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 -- www.PacktPub.com -- Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more -- Why Subscribe? -- Free Access for Packt account holders -- Instant Updates on New Packt Books -- 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 tags to replace framesets -- Align fields -- Use tables to align fields -- Use and tags to align fields -- Use and 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.