John Kost's - The Virtual Pulpit (Blog)

I've been neglecting the blogging for a while, but since a new release of Domino surfaced this week I have new material to comment upon.

1) IBM continues it's tradition of producing high-quality software. Domino 8.5.3 from my initial experience is solid as stone. The upgrade went so smoothly and continues to impress. I am programmed to expect problems with software (other companies) and when it goes smoothly I feel 'weirded-out' like somehow I have been denied my IT grief. Anyways..I digress.

2) DDS is something I have been itching to exploit. Domino Data Services opens up a whole new world of possibilities especially in mobile application development. I'm not a big fan of HTML5 (browser compatibility issues and penetration), nor have I jumped on the XPages bandwagon. Nope, I am looking to Adobe Air 3.0 as a UI surface for all that wondrous Domino data.

3) Freshness. Domino has for many years been able to remain fresh and interesting to me. Keep up the good work IBM.

Drinking Kool-Aid was a favorite pastime of mine as a kid. Like all kids, I even attempted to eat it straight from the packet. Even today, if I get a whiff of anything remotely smelling like Kool-Aid I get pulled back in time to my childhood and the feel of sunshine and fresh air and well just being a happy kid. So, when somebody tells me (usually some dumb-ass architect or know-it-all-know-nothing geek) that I drank the Kool-Aid on this Domino thing, I just smile back and think about my Kool-Aid days.

I love digging into platforms. I've been digging into SharePoint, and it has it's merits and use-cases. Exchange/Outlook is a fine platform as well. C# and .NET/IIS is a great platform also. Scala is my new interest. It takes the JVM into a bold new territory. OSGi solves enterprise problems as well. Then there is this new NoSQL movement out there pushing things like CouchDB or MongoDB and other non-structured information (key-value) stores. The ecosystem is diverse, and Domino is not a Dinosaur headed for extinction any time soon. I suggest you explore the platform now that Domino Designer is FREE. Maybe you'll discover something interesting and meaningful for your enterprise.

Let us know what you favorite Kool-Aid flavor was (or still is). I raise my glass to those men & women at IBM/Lotus for a fine release of truly epic software. Cheers!

Well the Betas for Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst are out. That of course means the evolution of Flex continues and we have some new things to learn (newer namespaces and their controversy). Domino is also evolving with 8.5.1 just around the corner and Domino 9 over the horizon. The fusion of the two is still very compelling for many use cases, and for the last two years I've watched as the community surrounding the two have grown considerably. I predict the growth will accelerate now that AJAX is well entrenched in the mindsets of managers/architects/developers. When you look at the application of these AJAX frameworks to Domino development, one is enlightened to how far out in front Flex really is. I know the argument inevitably turns to 'web standards' and how Flex is 'proprietary', but I still don't see AJAX (and all those frameworks) being a 'web standard'. Browsers have become a runtime for web applications, but they sure don't meet any consistent 'web standard' in my books. JAVA (read applets) were supposed to solve this problem, and maybe JavaFX will in time do just that, yet the Flash platform is so pervasive that one cannot ignore the standard that it defines. In the end it comes down to users needing (wanting) more, balanced against the realities of enterprise development.

I encourage you to go play with the new Flash Builder 4 (and Catalyst) products. Soon you will find that web user needs (like a responsive UI) will play greatly into your success as a Domino developer. Compare your developer experience with your favorite 'web standard' AJAX toolkit or even the XPage development experience (Domino 8.5) and post your observations. Just keep an open mind about what you are doing and experiencing!

SharePoint is popping-up everywhere, and I'm starting to see the reason why! It does the job really, really well (in a certain context of course). Sure Domino can do lots of cool things and more, but MOSS 2007 really does one thing well. Add to this, the fact that as you move between companies, jobs, departments et al your familiarity with SharePoint and Office carry. SharePoint defines a structured environment out of the box. Domino environments rarely define such structure because they are so RAD in nature. This is good (and bad). Well structured IT systems will provide really good ROI over time, and SharePoint delivers.

So where does that put me, a revolutionary trying to extend Domino into RIA territory?  Well, let's just say that MOSS 2007, combined with WebORB and Adobe Flex is my new lab toy. Corporate portals never had it this good, and I intend to prove it.

And before the flame wars begin, I still love Domino! It has an architectural design that few can appreciate!

John
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year..

I was having a conversation the other day with a colleague about Domino. At his place of work, it seems that Domino just keeps on filling so many immediate business requirements that it's spreading like a virus. The inherent 'agile' development nature of the platform just gives it this natural momentum. The problem it seems is that with these tight times, it is difficult to procure budget for new gear and licenses to meet the growing demand in Domino applications with his company.

Then it struck me later in the day when I was taking out the garbage and doing the recycling thing. All those companies moving to Microsoft Exchange, or worst going under, are trashing Domino PoE's that could be reused somewhere else in the economy.

So, if you want to recycle those unused Domino licenses (PoE) then drop me a line. We'll work out something that helps the environment. We'll do something together that saves the planet and makes it a more beautiful place for our children and their children.

Recycle, reuse!

I've been playing with the 8.5 Beta to get a feel for where Lotus is headed with Designer (based on Eclipse) and the new XPage element. It's great and proves a point that the people at Lotus are thinking and evolving Domino into the RIA space. I've always wondered why they didn't bring more J2EE elements (like JSF) on board sooner (read half-baked servlet engine). Was it more important to protect the WebSphere product line, then to evolve Domino into a truly awesome collaborative platform?

Lotus, here's some advice from me. If you can re-jig JSF into XPages, then you can integrate Flex MXML as well. The Flex SDK is open source, and Adobe is a great partner to mash-up with in the RIA space. Don't tell me it can't be done because I've been hacking the Flex server-side compiler into Domino. Obviously it's a piece of cake for you to extend the NSF format to include new elements like you have done so many times in the past.. add MXML markup as well. The lines are being drawn in the coming RIA mindshare wars. Pick a winner, pick Flex! SAP is picking Flex, Oracle is picking Flex, SalesForce is picking Flex. See the big-picture?

Consider this seriously, failure to do so will nullify so much of your future business.

If you are in the market for Domino application migration to version 7.x or even 8.x, why not give a thought to implementing a revamped Adobe Flex UI for Internet/Intranet users. Since I am now starting to see somewhat longer closure times on project approvals (recession maybe), I thought I would cast my solicitation field farther and wider. That's right, I'm going global! It's the perfect time to go looking for expanded business opportunities world-wide. What's really important, is that I know I can compete in world markets with my unique and diverse blending of technologies. So if you have Lotus Notes/Domino migration projects in-house that you might be considering, send me a message (here or from the main website). I pride myself on meeting budgets and timelines, and delivering long-term client satisfaction. And if you happen to also reside in an exotic locale, I don't mind travelling, no not at all ! ! !

So give some thought to it. Domino migrations with a revamped front-end in Adobe Flex. Need some inspiration, go to www.flex.org and browse their gallery. The richness of the user interface seems to be a huge differentiator in todays competitive Web 2.0 world. Why not leverage your Domino investments even further, and capture that whirlwind.

The RIA race now shifts to third gear with this weeks release of the Adobe Flex 3 SDK. Judging by all the fantastic content appearing on the internet in regards to Flex development, and even the hits to my blog, I'd have to say the trend is accelerating upwards rapidly.Unlike the Blu-ray and HD-DVD war, I think this will go on for quite awhile. Silverlight 2.0 is around the corner, and even Adobe is making adjustments to combat any feature advantage that it might present. The future of connected computing is now taking shape in the form massive data centers, SaaS applications, and the most feature rich handheld mobile devices I have ever seen. I am inspired more and more every day. Computing has never been so exciting to me as it is at this moment. I am witness to so many great ideas (old and new) taking shape and unfolding right before my eyes. I am saddened by the death of Netscape, but I see it's offspring in Firefox. Firefox 3.0 is going to set the bar higher, and for that we should all be grateful. What is unfolding are new business and software models that will certainly propel the human race forward.

I just can't wait until we shift in fourth gear!

I just wanted to wish everyone the best this holiday season.

I hope (and plan) to be more involved in the New Year and to get my Flex/Domino momentum back. I'm working on my own Flex framework specifically targeted for Domino. It has been started (solid UML model) with some prototyped code. Like many of you, I intuitively feel that Flex and Domino have some cosmic connection to make. I pondered and analyzed this for months trying to figure out what this connection could be (or would be like). I think my framework is going to be the vanguard of just such a cosmic/programmatic connection. I hope it will become a catalyst for ideas, a testbed for innovative technologies. The future looks exciting!

Well Domino 8 is finally here! This makes me wonder how Ray Ozzie feels about the Notes platform he helped bring into the world. Having Bill Gates job as Chief Software Architect must drive you to look to the future, but does it make you look at the past? I'd be in awe, version 8, wow, mature, robust, still very highly relevant. Do you think he has to sit in a meeting with Balmer and take the heat over Domino and it's presence in the marketplace? Can you imagine a meeting when Adobe Flex/AIR comes into the conversation?

So here I am thinking! I would like to test the Butterfly Theory. I want to get Ray Ozzie to throw a chair on the other side of the continent. I'm sure he can get some pointers from Balmer on this, but I want to be the 'inspiration'. I want to find the most awesome Domino application (existing or imagined) and fuse it with Adobe Flex/AIR. So let's all put on our thinking caps and brainstorm. I need help here understanding what you as a community see as being awesome for Domino. Don't hold back, this could be very interesting!

DISCLAIMER: No chairs were harmed or injured during the making of this blog entry.