Real World Computing

Why Javascript? If you're like me and not really a domino developer, but a bit of everything, then you probably don't have a lot of time to spend on learning all the tips and tricks of domino. Often, creating a database is simply a matter of "knocking together" forms and views that will do the job and putting only minimal validation in place. The problem is that normal built-in notes validation is awful on the web. You need to submit a form and get a validation "knockback" then click the back button in your browser and re-fill in the form. (Unless you have a modern version of firefox which seems to remember form data prior to submission). In any case, what you really want is something that neatly informs you that you've missed something. The way to do this on the web is to use Javascript. Disclaimer The technique I'm going to use here is an old one. If you're a seasoned Javascript developer, you'll certainly have much better methods. ...

If you've been following this blog lately, you'll know that we recently replaced our domino server. As part of this move, we moved the Blackberry Enterprise Server to another box. Now, I'm not sure what happens when you move a blackberry server from one box to another while keeping the same server name, IP address and domino server name but I can tell you what happens when you move the blackberry service to an entirely different box - and when you "downgrade" it to Blackberry Professional at the same time. It all gets wiped. A Short Rant about Blackberry Professional Before I continue, I just want to take a few moments to have a quick rant about Blackberry Professional. We bought a 10 user license for Blackberry Enterprise Server but have been told by our carrier (Telstra) that due to licensing changes at RIM, we are no longer able to buy any more Blackberry licenses for enterprise without paying a hefty up-front fee to convert our Blackberry Enterprise Server t...

Introduction Following on from Part 1, we should now have a working Server running fully patched versions of Windows and Backup. If we've been really sensible, we've even tested a backup and a restore. The next step is to obtain copies of databases on your live server. Getting Databases off your Live Server In a perfect world, this would be easy. Simply shut down your Domino server and go in with a USB hard drive. Unfortunately, in a world where your server is expected to be up 24x7 or at least conform to one of those 98%** SLA's it's not possible to shut the server down for very long - even when doing a migratory backup. ** One interesting point that most people forget; A 98% uptime figure in a 30 day month allows for up to 14 hours of downtime. Of course, you'd never see management admit or accept that amount of downtime but it is technically allowable under contract. So, how to get the data off your domino server for a speedy migration.... Attach a large USB dr...

I've probably blogged about this kind of thing before but since we did a domino server replacement a couple of nights ago and it all went smoothly, I figure it's worth reiterating the procedure. It's funny how as you try to type a blog during the gaps in your busy schedule, it mutates from your original idea. I've ended up talking more about backups than intended but since it's all useful information, I've decided to retain it and split this into two articles. The Aim Our main domino server was getting a bit old and we wanted to move to newer hardware. The server runs Domino 7.0.2 on Windows Server 2003. It replicates with an offsite server as well as an internal one. The server runs mail, lots of internal notes applications, an ExtraNet and two web sites. It used to run blackberry too but that's a different post. The server is part of a ...believe it or not... Windows NT Domain. One day we'll move to active directory - maybe. Downtime is fairly cr...

I'm sure that seasoned air travellers know all about this but I haven't flown much since I got my blackberry and I only got clued into this with a little slip from one of the flight attendants during the usual "how life-jackets can save your life at 30,000 feet" speech. Note: these instructions are for the Blackberry Pearl. They may be different on other Blackberries. It's simple; BEFORE you get on the plane; Scroll to the aerial icon marked manage connections and click on it. Choose the option marked Turn all Connections Off Press the ESC/Back key to go back to the main screen. Power off your blackberry until the plane has taken off and is in level flight. In Level Flight When the Air-Hostesses or the Captain tell you that you can turn electronic devices on, turn the blackberry back on. It should not establish any connections. Now you can use your Blackberry as a game machine, MP3 Player, Movie watcher and note taker (Memo Pad) during your flight. In fact, yo...

After sitting on the fence for a while, trying not to show too much Lotus bias, I finally decided to give Lotus Symphony a trial. For the record, my work PC is old.. It's an IBM 8194 P4 2.8GHz with 3GB RAM and not a lot of available hard drive space. Downloading and Installing I went to the IBM Symphony site ( http://symphony.lotus.com ) and selected the Windows version and in the English Language. I've got lots of issues with IBM's downloading services - I really don't think they're designed for lay-people. I decided to play "dumb" and just click on the first thing I saw. It defaulted to the Java applet which never works well on my system. I waited for the inevitable error message, then switched to downloading via html. The 197MB file downloaded relatively quickly. IBM - The download facility for this is too user-unfriendly for the people you really want to capture as users. It should be as easy as downloading Mozilla Firefox or Open Office. When ...