IBM Lotus Domino: Classic Web Application Development Techniques电子书

IBM Lotus Domino: Classic Web Application Development Techniques

Table of Contents

IBM Lotus Domino: Classic Web Application Development Techniques

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

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Preface

Getting started

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Preparation and Habits

Preparing yourself as a developer

Gather a list of public websites that use Domino

Get certified in Lotus Notes / Domino application development

Use Domino Help

Consider using external editors and development tools

Create sandbox applications

Create a personal cookbook

Create a personal document library

Create a website

Adopt new language and terms

Pay attention to web programming developments and practices

Standardizing applications

Abide by your organization's web development guidelines

Usability

Style

Mechanics and process

Create libraries of common resources

Planning your work

Take notes

Use to-do lists

Keep a list of all active projects and tasks

Report your progress

Working the project

Work with users, not against them

Identify the champion and other players

Don't start without clear requirements

Understand the budget and timeline; provide an estimate

Avoid scope creep

Assume that all Notes applications will be web-enabled in the future

Familiarize yourself with an unknown design

Assess an existing application for web enablement

Think like a user

Think like a developer

Write a report

Keep an issues log

Improve the application under the covers

Enhance performance wherever possible

Add error trapping

Add diagnostic and repair aids

Provide the customer with a summary of changes

Documenting your applications

Add comments to the code

Create internal developer notes

Add release notes to the About document

Include external documentation in the design as file resources

Create user-oriented help pages

Summary

2. Design and Development Strategies

Planning the design

Understand the scope of the project

Annotate the requirements document

Understand the workflow

Determine the need to access external databases

Decide on one database or several

Review existing designs

Copy the design of an existing application

Evaluate the security needs of the application

Using consistent naming conventions

Name databases so that URLs are easy to remember

Use standard versioning for design templates

Use standard versioning for major design elements

Use unique names for all major design elements

Name design elements sensibly

Name form fields consistently and appropriately

Create different versions of design elements for Notes and the Web

Name Domino groups and roles appropriately

Use Domino groups and roles appropriately

Name roles consistent with other applications

Attending to human factor issues

Create clean and flexible designs

Design for specific display characteristics

Design for accessibility

Add titles to pages, forms, and framesets

Optimize the use of images

Use image resources instead of pasted images

Using appropriate design elements and techniques

Consider alternate design strategies

Learn the Properties dialog box

Use hide-when formulas

Avoid using the Java applets

Avoid server refresh round trips

Conform to HTML standards

Avoid using non-standard, deprecated, and invalid HTML tags

Avoid using HTML formatting tags

Use configuration documents

Developer testing

Add diagnostic and repair tools

Set up test IDs

Test with browsers used by your users

Clear the browser cache

Promoting the design from testing to production

Use a staging server for user acceptance testing

Segregate administrative and developer duties

Request that templates be signed by an authorized signing ID

Understand how templates are applied to production applications

Reviewing other sources of help

Read the Notes and Domino release notes

Summary

3. Forms and Pages

Setting properties appropriately

Set the content type (MIME) property

Take full control with content type HTML

Leave the "Use JavaScript when generating pages" option enabled

Generate HTML for all fields

Opening forms and pages directly

Viewing the source in a browser to investigate anomalies

Composing and saving documents

Create documents

Edit documents

Save documents

Save documents using $$Return to specify the next page

Save documents using a WebQuerySave agent to specify the next page

Improving the layout of design elements

Identify all HTML tags

Use view template forms to display views

Use framesets for layout

Use <div> tags to replace framesets

Align fields

Use tables to align fields

Use <div> and <label> tags to align fields

Use <fieldset> and <legend> tags to group related fields

Using computed text

Display a customized title bar

Display customized messages

Using hidden computed fields

Add fields to provide access to key document attributes

Access CGI variables

Improve @DbLookup and @DbColumn formulas

Using HTML to add value to a form or page

Use special fields

Convert between Notes and HTML

Creating pseudo Action Bars for the Web

Summary

4. Navigation

General precautions

Do not hardcode URLs, filenames, or UNIDs

Use @WebDbName

Use $Ref

Use a "go forward" navigational strategy on the Web

Avoid generating complex dynamic pages

Application launch options

Launch the About document

Launch a specific homepage

Launch a frameset

Launch a view

Launch a form

Launch a graphical navigator

Launch documents in context using Auto Frame

Creating a custom application login form

Creating menus

Create Hotspots

Create menus with outlines

Create menus with tables

Create menus with HTML and CSS

Create dynamic menus with views

Displaying a design element after exiting a document

Use $$Return to select a design element

Display the previous view

Display the parent document

Using response forms for interim workflow steps

Coding default error pages

Providing directions and help

Add meaningful labels and guidance text

Add titles to design elements

Link to the About and Using documents

Add customized help pages

Opening another application in a separate window or tab

Summary

5. Cascading Style Sheets

Using CSS for styling design elements on the Web

Learn basic CSS coding

Associate CSS rules with design elements

Locating style rules in applications

Use a page design element

Use Style Sheet Resources

Add style (sparingly) to Properties

Minimize the use of internal and inline styling

Use common style sheets

Use a Domino application as a style sheet repository

Use the HTML directory on the server

Developing CSS rules

Work with an application rather than a template while writing CSS

Make sure you have control over the style of an element

Clear the browser cache

Remove HTML formatting

Remove conflicting inline and internal CSS rules

Use fully qualified CSS selectors

Accommodate different browsers

Adding style to form and page elements

Use color effectively

Style text

Style headings and labels

Underline links in text but not in menus

Style fields

Highlight required fields

Style buttons

Replace the default Action Bar buttons with hotspot buttons

Style the default Action Bar buttons

Style borders and margins

Work with images

Style menus

Style printed pages

Add more than one class to an element

Summary

6. JavaScript

Using JavaScript in web applications

Keep it simple, comment the complex

Be alert for disabled JavaScript and other options in browsers

Be alert for inconsistent JavaScript behavior in different browsers

Use browser object detection

Use browser detection only when really necessary

Locating JavaScript in applications

Place functions in JavaScript libraries

Add JavaScript in the JS Header

Add JavaScript to web events

Use a page for JavaScript

Use a subform for JavaScript

Consolidate and co-locate JavaScript

Developing and debugging scripts

Use browser debugging tools

Validate JavaScripts

Using JavaScript to enhance forms and pages

Run JavaScript on load

Access CGI variables

Validating fields

Validate number fields

Use a date picker for date fields

Warn users before leaving an un-submitted form

Use Ajax calls to avoid server round trips

Summary

7. Views

General guidelines

Create some diagnostic views

Display documents in a hierarchy

Display Replication or Save conflict documents

Specify a default view

Use view templates

Use the same view template for several views

Compute the view title

Exploring view options for the Web

Understand view Action buttons

Use Domino-generated default views

Include HTML tags to enhance views

Use the "Treat view contents as HTML" option

Structure HTML views as tables

Code links to open documents

Structure HTML views as lists

Set the view line count

Create Notes versions of HTML views

Use the View Applet (with caution)

Creating Action buttons

Provide view navigation buttons

Code next and previous navigation buttons

Code first and last buttons

Let users specify a line count

Code expand and collapse buttons for categorized views

Co-locate and define all Action buttons

Create your own Action buttons

Adding style to views

Style Domino default views

Style HTML views

Opening documents in a separate window

Adding view scrollbars dynamically

Summary

8. Agents

General LotusScript agent guidelines

Give agents meaningful names and aliases

Structure and document agents

Use agent subroutines and LotusScript libraries

Harvest ideas from Designer Help

Setting agent attributes

Set who can view and run an agent

Set an agent's runtime context

Set an agent's runtime privileges

Hide unused agents

Developing agents

Use web safe @formulas and LotusScript

Include a basic error trap

Write messages to the browser as a web page

Write messages to the browser with a JavaScript alert

Write messages to an agent log file

Working with documents

Use WebQuerySave

Access a document from an agent

Access a document open in the browser

Access a document not open in the browser

Detect the type of client invoking the agent

Detect whether a document is in Read or Edit mode

Prevent a document from being saved

Redirect the browser to the next page

Process selected documents in a view

Writing special purpose agents

Send e-mail notifications

Export data to a spreadsheet on the Web

Summary

9. Security and Performance

Security

General guidelines

Plan your security

Manage Domino groups

Specify anonymous access

Set the maximum Internet access level

Manage the application ACL

Enable SSL

Prevent opening an application in a browser

Hiding is not securing Use element access lists

Understand application backup and restore procedures

Add security to forms and documents

Understand the "Generate HTML for all fields" attribute

Prevent users from reading existing documents

Prevent users from editing existing documents

Prevent users from editing selected fields using a Controlled Access Section

Prevent users from editing selected fields using hide-when formulas

Do not use field encryption

Track document changes

Make a form available to anonymous users

Control navigation options

Code an explicit logoff

Manage agent security

Performance

General guidelines

Listen to your users

Design for ease of use

Archive or delete old documents

Remove obsolete code and design elements

Clean up and optimize code

Use tools to assess response time

Improve forms

Limit the use of images

Use Ajax calls to retrieve data

Use simpler hide-when formulas

Validate fields with JavaScript

Improve views

Remove unused or redundant views from the design

Limit the data displayed in views

Remove unnecessary view column sorting

Minimize the use of view column formulas

Avoid time-based view column formulas

Create views as an alternative to common searches

Modify database properties

Investigate Domino server options

Summary

10. Testing and Debugging

Testing

Test with different browsers

Test with different user privileges

Craft the staging environment to resemble the production environment

Engage other people for testing

Test every feature if possible

Test responsiveness

Create a written test plan

Track defects

Create detailed user documentation while testing

Require user sign-off

Monitor the application after Go Live

Debugging

General guidelines

Reproduce the problem

Isolate the failure

Code a $$ReturnGeneralError form

Check the Domino Log

Use the Web

Use Design Synopsis

Troubleshoot forms

Dynamically display hidden fields on the Web

Expire the cache

Debug CSS

Use browser-based debugging tools

Troubleshoot agents

Incorporate dynamic debugging messages

Create troubleshooting tools display scheduled agent information

Troubleshoot problems with data

View field values in Document Properties

Create diagnostic views

Write document repair agents

Document problems and solutions

Keep a personal problem solving journal

Report back to the user

Summary

Index