication software platform, for growing companies that need to improvecustomer responsiveness, and streamline their business processes

Domino, the only solution built on an open, unified architecture, is trusted

by the world’s leading companies to deliver secure communication,collaboration and business applications Domino R5.0 servers set a newstandard for rich Internet messaging, ease of administration, and integrationwith back-end systems

This chapter describes the Domino R5.0 Server Family, the services DominoR5.0 offers, and the clients for Domino R5.0

Domino R5.0 Server

The Domino R5.0 Server is offered in different packages, to allow customers

to pick the functionality that meets their current requirements and extendsthat functionality as their requirements change in the future We will brieflydescribe the three Domino R5.0 servers below

Domino Mail Server

Domino Mail Server is the newest member of the Lotus® Domino serverfamily Domino Mail combines support for the latest Internet mail standardswith the advanced messaging capabilities and enterprise-scale reliability andperformance of Lotus Domino Its integrated, cross-platform services includeWeb access, group scheduling, collaborative workspaces, and newsgroups —all accessible from a Web browser or other standards-based client

Domino Mail Server is used for messaging only Customers that want todeploy their own applications on the Domino server should considerDomino Application Server or Domino Enterprise Server

Domino Application Server

Domino Application Server is the leading integrated messaging andapplications server It delivers best-of-breed messaging as well as an open,

Chapter 1

What is Lotus Domino?

1

secure Web application platform The server easily integrates back-endsystems with front-end systems business processes.

This is the natural evolution of the Lotus Notes server from which LotusDomino originates

Domino Enterprise Server

Domino Enterprise Server is the server for customers requiringmission-critical, highly scalable deployments with uninterrupted access, and maximum performance under all conditions It extends the functionality

of Domino Mail and Domino Application Servers with high availabilityservices such as partitioning, clustering, and billing

This product was previously called Domino Advanced Services

Services Offered by Domino Servers

Lotus Domino Servers offer a wide range of services We will brieflydescribe the most important ones

Object Store

Documents in a Domino database can contain any number of objects anddata types, including text, rich text, numerical data, structured data, images,graphics, sound, video, file attachments, embedded objects, and Java™ andActiveX applets A built-in Full text search engine makes it easy to index andsearch documents The object store also lets your Domino applicationsdynamically present information based on variables such as user identity,user preferences, user input, and time

Directory

A single directory manages all resource directory information for server andnetwork configuration, application management, and security Domino includesuser account synchronization between NT and Domino and is Light WeightDirectory Access Protocol (LDAP) compliant The directory is the foundationfor easily managing and securing your Internet and intranet applications

Security

flexible access control, and encryption Domino security enables you toextend your intranet applications to customers and business partners

An advanced client/server messaging system with built-in calendaring andscheduling enables individuals and groups to send and share informationeasily Message transfer agents (MTAs) seamlessly extend the system toSimple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension(MIME), x.400, and cc:Mail™ messaging environments The Domino

messaging service provides a single server supporting a variety of mail clients;Post Office Protocol V3 (POP3), Internet Message Access Protocol V4 (IMAP4),Message Application Programming Interface (MAPI), and Lotus Notes clients

Workflow

A workflow engine distributes, routes, and tracks documents according to aprocess defined in your applications Workflow enables you to coordinateand streamline critical business activities across an organization, and withcustomers, partners, and suppliers

Agents

Agents enable you to automate frequently performed processes, eliminatingtedious administration tasks, and speeding your business applications.Agents can be triggered by time or events in a business application Agentscan be run on Domino servers or Lotus Notes clients

Development Environment

Domino Designer is general-purpose client software featuring an integrateddevelopment environment (IDE) that provides easy access to all features ofthe Domino server We will focus on the features and functions of DominoDesigner as well as the Domino Object Model in this redbook

Domino Object Model

Domino offers a unified model for accessing its objects through back-endclasses, whether you use LotusScript® or Java This allows you to switchprogramming languages without having to learn new ways to program forDomino Refer to Chapter 11: Advanced Domino Programming for moreinformation on the Domino Object Model

Live Integration with Enterprise Data

DECS (Domino Enterprise Connection Services) is part of the DominoServer It is a Lotus developed technology, first shipped with NotesPump™2.5, that supplies an easy-to-use forms-based interface to achieve deep,integrated connectivity to external data from Domino applications Thisallows developers to map fields in forms directly to fields in relationaldatabase tables, without storing any data within the Domino database

Scalability and Reliability

Domino Enterprise Server enable you to cluster up to six Domino servers toprovide both scalability and failover protection, to maximize the availability

Chapter 1: What is Lotus Domino? 3

of your groupware and messaging applications Real-time replicationtechnology keeps the clustered servers synchronized.

provides access to shared resources such as printers and applications, andalso manages network activity Domino is an application-level server processthat provides services necessary for the effective management of

communications and applications

Clients for Domino R5.0

Previous versions of Lotus Domino had one, all-purpose client that would beused by users, administrators, and application developers With LotusDomino Release 4.6, a special client for developers called Lotus Notes®Designer for Domino was introduced

As a result of the strong focus on ease-of-use in the design of Lotus DominoR5.0, three individual clients are now available They are:

Most of the functionality in Lotus Domino can also be accessed from Webbrowsers The Lotus Domino server includes a Web administrationapplication This redbook has its focus on Domino Designer R5.0 Chapter 2

is dedicated to an overview of Domino Designer R5.0 We will give a briefoverview of the two other clients below

Notes R5.0

Lotus Notes is the leading integrated e-mail and collaborative software forthe Internet In R5.0, Notes offers a more open, Web-like, customizableenvironment, so you can work the way you want, with all the power youexpect from Notes

The new Navigation Bar gives you instant forward, back, stop, and refreshactions, as well as access to search engines and the Web, from wherever youare in Notes

Notes R5.0 has Bookmarks so that you can create links to Web pages,application views, documents, and forms for instant access The newWindow tabs allow you to keep track of multiple open windows, andnavigate between them quickly Notes R5.0 also has enhanced searchcapabilities, including search-by-form, fuzzy search, and the ability toperform a domain search — making information tracking quick and intuitive

4 Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer’s Handbook

With Notes R5.0, keeping on top of the latest and most important

information is easy The Notes R5.0 customizable Headlines page lets youselect the information that you want to see first You’ll be alerted to

important e-mail messages, tasks, or meetings for the day You can evenreceive updates from intranet applications and view Web content

dynamically — all from Headlines

Each item on the Headlines page is a point of entry, so if you’ve received anurgent e-mail message, the full document is just a mouse click away Plus, ITorganizations can customize Headlines to feed corporate intranet

information right onto the user’s desktop

Enhanced E-mail and Calendaring

The new mail and calendaring features in Notes R5.0 take the best of

industry leading applications, such as cc:Mail and Lotus Organizer, andmake them better Notes R5.0 continues to build on its powerful integration

by combining your mail and calendar preferences You can preset

preferences for every e-mail you send, including automatic spell check andsending all mail high priority with return receipt Notes R5.0 mail alsosupports signature files, giving you a simple way to identify yourself andadd pertinent information to every e-mail you send

Chapter 1: What is Lotus Domino? 5

If you manage multiple calendars, Notes R5.0 now gives you the ability toview more than one calendar at a time Choose to access multiple calendarsfor a “quick view” of who is available, or get more detail on another user’sschedule if necessary And when you need to take your calendar with you,Notes R5.0 gives you multiple print formats to choose from Notes R5.0streamlines the process of managing resources across domains, giving yougreater access and control over conference rooms, AV equipment, and more.

Installation and Setup

Setting up Notes R5.0 is easy Integration with dial-up networking entriesmeans connections are created automatically for you as you install thesoftware Notes R5.0 also offers several preset configurations for even fasteruser setup It’s easier than ever for you to access your ISP mail account rightfrom Notes And if you’re upgrading, you’ll be ready to go as soon as youfinish installation

A Powerful Tool for Any Infrastructure

Current Notes users can continue to take advantage of all their Dominoserver-based applications like e-mail and calendaring In addition, NotesR5.0 offers full standards support including POP, IMAP4, SMTP, LDAP v3,MIME, S/MIME, HTML, Java, Javascript, and X.509 certificates So now,even users with non-Domino, standards-based back ends or that use ISPhosted mail at home will benefit from the power of Notes R5.0

Domino Administrator R5.0

Domino Administrator R5.0 is a new, integrated administration controlpanel that provides simple, yet flexible administration Administrationbenefits are universal whether you are a smaller company just gettingstarted with Domino, or an enterprise managing a large-scale deployment,with thousands of people and applications

The Domino Administrator R5.0 utilizes the Windows Explorer metaphor,providing an easy, intuitive interface and allowing drag-and-drop

functionality for common administration tasks, such as moving a user.Important new server monitoring features now allow administrators toproactively monitor and manage an environment Finally, administratorshave the ability to centrally configure, manage, and enforce user desktopsettings All of these administration enhancements, and more, result in themost comprehensive server management tools and reduce the cost ofownership

6 Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer’s Handbook

Domino Directories Administration Tab

The Domino Administrator provides logical groupings for administrationfunctions and tasks via five specific interfaces reached via tabs across the top

of the Administrator UI These tabs are People & Groups, Configuration, Files, Server, Messaging, and Replication On each tab, the UI is divided intothree primary work areas or “panes.”

hierarchical view of your Domino Server deployment

specific database, directory, group, server, etc that you are working on

feedback and results of tasks you invoke

tools (also available via right-mouse click)

The People & Groups Tab in the Domino Administrator provides a centralinterface for all user and group management, such as user registration,certification, and group management

From the Files Tab, Administrators can easily manage files and applications.Context-sensitive tools let administrators easily perform common databasetasks such as check the disk status, move, compact, and more

From the Server Tab, Administrators can get a graphical representation ofthe state of their servers, with details on the current status of specific tasks

Chapter 1: What is Lotus Domino? 7

In this chapter we have described the Domino Server Family:

and the clients for Domino from Lotus:

The Domino Web application server and Domino Designer provide aworld-class Web development platform They are optimized to enable you tobuild applications which facilitate the flow of information between yourorganization’s enterprise systems and front-end business processes.

The Domino development environment offers you application services such

as workflow, directory, messaging, and security which can be used to createhigh value business solutions

The Domino Designer is an open application development environment that

is intuitive and offers a high degree of developer productivity

In Domino R5.0 Notes and Web development experiences have beenintegrated, bringing native Web technologies to the Notes environment andextending native Domino technologies to the Web environment WithDomino Designer you write your application once to run in both a Webbrowser and the Notes client Several Domino design elements, previouslyoffered only in Notes, are now available as Java applets to provide increasedfunctionality to browsers For example, a view served as an applet supportssuch “Notes-like” features as expandable/collapsible categories, resizablecolumns, and multiple document selection A rich text editor applet allowsusers to style and format text in a Web document In addition, you can nowwrite applications in JavaScript which will support both the Notes client andthe Web browser

Lotus Domino Designer gives you the ability to build internationalapplications with Domino Global WorkBench™ which contains acomprehensive set of tools to easily create, synchronize, and managemultilingual Domino applications

Chapter 2

Lotus Domino Designer: An Overview

9

Managing Your Workspace

This section gives you a short overview on the user interface of LotusDomino Designer As in Lotus Domino client, the workspace in LotusDomino Designer is made up of several pages where the Domino databasesare displayed as icons One of the features of the Programmer’s Pane is itssensitivity to context You are very often just one mouse-click away from theaction you want to perform

When you start Lotus Notes your screen may look like this:

To access your workspace, click the Databases icon and then clickWorkspace

To open Domino Designer, click the Domino Designer icon or right click adatabase icon and select Database - Open in Designer from the pop-upmenu

You can of course also start Domino Designer by clicking its icon in the StartPrograms list

10 Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer's Handbook

The Design Pane

The Design Pane gives you easy access to the design elements of the last 5databases you have worked on

Clicking the tab in the upper left corner of the designer bookmarks brings upthe Design pane list

From here you can easily go to any of the design elements of an alreadylisted database in the area called the work pane by simply clicking it

is added to the site database list

Clicking the push-pin in the upper right corner of the Recent Databases listfixes the list to the screen and stops it from automatically hiding Clickingthe push-pin a second time will cause the site database list to disappearwhen you click the programmer's pane

Chapter 2: Lotus Domino Designer: An Overview 11

The Window Tabs

Another enhancement to the user interface is the window tabs, which appearwhen a new design element is opened The window tabs have replaced theWindows menu as a more intuitive way of tracking where you’ve been

It’s easy to see what you have previously opened and return to it quicklyand easily by clicking the tab Also, because the tabs have text titles you caneasily close the windows that you don’t want open without having them asthe active window on the desktop Just click the small x to the right of the tab

to close that window

or parts of them between applications

CTRL+TAB allows you to move from window to window To go to a specific

windows tab Press the number displayed for the tab you want to select To

The Launch Buttons

The Domino Designer R5.0 interface has a set of launch buttons in the upperright corner

There are buttons which let you easily preview the results of your designchanges The following preview tools are available:

Domino Client — Click the button showing the 3 people

Domino Web Browser — Click the button showing the tile

External Web Browser — Click the button showing the symbol of theinstalled browser

installed browser For example, if you have two browsers installed you willsee two buttons for the external browsers

12 Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer's Handbook

The button displayed to the left of the preview tools buttons (shown in thepanel above) will launch the InfoBox for the selected design element.

The Programmer’s Pane

The Programmer’s Pane is made up of two parts:

The Objects View

The Objects view gives you immediate access to any design element in yourapplication and its associated events and attributes

You can easily navigate through the list by clicking the plus (+) and minus (-)signs to expand or collapse the displayed list for a design element

Chapter 2: Lotus Domino Designer: An Overview 13

The Reference View

The Reference view is similar to the Objects view In this view you getinformation about Domino objects

The Script Area

Depending on the selection you make in the Objects view, the appropriateinput window is presented in the script area Using the Design Paneproperty box you can adjust the settings to your needs

14 Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer's Handbook

Domino Design Elements

As a developer of Domino applications you will work with the Dominodesign elements to build your application The following section gives you

a short overview of the design elements

The Domino Database

A Domino database is a collection of related information stored in a singlefile A Domino application uses at least one database However, applications

of a more complex nature may use several databases and may routeinformation between databases on one or more servers A database holdsinformation about its design (see the description of the Domino designelements below) as well as data Domino data is organized as documents Adocument is defined as an object containing text, graphics, video, or audioobjects, or any other kind of “rich text” data

Forms

Notes database contains documents created from one or more forms A formcan contain:

Fields that store data

Text that labels fields or gives instructions

Subforms that store a collection of form elements that you want to use onmore than one form

Layout regions that combine graphics and fields in a way that affordsgreater design flexibility

Graphics that make forms easier to understand

Tables that summarize or organize information

Objects (OLE, Subscriptions, Notes/FX™ fields), file attachments, URLs,and links that extend the reach of Notes documents

Actions and buttons that perform functions automatically

Background color and graphics that enhance the look of a document

Subforms

A subform is a collection of fields that you plan to use in more than oneform For example, you might create a corporate letterhead in a subform andthen use the subform on a variety of business forms Subforms can containthe same elements as a regular form

Chapter 2: Lotus Domino Designer: An Overview 15

A view is a list of documents in a database Depending on the selectioncriteria a subset or all documents of a database are displayed Thedocuments may be grouped or sorted based on their contents Usually, themost important information contained in a document is shown in a view, too

Fields

what data a single document can contain Each field in a document stores aparticular kind of data, such as text, numbers, dates, or user names Oftenusers can enter and edit field values, but sometimes data is filled in orchanged automatically

The contents of a field can be displayed in documents and views or can beretrieved for use in formulas A field can be defined for use on a single form

or can be defined to be shared among multiple forms in a database

Shared Fields

Shared fields behave like fields but may be used in different forms If youchange the properties of a shared field the changes are promoted to alloccurrences of this field

16 Lotus Domino Release 5.0: A Developer's Handbook

New Features of Domino Designer

From the beginning, Domino was designed to be a great environment forquickly creating secure, collaborative applications Now, the Lotus DominoDesigner has been enhanced to meet the needs of professional and corporatedevelopers who create enterprise applications for the Web As a result, theLotus Domino Designer includes a set of new features and tools for rapidapplication development:

Outline Designer: The outline designer is a visual toolset for simplifying

Domino Web site design It enables developers to design an entire site,link content to the site design, manage the links, and create a UI sitenavigation map component that can be used in site frames or on Webpages

Frameset Designer: The frameset designer provides visual tools and

wizards to easily create multi-paned interfaces for Domino applications

Page Designer: Page designer, a WYSIWYG HTML authoring tool,

supports a broad range of browser technologies A number ofimprovements to tables and graphics file support provide completecontrol over page design and layout

Domino UI Applets: Three popular Notes user interface components are

now available as Java applets The Java applets provide the capability toquickly add these full-featured Notes design elements to browserapplications

New Rapid Development Capabilities in IDE: Domino Designer now

enables multiple work sessions to be open within tiled windows,provides a “movable” properties box for rapid manipulation of objectproperties, and offers a new Design Synopsis that provides access to allinformation about your application including application source codeand administrative information

To start with, we will now look at how these new Design elements can beused in Domino The following figures show a database that has beendeveloped to be used from the Notes client as well as from the Web Thefollowing design elements have been used:

Frameset

Page

Outline

Domino User Interface Applet for views

Chapter 2: Lotus Domino Designer: An Overview 17