ModernisationOptionsfor IBM DominoV10. ProducedbyIntecSystemsLimited

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1 ModernisationOptionsfor IBM DominoV10 ProducedbyIntecSystemsLimited

2 Contents 1.Introduction 2.InfrastructureModernisation.OptionsforModernisation.1NotesClient/ICAA/HCLNomad.2Web/MobileBrowser.XPages.4JavaScriptApplicationsandIntegration.4.1 Node.js.4.2 NewLotusScriptHTTPMethods.4. SmartNSF.4.4 Custom RESTServices.JavaApplicationOptions..1 OSGiPlugin..2 SpringBoot.. Vert.x.6IBM-HighlightedPartnerProducts 4.AnalysisTooling 4.1Panagenda sapplicationinsights 4.2IntecRADAAR

3 1.Introduction InMay2016Intecpublishedawhitepaperentitled MigrationorModernisation which detailedfunctionalityaddedinmorerecentversionsofibm Dominoaswelasconsiderations fordecidingwhethertomigratealorpartofadominoestate.themainoutcomeswere: Theimportanceofextendingappropriatefunctionalitytonewerplatforms(web, mobileetc).sincemay2016,microservicesandcognitivehavebecome additionalplatform disruptors. Theimportanceofensuringauserexperiencethatdoesnotfeeldatedin comparisontootherbusinessandconsumerapplications. BeingmindfulofthebenefitsofDomino,e.g.backwardscompatibility,data securityetc. Datamigrationisasignificantundertakingandoftenahiddenandnot inconsiderablecost.therearewaystomigrateanapplicationwithoutrequiring migrationofthedata. Onthislastbuletpoint,historicaly, database and application havebeensynonymousandinterchangeable termsinthecontextofdomino.formanymoderndominodevelopers,therehasbecomeasemanticdiference. The database iswherethedataandpossiblyscheduledprocessesreside;the application iswheretheuser interfaceandbusinesslogicreside.increasinglythesehavebeentwoseparatensfsanditismoreimportant thanevertobreakfreefrom theconceptthattheymustbethesamensf. AtIBM ConnectinFebruary2017,afteralengthyreview,IBM announcedtheirmessageondominoapplication developmentmodernisationandanumberofreviewswerepublished,includingintec sown.themessagewas nota silverbulet approach,butanoverviewofpotentialapproaches,someofwhichwouldbeappropriatefor someapplications,someforothers.folowingthis,inaugust2017,intecpublishedawhitepaper Modernisation OptionsforIBM DominoFP8+. Inlate2017IBM announcedapartnershipwithhcltolaunchasignificantnewerafordominoandassociated products.attheheartofthatwasacommitmenttodominov10in2018andalong-term visionfortheproducts underthe Domino202 tagline 202wasnotanendgame,justaninitialmarker.Jamsandfurther announcementsthroughthefirsthalfof2018havereinforcedthatvisionandfurtherdefinedthemessage aroundmodernisation,focusedonleveragingtheinvestmentcompanieshavemadeovermanyyearsinthe platform whileembracingnewandvibrantopportunities. Throughouttheseannouncements,opensourcehasbeenattheheartofthemessage.And,althoughsome Dominocustomersmayhaveresistedopensourceinthepast,thatatitudeisout-datedandunsustainablegoing forward.whethermodernisationormigrationistheroute,whethercustom developmentplatform or of-the-shelf,opensourcesoftwareiscertaintoplaysomepartinwhateversolutionischosen. ChoiceandtheimportanceofweretwokeytenetsofIBM smessage.dominoasanapplicationdevelopment platform hasbeenarevitalisedvision.thechoicesavailablemaybeconfusing,sothepurposeofthis whitepaperistogivesomemorecontext,particularlyinthecontextofdominov10andv11.ofcourse,anibm BusinessPartnerspecialisinginapplicationdevelopmentwilbeabletohelpofermoreinformationand introduceyoutopartners,ifyouwouldliketoinvestigatefurtherthird-partyproducts. Thelandscapehaschangedsignificantlyoverthelastfewyearsandsomecustomerswhowereplanningto migrateoftheplatform completelyhavere-evaluatedtheirstrategy.enhancementsforv10havefocusednot onlyonmodernisationoptionsbutalsomaximisingtotalcostofownership,tobringsignificantimprovementsto theplatform withminimalefort. ButmaximisingtheinvestmentmadebyIBM andhclintheplatform meansmodernisingbothinfrastructure andexpertise.ifyouhavenotleveragedplatform enhancementsoverthelastdecadelikedaosandindexing enhancements,youwilnotbegetingthemostoutofyourexistingdominoservers.ifyouradministratorsare notaufaitwiththetco enhancementscomingindominov10,youwon tbegetingthemostofanyupgrade. Andifyourdevelopersaren tuptospeedwithnewuserexperiences,toolsandtechniquesfordevelopment, yourapplicationswilnotbeabletobemodernisedinthemostappropriateways. 2

4 Regularlymodernisinganyapplicationrequiresefortandexpenditure. Butifabusinessisnotpreparedtoinvestinmodernisationofapplication userinterface,regardlessoftheplatform,criticisingandcomparingthose applicationswithonesthathavebeenbuiltmorerecentlyormodernisedis unfair.theapplicationslipsfrom beingwel-maintainedtobeinginmaintenance mode.comparingandcriticisingtheplatform thoseapplicationsarebuiltupon becausetheapplicationsdonotlookmodernbecomesunfair. 2.InfrastructureModernisation Overtheyearsasanorganisationchangestheinfrastructurearchitecturemaynolongerbethebestfitforthe futureroleofdomino.dominov10isagoodtimetoreviewandreassess.section4providessometoolingfor reviewingyourdominoestate. HistoricalyDominoservershavetendedtoresideclosetousersbecauseofnetworkspeeds.Butnetworkshave improvedatthesametimeasmoreandmoreitsystemshavemovedtothecloud.movingdominoservers of-siteintohostedenvironmentmaynowbemoreappealing.thereareavarietyofoferingsfrom Business Partners,IBM andhcl.ibm sdominoapplicationsinthecloud(dac)isaflexibleserviceincludingsecurity, backups,monitoring,monthlyhealthandusagereportsandregulardominoversionupgrades.itcanalso providedevelopment,testingorhighavailabilityenvironments.optionsformodernisation.1notesclient/icaa/hclnomad Modernisationdoesnotnecessarilymeanreplacingdesktopclientaccesstoapplications.Analternativetothe fuleclipse-basednotesclientisicaa(ibm ClientApplicationAccess).ICAAisamuchmorelightweightclient, comparableinsizetothepopulardesktopclientsofslack,apersistentchatthathasgainedsignificant prominenceandbeenamajordisruptorforit.evenwhenbrowseraccessisavailable,recentsoftwarereleases haveshownthereisoftenapreferenceforstandaloneclients.thisisunderstandablewhenauto-upgrading browsersregularlyintroducebreakingchangesandfixedbrowserversionsrequirealapplicationsusedbyitto beupgradedatthesametime,whichisneverachievable.manymodernclientsauto-update,andbothicaaand therichclientbringnewapproachestoauto-updatingwithdominov10. TheadventofDominoV10broughttheannouncementofHCLNomad,aNotesclientforiPad.Notesaccesson iphonehasalreadybeenannouncedasthenextstep smalerform factorswilrequiregreaterchangesto applicationsinorderforthem tobeusableoniphone.android(tabletsandphones)hasbeenannouncedasa futuregoalbutwilrequiremoresignificantdevelopmentthaniosbecauseofplatform diferences. DominoandNoteshaveastrongreputationforbackwardscompatibilityandmanybusiness-criticalapplications continuetoworkwithoutanysignificantredesignofarchitectureoruserinterface.somenotesapplicationslook 1yearsold,becausenochangeshavebeenmadetotheuserinterfaceinthattime.Alitleeforttomodernise theuserinterfacecangiveaconsiderableimprovementinhowmoderntheapplicationlooksandfeels.interms ofmodernisingnavigation,thiscouldbesmallessambitiousenhancementslikereplacingnavigatorswith Outlinesormovingtoamoretechnicalyambitiousnavigationmodel.Diferentapproachestoquicklyfinding thatonedocumenttheuserwantstoupdatecanalsobringarefresheduserexperience.amendingform layout andstylingislikelytotakemoreefort,butcanensureanapplicationfeelsmorefresh.particularlywhenyour NotesapplicationsitsalongsidenativeiPadapplications,thoseapplicationsdeservesomelove,nowmorethan ever..2web/mobilebrowser Theefortinvolvedinredevelopingeverythinginaclientapplicationforweb,mobilebrowserornativemobile applicationsmaybesignificant.so,regardlessofthechosenapproach,itiscriticaltore-evaluatethe functionalityagainstcurentprocesses.itisimportanttobearinmindthedevicesinuseandthetargetusers againstthefunctionalityprovided,becausesomeusecasesmaynotberelevant.section4ofthiswhitepaper coverssomeanalysistoolingthatmayhelpwiththispreparatorywork.

5 Itisalsokeytorememberthatsomeadmintaskscriticaltothefunctioning oftheapplicationmayrarelybeundertaken,someconfigurationmayhavebeen forgotenandtakenforgrantedbyendusers.ifdominowilstilbeused,evenifonly forthedatabaselayer,someoraladminconfigurationcouldbeomitedfrom modernisation,relyingstilondesktopnotesclientforoccasionalorlimitedaccess. Thosemanagingtheseaspectsoftheapplicationwiltypicalyalsobemoreforgivingabout theuserexperience..xpages ForalmostadecadeXPageshasbeenapreferedoptionfornewDominoapplicationsontheweb.ButXPages stilcompeteswelwithnon-dominowebframeworksintermsofrapidapplicationdevelopment.the componentisedapproachisonestandardwithotherjavaframeworksandonejavascriptframeworkshave adopted.xpagesdoeshaveadefinitelearningcurveandmaynotbethepreferedoptionfordeveloperswho havenotembracedthetechnology.butbothibm andhclarecommitedtodeveloperswhohave. InInrecentyears,atIntecwehaveseenacontinueddemandfortrainingandmentoring.Thisisnottosaythat documentationissignificantlydeficient.thequantityandqualityofbooks,samples,videos,tutorials,blogposts andcommunitysupportissignificantandbeterthanmanyalternativesiencounteredrecently.aswithany frameworkortechnology,trainingtypicalygivesdevelopersamoreintensifiedintroductiontoaspectsand, whendonewel,preparesadeveloperwelbeyonddayone. RedevelopingacompletecomplexNotesClientortraditionalDominowebapplicationwithXPagescanbea significanttask.providingxpageaccesstoasubsetoffunctionalitymaybeappropriateandcouldintegratewel withnotesclientcontentinthehclplacesclient.forexistingwebapplications,ahybridapproachhasproved popular,integratingxpageelementsintotraditionaldominowebapplications. IfIfXPagesisusedaspartoralofapplications,itismoreimportantthanevertokeepunderlyingplatform up-to-date.browserscanintroducebreakingchangesandmanufacturershavealsoprovedquitedraconianin droppingsupportforolderversionsofframeworks.themostrecentversionofdominowilensurecore componentsandframeworkversionsworkonthemostrecentbrowsers..4javascriptapplicationsandintegration TheriseofJavaScriptapplicationsandcloudserviceslikethevariousWatsonserviceshavenecessitateda microservicesarchitecture.today sapplicationsareexpectedtointegrateatleastonewaywiththird-party services.attheheartofthiscommunicationisrest. Forinboundcommunicationit simportanttorememberdominoisnotjustadumbnosqldatabase.thepower ofthedominoapisavailablegivegreaterflexibilityforbuildinganapigateway.thismeansspecificrest endpointsperform theworkflowratherthanexpectingtheworkflowtobehandledbytheapplicationlayer, ensuringbetersecurityandconsistentbehaviourregardlessofwheretherestendpointisinvokedfrom.italso alowsgreaterflexibilityinwhatgetsstoredinthedatabasefrom aspecificendpoint,notnecessarilya1:1 relationshipbetweenrestcalanddocumentinthensf. ThereareavarietyofRESTserviceoptionsforDomino,whichiswhyIntechavedevelopedatrainingcourse specificalycoveringrestanddomino..4.1 Node.js Node.jshasbecomeapopularwebplatform forwritingjavascriptformicroservicesandapplications.modules andbuildtoolsalowslimlinesolutionsthatcanjustberestservicesorafulwebuiusingpopularjavascript frameworkslikereactandvue.js.withdominov10hclwildeliverthedominodbnpm modulefornode.js developers.significantenhancementsatthec++layerincludingdql(dominoquerylanguage)havebeen madetooptimiseperformance.othermodulesopeningupmoreofthedominoapiareexpectedtofolow. ThiswilenablecompaniestoleveragetheirinvestmentinDominoandthegrowingJavaScriptdevelopment workforce.theoutputmaybeself-containedapplicationsormiddlewaremicroservicesasnodeapplicationsor onnode-red,forintegrationbyinternaland/orexternaldevelopers. 4

6 .4.2 NewLotusScriptHTTPMethods DominoV10wilalsointroducenewHTTPandJSON handlingmethods.thisshould makedevelopingrestserviceaccessinagentsanachievableapproachforlotusscript developers..4. SmartNSF AnnouncedatIBM Connect2017,SmartNSFisanopensourcemethodofdefiningRESTserviceroutes withindominodesignerusingadomainspecificlanguage.therehavealreadybeenanumberofreleases through2017onopenntf. Security,read/writerestrictions,validationandpre-andpost-processingeventscanbeaddedtoanyREST endpointcreated.input/outputcanbevaluesorcomputedformulas.anopenapispecificationcanalsobe generatedforjavascriptdeveloperstocodeagainst..4.4 Custom RESTServices ForthosepreferingJava,themostflexibleoptionforRESTaccesstoDominodataistodevelopcustom REST seservicesinarestservlet. Thereismoreefortinvolved,thatcannotbedenied.ButIntechavebeenheavilyinvolvedincustom RESTservicesfor DominobyopensourcingOpenNTFDominoAPIStarterServletonOpenNTFaswelaswritingdocumentationand recordinganotesin9episodeontheproject.. JavaApplicationOptions XPagesisjustoneofmanyJavaframeworksavailablefordevelopingawebordesktopapplication.AtIntec,wehave beenusingvaadinforsomeyearsandhaveprovidedenablementpublishedonvaadin sownblog.butother frameworkslikejsfareavailable.whichoneyouchooseisamaterofpersonalpreference. Thekeychoiceisthenhowtodeploytheapplication.WrappingitwithinanNSFisunlikelytobeanappropriatechoice. Therearethenanumberofoptions...1 OSGiPlugin IfyouwishtoruntheapplicationviaDomino shttptask,theusualapproachwilbetowrapthejavaeeapplicationin anosgiplugin.thisisanapproachintechaveusedinthepast.therewilbesomequirks,forexamplethejavaservlet specificationinuseindominoandintegrationwithprojectdependencymanagementtoolslikemaven.butthereare blogpoststhatcoverthisandexpertswhocanhelp...2 SpringBoot SpringBootisanoptionforcreatingstandaloneapplicationsandcanuseanembeddedwebserverlikeTomcat.Ifthis isaprefereddeliveryoption,itmayencourageaparticularjavaframeworkfortheapplication,e.g.springmvcor Thymeleaf.ButtherearealsostartertemplatesforbuildingawebapplicationwithotherframeworkslikeVaadin.This mightbeagoodapproachforaclientapplication,forexamplealowingwebaccesstooflinedominodataasan alternativeapproachtousingnotesclient... Vert.x Vert.xisatoolkitfordevelopingflexibleandreactiveapplications.ItisnotlimitedtoJava,butcanbecodedinJava. Vert.x-WebisasubsetoftoolingfordevelopingwebapplicationsandHTTPmicroservices.Theremayneedtobesome developmenttosupportaparticularframework,butthereareopensourceimplementationsformanyframeworkslike Vaadin.OneofthestrengthsofVert.xisthatitisnon-blockingwhichmakesitveryperformantandscalableforserver applications.whereassomedatabaselayerslikemongodbneedaspecificclienttosupportnon-blockingaccess,the coredominoapihasalwaysbeennon-blocking,makingdominowel-suitedasadatabaselayer.likethespringboot approach,interactionwithdominoonlyrequiresinclusionofspecificjarfilesfrom thenotesordominoinstal.there havebeenblogpostsonintegratingdominoandvert.x(atonepointitwasacandidateforverseonpremises)and Intechavecontinuedthatresearch.

7 .6 IBM-HighlightedPartnerProducts SincetheOpeningGeneralSessionatIBM Connect2017,inadditiontoXPagesIBM have referencedpartnerproductsformodernisingapplications. Darwinoisnotaimedatautomatedmodernisationbutatcustom developmenttobuildanapplication torunoutsideofdominoonwebormobile,onlineandofline.thebusinesslogiciscodedinjavaand theuserinterfacetypicalyviaajavascriptframeworklikevue.jsorreact.thedarwinoproductprovides writeonce,runanywhere codeconversion,althoughplatform-specificfunctionalitylikespecificios componentscanalsobeadded.thereareadditionallibrariesforcustomisingreplication,managing authentication,supportingvariousnewsqlbackendslikesqlserver,json parsing,mailhandling,preference handling,graphqlandstandardrestintegration,microservices,filters,querying,scriptingandserver environmentmanagement. We4IT saveedoprovidesananalysisandmodernisationwizardforwebandmobile,toquicklyconvertbothsimple andcomplexapplicationstoanxpages-basedinterface.thescanalyzrelement(withafreeinitialanalysisoftemplates) wilreviewanalysisandcomplexity,givinganestimateofeforttomigrate.thewizardmigrationboaststimesavingsof upto70%.workflowcanbemodeledviaavisualinterfaceandbusinesslogiccanbecodedinavarietyoflanguages Team Technology steamworkrprovidesanalysisandmobile-firstmodernisationofnotesapplications,making 4.AnalysisTooling Thefirststepforanymodernisationisanalysis,toidentifywhattomodernise. 4.1 Panagenda sapplicationinsights AtIBM Connect2017,IBM announcedthatpanagenda sapplicationinsightswouldbeavailableasafreeentitlementfor Dominocustomerswhoselicenseshavenotlapsed.ThiswasreleasedinAprilwitharelatedFAQ technote.theinitial entitlementwasfor12monthsfrom April112017butwasextendedforanotheryearinApril2018.Thefreelicense analysesthe0mostusedapplicationdatabases,althoughadditionalpacksareavailableforopeningupanalysisof subsequentbatchesof00applications.thetoolisavailableasavirtualapplianceandgivesinsightintousage statisticsanddesignanalysis.theoutputprovides: Overalusageanddesigncomplexityrankings Database,replicationandAccessControlsummary Volumeusagesplitingbetweenaccessfrom NotesClientandweb Designcomplexityidentifyingnumberofdesignelements,totallinesofcodebrokendownbylanguageandothermetrics Designinsightsidentifyingoperatingsystem dependencies,maildependenciesanddependenciesonotherdatabases Analysisofcodeforreadinessforusefrom web Analysisofhardcodingsfore.g.filenames,IPaddresses, addressesetc. CodingrelyingonRichTextornotes.inivariables Gofrom analysistodesignelementsintwoclicks Perform ful-textsearchacrossentireapplicationcode Deep-diveintoanalysisusingaquerybuilderDataMiner Anyanalysisofcodecannotidentifyredundantcodebecausefunctionsmaybecaledexternaly(e.g.from another database),designelementsorfunctionalitymaynolongerbeused,codemaybecommentedoutorunreachableand functionalitymaynotberelevantforalmethodsofinterface.consequently,theoutputneedstobereviewedinthe contextofanunderstandingofthedesignandanunderstandingofthecurentbusinessusageoftheapplication.butit canprovideusefulinformationonnextstepsforanapplication. 6

8 Overviewofdatabasesizing,versionandinheritance. OverviewofaldatabasepropertiesthatcanbesetviaPropertiespanelsinNotesClientorDomino Designer,aswelassomepropertiesthataresetbyservermanagement(e.g.DAOS,16Mbsummaryfield limitextension). Viewanalysisincludingdashboardhighlightingareasforfurtherreviewlikeprohibitdesignrefreshset, privateviews,highnumberofre-sortablecolumns,documentcountandviewindexsizeconcernsetc. Agentscheduleoverviewatdatabaseandserverlevel. Agentanalysisincludingdashboardhighlightingshortorlong-runningagents,agentswithoutprofiling enabled,agentsthathavenotrunrecentlyorneverrunetc. Form analysisincludingdashboardhighlightingformsthathavereplication/saveconflicts,orphaned documents,potentialreferencingintegrityissues,responsedocuments,prohibitdesignrefreshset, encrypted/signedfields,authors/readersfields,highnumbersofdocuments,highnumbersoffieldsetc. Profilingofdocumentsbycreateddateandlastmodifieddateastablesorcharts.Thedataisprofiledby yearand,forthelast12months,bymonth. Forthereasonshighlightedabove,thetoolonlyanalysesapplicationarchitecture,notcodeblocks.Itsfocusison reviewandoptimisationofthedominoapplicationasadatabasestore,notonanyparticularimplementationof userinterfacewithintheapplication. ThetoolisavailableasanXPagesapplicationwithassociatedextensionlibraryplugin,requiringDominoFeature Pack8orhigher.AversionwilalsoworkwithlimitedefectivenessviaDominoDesignerLocalPreview,providing thenotesinstalisfeaturepack8orhigher.thenextreleasewilalsorunasastandalonenon-xpagesapplication. AboutTheAuthor PaulWithershasbeenworkingwithIBM Dominosince1998and hasguest-bloggedforvaadinltd.heisoneofthefounding contributorsforopenntfdominoapi,ajavaapithatextends functionalityforibm Domino.Heisalsoacontributorto CrossWorlds,anopensourceprojectforaccessingDominodata from standardwebapplicationsrunningonibm WebsphereLiberty Profile.Paulwasco-authorforXPagesExtensionLibrary,published byibm Press(201).Hehasbloggedextensivelyaboutusing VaadintoaccessDominodataandsurfacingDominodatathrough custom RESTservlets. AboutIntec AtIntecwecolaboratewithourclients,bringingtogetherbusiness insight,significantexperienceandtechnologytoprovideadistinct advantageintoday srapidlychangingbusinessenvironment. Throughourintegratedapproachtoproblem solving,solution designandexecutionwehelpturnourcustomersstrategiesinto action.withover0yearsexperienceourmissionistohelpour customerstoanticipatechangeandprofitfrom newopportunities. Theresultofthatexperienceandknowledgeisareputationfor beingtrustedadvisorsandsubjectmaterexpertsinawiderange ofbusinessandinformationtechnologyareas. Intec IntecHouse StNicholasClose Fleet HampshireGU14JA tel.+44(0)