AD111 - The X Path: Practical guide to taking your IBM Lotus Notes applications to Domino XPages

transcript

AD111: The X Path: Practical Guide to taking your IBM Lotus® Notes® Applications to XPages

Hunter R. Medney | X-Man | IBMStephan H. Wissel | X-Man | IBM

Agenda■ Introduction

■ Conversion Guide (“The X Path”)

■ Best Practices

■ Tools

■ Large #s of Databases

Typical reasons for doing this■ Web-enable Notes client applications?■ Remove the Notes client?■ Facelift applications?■ Decouple data model from presentation?■ Mobile enable applications?■ Pay technical debt*?

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_debt

Why take your Notes client apps to XPages?■ No data migration

─ Data migration is common point of failure─ Preserve reader/author field security

■ Incremental migration─ Keep old app while rolling-out new app in phases

■ Reuse─ Code─ Authentication and authorization

■ Skills─ Notes skills carry-over

■ Enterprise-class platform─ Domino just works!─ You wouldn't have so many

Notes apps if it didn't!

Conversion Guide

Conversion Guide – An Agile Approach

Planning PreparationMinimum Working

AppVersion 1.0 Version 2.0+

Lower Risk

Higher Quality

Key decisions

Get your Notes app ready

Lay the foundation

Functional app Optimize and make it beautiful

Releases

Planning

■ Key questions that will drive approach and effort

Releases

Key Decisions■ Should the app be converted?

─ Ensure XPages is really needed, then target high visibility, low complexity apps first

■ Behave like the Notes client?─ Notes-like or web-like user experience?

■ External dependencies?─ Microsoft Office / IBM Lotus Symphony™

integration, COM, DLL calls?■ Coexistence with Notes interface?

─ Increase development and testing time, especially if maintaining field-level compatibility

■ Notes features not supported yet in XPages?

─ Does your app have signatures, encryption, embedded objects? Deep rich text usage?

■ Reuse or rewrite LotusScript?─ Decide whether app logic will be reused

■ User interface approach?─ Look & feel, branding, navigation

■ Enhancements?─ Opportunity to implement new

requirements?■ Testing?

─ Decide how much testing the converted app requires. Coexistence.

■ Code analysis─ Uncover code in forms, subforms and

views that may not be obvious and understand the magnitude of effort

Should the app be converted?

■ Standard template or variant thereof■ Can be migrated to a standard application platform

─ IBM Connections or IBM Quickr®■ Used only by administrators and developers■ Already has a functional web UI? (ensure ROI)■ Is it better suited for archival?

Avoid conversion if:

Conversion Sweet Spot

Sweet spot

? Behave like the Notes client?

Behave like a Notes app? Behave like a modern web app?

“Notes-like” vs “web-like”

OneUI is very intuitive (low training)

Notes-like can complicate user expectations

Notes model is not natural for the web

Users resistant to new way of working

Task-oriented vs document-oriented

Exciting possibilities!

Group Business Software (GBS) Transformer

GBS Transformer 2.0

* Most apps will require manual effort on top of Transformer

1-click*

Coexistence with Notes interface■ Coexistence with Notes client is likely

─ Phased conversions preferred over “big bang” conversions

■ Will Notes and XPages need to update the same document?─ If yes, you need field-level compatibility in both interfaces─ Requires additional testing─ Reuse Notes code where possible

– Wrap LotusScript write operations– Compute with form

■ Hybrid approaches─ Some users stay in Notes, others use XPages─ Some XPages views open a document in Notes (notes:// links)─ Other XPages views open a document in browser (http:// links)

Reuse or rewrite LotusScript®?■ Reuse LotusScript (via agent):

─ Maintain 1 code base between Notes client and XPages for extended coexistence period─ Large chunks of backend code─ Field-level compatibility─ New to XPages─ Only for write operations

■ Do not reuse LotusScript:─ Frontend code – rewrite as CSJS or SSJS─ Code that only performs read operations

■ Always consider performance:─ App will now be running on a shared environment vs standalone on desktop─ Minimize calls to agents

Unless you have5 good reasonsyou will use theIBM OneUI

IBM OneUI■ Fully documented■ Debugged■ Included with Domino■ Evolving■ Consistent■ Colorful■ Intuitive■ Extendible

Use it as starting point,allow your designer tochange anything insidethe curly brackets

csszengarden.com

Not Using OneUI?■ Alternative themes

─ Corporate standard─ Free ones (frameworks)─ Not-free ones (search for “css admin themes”)─ Use a web designer

■ Things to look for in a theme:─ Cross-browser support─ Documentation and working sample pages─ Comprehensive

– tables, forms, buttons, sections, messages, layout, navigation, menus, help text, error text

Unless you are good at web design, best to leverage existing assets so you can focus on function and not

fonts / layouts / colors / etcA wise man once said...

Code Analysis■ Generate report of all @formula and LS code in each form and view■ DXLMagic■ CoCoMo

CoCoMo Analysis■ Know your magnitude■ Identify large code bases■ Lines of code can be translated to $$$

Preparation

■ Prepare your Notes app for conversion─ Minimize server impact─ Simplify porting application logic─ Reduce maintenance

Releases

Prepare LotusScript for reuse■ Refactor backend LotusScript into script libraries

─ Functions in backend libraries can be called from XPages via an Agent─ When referencing user name, use NotesSession.EffectiveUserName

■ Use “Option Declare” in all LotusScript─ Reduces variable overhead (undeclared variables are expensive Variants)─ Usually results in code improvements

■ Recompile all LotusScript─ Expose any hidden compile errors

■ Separating-out backend code into script library

■ XPages can now call this function via an agent

Remove Duplicate Design Elements■ Mainly form/view/agent copies■ Use search in IBM Lotus® Domino® Designer to see where an element is

referenced

The “employeeMyClosedTickets” view is referenced by a page and outline

Releases

■ Structure development around 3+ releases■ Key concerns are addressed in each release■ Solicit feedback and adjust

Build in 3 releases

Minimum Working

■ One completely functional “form” and “view”

■ Validation■ Coexistence■ Theme, layout,

navigation, look & feel■ Prototyping■ Common functions■ Extension Library?

■ Complete application, backend focus

■ More: application logic, working UI

■ Less: optimization, performance, elegance, ideal user experience

■ Coexistence■ Easiest approaches■ Incremental / hybrid

■ Optimize frontend and backend

■ Performance■ Reduce interaction time■ Look for code reuse■ Mobile■ Trend toward MVC■ Services■ Sharing

Feedback Feedback Feedback

Declining effort per application

Best Practices

SSJS vs LotusScript vs Java™■ SSJS best for:

─ Default choice; use unless LotusScript or Java work better─ Controlling application flow; orchestration─ Interacting with the user

■ LotusScript best for:─ Reusing significant chunks of existing backend code─ Never frontend─ Never read operations─ Only if wrapping is less effort than rewriting

■ Java best for:─ Intense processing blocks─ Complex business logic─ Wrapping Java libraries for use by SSJS

Leverage Community■ Internal

─ Internal repositories / wikis for:– Code– Standards

─ Discussion forum─ Blogs─ ahem, IBM Connections, ahem

■ External─ xpages.info─ OpenNTF.org─ XSnippets─ XPages forum─ #xpages

Styling Content 1

Avoid setting display attributes for each individual element

Instead, apply display attributes through a style sheet to all elements

Styling Content 2

http://infolib.lotus.com/resources/oneui/2.1/docPublic/index.htm

■ 1. Find the visual element in your theme

Styling Content 3

2. Copy the HTML

3. Apply to XPage and tweak as needed

Styling Content 4

Result

Dialogs and Actions■ Problem

─ Reproducing Notes actions with user input is problematic on the web

■ Solution─ Use xe:dialog!

■ xe:dialog─ Launch and handle dialog without leaving SSJS─ Dialog is not part of the JSF tree until invoked─ Dialog content evaluates only when invoked─ Close via SSJS and continue processing

SSJS to open dialog

SSJS to handle submit

Document Discovery■ View traversal and search work well in the Notes client

─ Quick-find, full-text search, browse by category, keyboard shortcuts─ Consistent across applications─ Understand how your users navigate─ Heavy reliance on keyboard shortcuts?

■ XPages faithfully renders Notes views, but...─ Not the same experience as the Notes client

■ Web may work better with a different approach─ Search/filter, tag clouds, bread crumbs, dynamic sorting─ Think about how you find content in other large systems like discussion forums, bug tracking

systems, online stores─ How do other web apps in your enterprise work?

Document Discovery

Search always available

Navigate categories using tag cloud

Filters also help

Document Interaction■ Read and edit

mode do not need to be the same XPage

■ Team Room follows the OneUI style for forms via Extension Library form controls

Source Control and Team Development■ Horizontal development■ Split along skills

─ UI─ Interaction─ Logic / Flow─ Back-end

■ Start 2day■ Allow for ramp up

Code Analysis■ DXLMagic■ CoCoMo■ TeamStudio■ XSLT■ Visustin■ DB/2 Pure XML

(when you look at thousands)

■ Views■ Forms■ Roll your own■ Tools

─ XSLT─ Apache ANTTM

─ Designer Version Control

PMXC - Poor Mans XPages Conversion

Large Numbers of Databases

What if you have large #s of databases?■ GBS Transformer 2.0■ Development factory

GBS Transformer 2.0

Gather key info to create a prioritized list of target applications

INVESTIGATE

Detailed Assessment

of application

ANALYZE

UI and business

logic converted to

XPages

CONVERT BUILD

Compiles final

XPages

XPages upgrade factory

■ Move to higher level components─ Workflow─ Social enablement─ Search─ Embedded experiences─ Internal systems

■ Look for professional help

■ Use the extension library■ Build your own extension library■ Standardize UI artifacts■ Single Copy Design■ Switch to horizontal development

─ By layer / module─ Functionality across applications

Use a factory approach

Standardization

Factory impact

Questions

Other Sessions■ AD103: Embracing the Eclipse Within■ AD104: IBM Lotus Domino XPages Made Social■ AD106: IBM Lotus Domino XPages anywhere - Write them once, See them

Everywhere■ BP103: IBM Lotus Domino XPages Blast!

■ Hunter Medney■ IBM Software Services for Lotus■ Twitter: @hmedney■ Blog: developWorks (hmedney)■ Email: hunter_medney@us.ibm.com■ Staffing Meet The Developers lab

■ Stephan H Wissela.k.a NotesSensei

■ Presales engineer in Singapore■ Twitter: @notessensei■ Blog: http://www.wissel.net/■ Email: notessensei@sg.ibm.com

Contact

Thank you & fill in your session evaluations!

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AD111 - The X Path: Practical guide to taking your IBM Lotus Notes applications to Domino XPages

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